Rockies Jump On Maddux Early and Often

It didn’t take long to realize Greg Maddux didn’t have it Sunday.

Vinny Castilla doubled home two runs in the first inning and later homered twice to take over the major league lead with 11, and the Colorado Rockies took a six-run lead against Maddux after three innings in a 7-6 victory over the Braves at Atlanta.

“He wasn’t as sharp as he usually is,” Castilla said. “In the first inning, he threw me a fastball right down the middle with an 0-2 count. That’s something that usually never happens.”

Castilla was four for four with five runs batted in. He had a two-run homer in the third, a single in the fifth and a solo homer in the eighth off Mike Cather. Castilla, who raised his average to .323, also leads the National League with 32 RBIs.

Maddux (2-2) was pounded for six runs and 10 hits in five innings, throwing 94 pitches. His ERA, second-best in the league at 1.35 entering the game, soared to 2.40.

Eight of the hits and six runs came before the four-time Cy Young Award winner had gotten the Rockies out in the third inning.

“I made a lot of mistakes,” Maddux said.

“I left some pitches up. I didn’t get away with anything. Usually, you get away with some mistakes. Not today.”

Philadelphia 9, St. Louis 3--Curt Schilling struck out 13 and Mike Lieberthal homered and drove in four runs at Philadelphia.

Schilling (3-2) struck out Mark McGwire three times and increased his major-league leading strikeout total to 65 for the Phillies, who improved to 9-3 at home this year.

Schilling, who had lost two starts, gave up three runs and eight hits in eight innings.

It was his fourth double-digit strikeout game this season.

Florida 12, Arizona 6--Charles Johnson hit two long homers at Miami to help rookie Eric Ludwick gain his first National League victory.

Cliff Floyd hit a three-run homer, his seventh, and matched his career high with four RRIs. Gary Sheffield hit a two-run shot for Florida, which overcame a 4-2, fifth-inning deficit.

Florida’s four homers tied a team record. But Marlin pitchers also walked 11, tying a club mark.

Ludwick (1-2), making his first start since April 8 when he sustained a stress fracture in his back, gave up four runs, three earned, and six hits in five innings and walked six.

Houston 15, Montreal 0--Moises Alou ended a productive weekend against the Expos with a home run and five more RBIs at Montreal.

Alou, who had five RBIs on Friday night against one of his former teams, went three for six and scored three runs as the Astros completed a three-game sweep.

Sean Bergman (2-1) and Trever Miller combined on a five-hitter. Bergman gave up four hits in six shutout innings. Miller pitched the final three innings for his first save.

Alou’s three-run homer in the seventh capped the sixth five-RBI game of his career.

Pittsburgh 6, San Diego 0--Jon Lieber gave up three hits in eight-plus innings at San Diego and Doug Strange’s RBI single ended a string of 20 scoreless innings for the Pirates.

The Pirates became the first team to shut out the Padres and win a series against San Diego this year, taking two of three.

Al Martin hit a three-run homer off reliever Don Wengert with two out in the ninth, and Tony Womack went three for five for the Pirates.

Lieber (1-3) struck out eight and walked two.

Pirate right fielder Jose Guillen was helped off the field because of a bruised left knee suffered in a home-plate collision with Kevin Brown after scoring Pittsburgh’s second run in the seventh.

New York and Cincinnati--The Mets’ game against the Reds was rained out at New York and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on May 19.

Saturday’s Late Game

San Diego 4, Pittsburgh 3--Steve Finley’s one-out RBI single in the 16th inning gave the Padres the victory over the Pirates at San Diego on Saturday night, ending the longest game in the majors this season.

Finley, who grounded out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, lined a single to left-center off Javier Martinez (0-1) to score Quilvio Veras and end the four-hour, 31-minute marathon.

Veras had opened the 16th with a single off Martinez (0-1), the Pirates’ eighth pitcher.

The Padres used 22 players, including Tony Gwynn as a pinch-hitter in the 12th. Gwynn didn’t start for the second consecutive game because of a bruised knee.