Rested Galarraga Shows No Rust

Andres Galarraga, whose career was reborn in Denver eight years ago, enjoyed another resurrection on Wednesday at Coors Field.

Galarraga, who had languished on the bench for most of the season with the Texas Rangers, went three for five with two runs batted in in his San Francisco Giant debut, helping his new team defeat the Colorado Rockies, 9-3, and end a four-game losing streak.

“I hadn’t played much,” said Galarraga, traded to the Giants on Tuesday. “The first half of the season wasn’t good for me. Really, the last two months I was getting rusty. The last two weeks were the worst.

“After the poor first half, I wanted to prove I could still play. I can contribute here. It helps when you go to a contender. As soon as I heard of the trade, it brought out something from inside my body. I was rejuvenated to start playing for something.”

Galarraga, 40, said he wants to play “a couple more years.”

He called his Giant debut “an important game for me. It was important to come right in and help the team win. This game helped me fit in with the team quickly.”

Pedro Feliz, Marvin Benard and Calvin Murray all hit solo homers in the sixth for the Giants, who also got a solo shot from Shawon Dunston in the seventh. Jeff Kent had two runs batted in.

Ryan Jensen (1-2) earned his first major league victory, giving up three runs--two earned--and six hits in six innings.

Barry Bonds, who did not start, flied out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth. He has 42 homers but hasn’t homered in seven games.

Arizona 9, San Diego 6--Luis Gonzalez hit his 41st home run and became the first player in the majors to top 100 RBIs in leading the Diamondbacks at Phoenix.

Gonzalez also doubled and drove in three runs to raise his RBI total to 102.

His two-run homer against reliever Jose Nunez in the seventh left him only one behind Barry Bonds for the major league home run lead.

The Diamondbacks boosted their lead in the National League West to 1 1/2 games over the Dodgers.

New York 5, Florida 2--Mike Piazza got three hits at Miami and the Mets overcame a team-record 16 runners left on base.

The Mets left the bases loaded in the fifth and seventh innings, and stranded at least one runner in all but one inning. The previous club mark for a nine-inning game was 15, done 13 times.

Glendon Rusch (6-6), who lost to the Marlins last Thursday, limited them to six hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings.

St. Louis 10, Houston 2--Mark McGwire hit his 568th home run and Dustin Hermanson tied a career high with nine strikeouts to lead the Cardinals at St. Louis.

With the score tied, 2-2, the Cardinals scored three unearned runs because of errors by catcher Tony Eusebio and second baseman Julio Lugo.

McGwire was in a one-for-14 slide before hitting a two-run homer in the eighth against Ron Villone. McGwire, batting .198 with 14 homers, moved five behind Harmon Killebrew for fifth place on the all-time list.

Chicago 6, Pittsburgh 5--Jon Lieber pitched seven effective innings for his career-high 13th victory and Joe Girardi and Miguel Cairo each had two RBIs at Chicago to help the Cubs to their third consecutive victory.

Lieber (13-5) improved to 6-0 lifetime against his former club, and the National League Central-leading Cubs moved four games ahead of the Astros.

Atlanta 11, Cincinnati 3--Kevin Millwood got his first victory since April 25 and Paul Bako had a career-high four RBIs for the Braves at Atlanta.

Millwood (2-4), making his second start since a 73-day stretch on the disabled list caused by an inflamed right shoulder, gave up two runs and two hits in six innings but both runs were unearned. He walked five.

Philadelphia 8, Montreal 4--Brian Hunter drove in three runs and Bobby Abreu had three hits to lead the Phillies at Philadelphia.

The Phillies had 13 hits, giving them 27 in two games since Manager Larry Bowa shook up his lineup.