Astros’ Hampton Makes a Good Impression

Houston Manager Larry Dierker isn’t always satisfied with pitcher Mike Hampton, but Tuesday night, there was no complaint.

“Hampy is still not quite what we are expecting, but he’s getting there,” Dierker said after Hampton struck out 12 Atlanta batters in a 3-2 win at Houston.

“He’s not going to be a guy who strikes out 12 batters all the time. I think he has the ability to go eight innings and have a good outing and not strike out 12.”

Hampton did just that in earning his first victory since July 31 and the Astros’ fifth win in a row.

“I’m not a strikeout pitcher, it just worked out that way today,” Hampton said. “I kept the ball down and they were taking a lot of pitches. I knew if I kept my team in the game we had a chance.”

Hampton (10-6), whose previous strikeout high was nine, gave up both runs and six hits in eight innings and walked five.

He stopped Atlanta’s four-game winning streak and helped the Astros move within 4 1/2 games of the Braves for the best record in the NL.

Chipper Jones had two singles off Hampton but came away admiring his performance.

“We got a couple of hits and then he started bringing that slider inside,” Jones said. “He’s gone through a slump, but he’s a bona fide 15-game winner and probably better when he puts a season together.”

Carl Everett broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning with an RBI double off Kevin Millwood (14-8), who gave up nine hits in eight innings and struck out nine.

Billy Wagner struck out the side in the ninth for his 25th save, sending Atlanta to only its seventh loss in 27 games this year against left-handed starters.

“When a guy plays like that you feel for that guy and you pick up your game a notch,” Wagner said of Hampton. “We’ve just got to keep playing like this and keep the momentum going.”

Florida 4, St. Louis 3--Mark McGwire remained at 53 homers, going 0 for 4 with a walk at St. Louis, where the Marlins’ Rafael Medina (1-1) earned his first major league win by giving up two runs and four hits in seven innings.

Florida scored three runs in the seventh inning off starter Donovan Osborne (3-3), who had retired 16 in a row after Cliff Floyd doubled in the second. Derrek Lee ended the streak when he singled with one out in the seventh.

Floyd had an RBI double and Randy Knorr, making his debut with the Marlins, hit a two-run homer.

Osborne pitched eight innings and gave up six hits.

Cincinnati 10, Chicago 9--Sammy Sosa drove in three runs to tie for the major league lead in RBIs but failed to hit home run for the Cubs in a loss at Cincinnati.

Sosa, whose 51 homers are second in the major leagues behind McGwire, was three for five with two strikeouts. Facing Reds starter Dennis Reyes for the first time, he had a RBI single in the first inning and was picked off, and hit a two-run double in the third.

He also singled in the sixth off Mike Remlinger, struck out in the seventh against John Hudek and struck out in the ninth against Gabe White.

In a game twice interrupted by 43-minute rain delays, Terry Mulholland (3-5) forced home the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning, helping the Reds win their fourth in a row.

Chicago lost its fourth consecutive game.

San Diego 5, Philadelphia 3--Ken Caminiti homered twice and Kevin Brown (17-4) pitched seven innings of five-hit ball to tie for the league lead in wins and lead the Padres to a win at Philadelphia.

Caminiti hit a bases-empty homer in the fifth inning off Curt Schilling (12-12), the fourth he has hit off Schilling in 37 at-bats. Caminiti’s 26th homer came in the ninth against Mark Leiter.

Brown tied Atlanta’s Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux for the NL wins lead, giving up three runs and striking out five.

Dan Miceli worked the eighth and Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his major league-leading 42nd save.

Colorado 11, Milwaukee 6--Todd Helton broke a 6-6 tie in the seventh inning with a two-run double and the Rockies rallied from a five-run deficit to win at Denver.

Helton went two for three with a single, double and three RBIs for the Rockies, who won their third in a row. Angel Echevarria hit his first major league home run, doubled and drove in four runs.

Helton and Echevarria drove in two runs each in a five-run seventh inning off reliever David Weathers (4-5).

Darryl Kile gave up six runs and nine hits in failing to win his third start in a row and deny Phil Garner his 500th win as a major league manager. He is 499-538.

Pittsburgh 9, Arizona 6--Freddy Garcia hit a three-run homer and Sean Lawrence won in his major league debut for the Pirates, who won at Phoenix for their eighth victory in a row.

Garcia was two for four and is 22 for 46 with six homers and 16 RBIs in 14 games since his Aug. 11 recall from the minors. Jason Kendall had an RBI double and a tiebreaking two-run single.

The winning streak is the Pirates’ longest since an 11-gamer from Sept. 12-22, 1996. The win was the 400th for Pirate Manager Gene Lamont.

Lawrence, a 27-year-old left-hander brought up from the minors on Monday, gave up two runs and four hits in five innings and left with a 4-2 lead. Rich Loiselle pitched the ninth for his 16th save.

The crowd of 38,960 was the smallest in 60 Diamondback home games.