NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Rockies Send Pirates Streaking

Andres Galarraga homered and drove in three runs and Dante Bichette added a two-run homer as the Colorado Rockies ended the season-high six-game winning streak of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 9-5 victory at Colorado.

The Rockies, who had lost 11 of their last 15 games, remained 1 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

Galarraga’s two-run single highlighted a five-run first inning for the Rockies, who tied a club record with five consecutive hits in the inning.

He capped the scoring with his 27th homer in the eighth.

“When I start using all the field, that’s when I feel the most comfortable,” Galarraga said. “For some reason I’ve been trying to pull the ball all the time. Now I’m fine, I think.”

Bichette hit his league-leading 31st homer in the sixth to make it 8-3, extending his hitting streak to 11 games and his league-leading 96 runs batted in are a career high. Roger Bailey (5-5) allowed three runs and six hits over six innings.

Philadelphia 12, San Diego 8--Jim Eisenreich hit a pinch-hit grand slam and pitcher Tyler Green added a three-run homer at Philadelphia.

The Phillies have won six of their last seven and seven of nine, while the Padres lost for only the fourth time in 12 games at Philadelphia.

The victory went to Mike Williams (1-2), who allowed four hits and two runs in 3 2/3 innings. Mike Mims allowed only Eddie Williams’ two-run pinch-hit homer in the ninth and earned his first save.

Atlanta 6, Houston 2--Kent Mercker allowed two hits over seven innings and Javier Lopez drove in the go-ahead run with a fifth-inning single at Houston.

The Braves swept the three-game series and handed Houston its seventh consecutive loss and 14th in 17 games. Houston’s last seven-game losing streak was July 20-27, 1991.

Mercker (7-8), who had lost his last two decisions, allowed two hits in the second when James Mouton tripled and scored on Ricky Gutierrez’s single.

San Francisco 3, New York Mets 2--Terry Mulholland, helped by a disputed call with two outs in the ninth inning, hung on to end his nine-game losing skid at New York.

Mulholland (3-10) had retired 15 consecutive batters and was one strike from finishing the game when Chris Jones sliced a high drive to right field.

Jones had already gone into his home-run trot and first base coach Frank Howard was applauding when first base umpire Gary Darling broke up the party, waving that it was a foul ball.

Television replays showed the ball deflected off the outer edge of the foul pole, which would have made it a tying home run.

Mulholland ended the game on the next pitch, striking out Jones on a checked swing.

Chicago 10, Florida 2--Sammy Sosa hit two of his team’s five homers--giving him six in six games--as the Cubs put on a power display at Chicago.

Sosa’s 25th and 26th homers came in the first and third off David Weathers (3-5). Scott Servais and Jose Hernandez also hit back-to-back homers in the fourth off Weathers, who had allowed only four homers all season entering the game.

Cincinnati 3, St. Louis 1--David Wells threw a six-hitter and Jerome Walton homered to lead off the game at St. Louis.

Wells is 3-1 since being obtained in a trade with Detroit July 31 and is 13-4 for the season. The left-hander struck out six and walked two in his first NL complete game.

The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Reds.