BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Burkett Wins 20th for Giants

John Burkett became San Francisco’s first 20-game winner in seven years, and Barry Bonds had three doubles and two runs batted in as the Giants blanked the Astros, 7-0, at Houston.

The Giants, who have won six of seven, remained 2 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the National League West as the Braves reduced their magic number for clinching the division to eight with a 6-3 victory at Montreal.

Burkett (20-7) gave up three hits over eight innings in the Giants’ second consecutive shutout of Houston. He allowed four baserunners, none past first, with two strikeouts and no walks. Kevin Rogers pitched a hitless ninth.

“I never really dreamed of winning 20,” Burkett said. “I knew it was possible because I thought our team was good enough to win a lot of games.”

Burkett is the third pitcher in the major leagues to win 20 this season, joining Jack McDowell of the Chicago White Sox and Atlanta’s Tom Glavine. The last San Francisco pitcher to win 20 games was Mike Krukow, who was 20-9 in 1986.

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Atlanta 6, Montreal 3--Greg Maddux beat Dennis Martinez at Montreal as the Braves beat the pitcher they almost traded for last month.

Montreal fell six games behind idle Philadelphia in the East. The Phillies, whose magic number was cut to five, play host to Atlanta in a three-game series this weekend.

Maddux (19-9), who gave up two runs, one earned, and six hits in eight innings, won his seventh consecutive decision and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 2.42. Atlanta won for the 16th time in 20 games, and matched the franchise record of 98 victories set last year.

Martinez (14-9), who gave up five runs and seven hits in seven innings, lost for the first time in four decisions since turning down a proposed trade to Atlanta on Aug. 25.

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Toronto, 5, Boston 1-- Roberto Alomar drove in three runs with a homer and two-run triple and Dave Stewart gave up three hits over seven innings at Toronto as the Blue Jays moved closer to their third consecutive American League East title.

The Blue Jays have won 10 of 11 and hold a 5 1/2-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees and six games over the Baltimore Orioles, both of whom were idle. The Blue Jays, whose magic number is five, open a three-game series with the Yankees tonight in Toronto.

Stewart (11-8), who held the Red Sox hitless until Scott Cooper singled to lead off the fifth, gave up one run, struck out three and walked three for his third consecutive victory.

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Oakland 2, Kansas City 1--Kevin Appier set a Royal record by extending his scoreless streak to 33 innings, then lost his six-game winning streak as the Athletics beat the Royals at Oakland.

Bobby Witt (13-12) outdueled Appier, giving up one run and five hits in eight-plus innings, striking out a season-high 11 and walking two. Dennis Eckersley got the last two outs for his 34th save.

Appier (17-7) pitched five scoreless innings before an RBI single by Brent Gates in the sixth. Appier gave up two runs in seven innings, struck out five and walked four. The previous club record was a 31-inning streak by Bret Saberhagen in 1989.