Cubs’ Bere Helps His Own Cause

Jason Bere stood on second base after his second hit of the third inning, and all he could think about was getting back on the mound.

“As a pitcher, you can’t let your mind sway,” said Bere, who shut down the Mets for seven innings and drove in two runs with two hits in a seven-run third to lead the visiting Chicago Cubs to a 13-4 rout of New York Thursday night.

“Hitting is definitely separated from your pitching,” he said. “You need to bear down and remember that you’re there to get people out.”

Bere (6-4), 0-2 with a 9.24 earned-run average in three previous career games against the Mets, gave up one run and four hits in an easy victory. He struck out five and walked two.

Ron Coomer went four for five with a home run and four runs batted in, and Ricky Gutierrez hit a two-run homer for the National League Central-leading Cubs, who need one victory in their next three games to reach 50 before the All-Star break for the first time since 1977.

Houston 5, Arizona 1--Rookie Roy Oswalt shut down the Diamondbacks for eight innings to win his fifth decision in a row and Lance Berkman hit a two-run home run to power the Astros at Houston.

Oswalt (7-1), one of the stars of the gold-medal U.S. Olympic team in Sydney last year, improved to 5-0 in six starts since joining Houston’s rotation June 2.

He allowed seven hits in eight innings with Arizona’s only run coming on Luis Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. Oswalt walked one and struck out eight.

The Astros have won nine of 12 games and remain four games behind the Cubs in the NL Central.

Atlanta 9, Philadelphia 5--Brian Jordan hit two home runs to help Greg Maddux win his sixth consecutive decision as the Braves won at Atlanta.

The Braves won for the 10th time in 13 games, trimming the Phillies’ lead in the NL East to one game.

Maddux (10-5) gave up two runs and seven hits in six innings to earn his 250th career victory. The NL pitcher of the month in June, Maddux is 6-0 with a 2.23 earned-run average in his last seven starts.

Colorado 4, San Diego 0--Pedro Astacio matched his career best by throwing a three-hitter, and Todd Helton and Larry Walker each homered as the Rockies avoided a sweep at San Diego.

Astacio (6-9) allowed only four baserunners from the fifth inning on in earning his first shutout since May 1, 1997 at Philadelphia, when he was with the Dodgers.

St. Louis 5, Milwaukee 2--Darryl Kile allowed six hits and pitched into the ninth inning, while rookie Kerry Robinson had three hits as the Cardinals defeated the Brewers at Milwaukee.

Montreal 9, Florida 6--Geoff Blum homered from both sides of the plate and Lee Stevens hit a three-run shot to lead the Expos at Montreal.

Cincinnati 7, Pittsburgh 1--Aaron Boone had the second two-homer game of his career and Brady Clark added a three-run shot as the Reds, the worst home team in the majors, avoided a four-game sweep at Cincinnati.