Glavine Acts as Braves’ Stopper

Tom Glavine loves pitching in the Astrodome. His feelings used to be different.

Glavine combined with two relievers on a seven-hitter to win his seventh consecutive decision at Houston Monday, and the Atlanta Braves got their fifth shutout of the season, 4-0, over the Astros.

“Since ’91 I’ve had success in a lot of different places, but this happens to be one where I’ve done a little better,” said Glavine, who lost his first eight decisions in the Astrodome, but is 7-0 with a 0.91 earned-run average in his last eight starts at Houston.

“This is a good pitchers’ park, great mound and surroundings. It’s a place you know coming in you have a good chance to pitch a pretty good ballgame, the way the ballpark plays.”

Glavine (6-2) gave up five hits in seven innings, struck out eight and walked four.

“Glavine would rather walk you than give in,” Houston Manager Larry Dierker said. “He won’t give you a strike. He refuses. He makes you go after his pitch.”

Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox pulled Glavine after seven innings because he had thrown 124 pitches.

Chipper Jones had three hits and Danny Bautista drove in two runs for the Braves, who had won seven in a row before losing to Houston on Saturday and Sunday.

“For a four-game series they really got up for us, and we didn’t play our best baseball,” Jones said. “But you have to give them credit. They pitched well and came up with some big hits.”

Mike Hampton (6-2), who has only two wins in his last five starts, gave up all four runs and 11 hits in seven innings.

“I got outpitched,” Hampton said. “Glavine did what he needed to do to get out of trouble and I didn’t, and that was the difference.”

Florida 7, St. Louis 3--Mike Piazza hit a two-run triple as the Marlins overcame Mark McGwire’s major league-leading 17th homer to defeat the Cardinals at St. Louis.

Piazza, acquired from the Dodgers on Friday, had two hits and drove in Florida’s final two runs in the seventh inning when he tripled to left off Curtis King after Edgar Renteria’s double and a walk to Mark Kotsay.

“It’s tough to come to a new team and catch a pitcher for the first time,” Florida Manager Jim Leyland said. “But he called a great game for us.”

Florida pitcher Jesus Sanchez (3-1) won for the third time in four starts, giving up two runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings.

McGwire pulled St. Louis to within 5-1 with a 478-foot shot in the fourth inning. In the past week, McGwire also has hit homers of 545 and 527 feet.

“I think you’re seeing the guy that’s probably the best power hitter in the history of the game.” Piazza said about McGwire. “I’m known to have hit some home runs myself, but never anything like the way he does it. I’m not even close to him. When you hear the sound as it comes off the bat, you can’t believe it.”

Arizona 9, Pittsburgh 2--Devon White and Matt Williams homered, and Willie Blair got his first victory of the season as the Diamondbacks defeated the Pirates at Phoenix.

Blair (1-7), who signed a three-year, $11.5-million free-agent contract in the off-season, gave up seven hits and two runs over seven innings before Russ Springer and Gregg Olson finished.

“I think out of the 10 starts, I’ve probably given us a chance to win at least six or seven of them,” Blair said. “Things just hadn’t worked out until today. Hopefully, now I can start a little streak on the positive side.”

White hit a two-run homer in the first and added three singles for his third four-hit game of the season. “I’m hitting the ball well, and even the balls I don’t hit hard, they’re finding the holes,” he said.

Jon Lieber (1-6) gave up 10 hits and five runs in six innings for Pittsburgh.

Colorado 8, Milwaukee 5--Vinny Castilla hit a two-run homer and the Rockies defeated the Brewers for their second consecutive win after losing six in a row.

Starters Jeff Juden of Milwaukee and Pedro Astacio of Colorado were ejected in the fifth inning after Juden hit Astacio in the back with a pitch at Denver. Astacio threatened Juden with his bat and both benches emptied, but there was no fighting.

Dante Bichette singled to lead off the fifth, and Castilla’s 424-foot homer to right-center field off Juden broke a 5-5 tie.

Four batters later, Juden (5-2) and Astacio (4-5) were ejected by home-plate umpire Charlie Williams.