Trachsel Finds His Way Back to Victory

On a night when the Atlanta Braves lost for the first time since trading John Rocker, New York Met Steve Trachsel showed he still knows how to win.

Trachsel picked up his first victory in nearly two months, giving up five hits in seven innings to defeat the Atlanta Braves, 3-1, Friday night at Atlanta.

“I’ve got to keep thinking that the way I’m throwing, the wins are going to come,” said Trachsel (2-9), a free agent signee who has been a major disappointment. “I just hope this is the first of quite a few.”

New York stopped the Braves’ season-high winning streak at seven, handing Atlanta its first loss since Rocker was traded a week earlier to the Cleveland Indians.

“You try to ride it as long as you can,” Keith Lockhart said. “We’ll try to start a new one tomorrow.”

The Braves also dropped a game behind Philadelphia in the National League East. The Phillies defeated Florida, 5-0.

“The only thing that matters is who’s in first place at the end,” Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox said.

Trachsel (2-9) won for the first time since April 30, ending a five-game losing streak that was interrupted by a three-week stint in the minor leagues.

Met catcher Mike Piazza suffered a hairline fracture to a bone in his left big toe after fouling a ball off his foot in the third inning. He is expected to miss seven to 10 days, though the Mets have no plans to put him on the disabled list.

Piazza is batting .269 with 20 home runs and 45 runs batted in.

“It’s a shame to be dealt a setback,” Piazza said. “I don’t plan to be Superman. I’ll just wait and see.”

Philadelphia 5, Florida 0--Bruce Chen gave up four hits in six innings and Scott Rolen hit a three-run home run to lift the Phillies back into first place in the NL East with the victory at Philadelphia.

Chen (4-4) struck out three and walked two to win his second consecutive start over Florida. He left after Kevin Millar doubled to start the seventh, but Jose Santiago retired the next three batters and pitched a scoreless eighth.

Rolen, who has struggled this season, gave the Phillies a 3-0 lead in the first by hitting just his eighth homer, among the fewest of any cleanup hitter in the majors.

A sacrifice fly by Jimmy Rollins made it 4-0 in the fourth and Doug Glanville hit his 11th homer for a 5-0 lead in the seventh.

The Phillies, who were in first place for 78 consecutive days, fell a half-game behind Atlanta on Wednesday after the Braves completed a three-game sweep at Veterans Stadium.

San Francisco 3, St. Louis 2--With Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire going hitless, Damon Minor singled in the winning run in the eighth inning at San Francisco.

Steve Kline (1-2) walked Bonds leading off the eighth, Mike Timlin relieved and, one out later, Armando Rios was intentionally walked. After Ramon Martinez flied out, Minor singled to shallow right field to score Bonds.

Felix Rodriguez (3-0) pitched the eighth and Robb Nen finished for his league-leading 23rd save in 27 chances.

Bonds, who has not homered in five games, needs one more to match Jimmie Foxx for 10th all time at 534. He hit his last homer against Kile last Saturday in St. Louis.

Chicago 7, Cincinnati 1--Jason Bere pitched his third career complete game and Sammy Sosa homered onto the spot of the Reds’ new ballpark as the Cubs emphatically ended their slump.

Gary Matthews Jr. also homered and Matt Stairs drove in three runs with two doubles in Chicago’s best offensive showing in nine days.

Bere (5-4) gave up eight hits, four by Dmitri Young, who ended the shutout with a solo home run in the ninth. The right-hander hadn’t pitched a complete game since 1995, before elbow problems and operations sidetracked his career.

Sosa’s solo shot cleared the concrete flood wall for the new ballpark under construction beyond the left-field wall, landing amid piles of dirt and metal bars about 438 feet away.

Arizona 5, Colorado 3--Randy Johnson struck out 10 in eight inningsfor the Diamondbacks at Phoenix.

Johnson (10-5) was lifted for pinch-hitter Dave Dellucci after the Diamondbacks got runners to second and third in the eighth inning.

Dellucci rewarded Manager Bob Brenly’s decision with a two-run single off reliever Gabe White that made it 5-1.

Milwaukee 6, Houston 1--Ben Sheets won his sixth consecutive decision, scattering four hits over seven innings at Milwaukee.

Sheets (10-4) has not lost since May 24. He gave up just one hit over the first five innings, a third-inning single by Astro pitcher Shane Reynolds. He struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.

Sheets’ only trouble came in the seventh, when Lance Berkman led off with his 22nd home run, extending his career-best hitting streak to 12. Moises Alou followed with a sharp single, but Sheets got out of the inning.

Montreal 12, Pittsburgh 3--Vladimir Guerrero drove in five runs and pitcher Troy Mattes had three hits--as many as he gave up in seven innings--as the Expos won at Montreal.

Guerrero drove in a run with a double off Joe Beimel (3-4) in the third and hit a three-run double to key a seven-run fifth.

Guerrero added a run-scoring single in the seventh as Montreal ended Pittsburgh’s four-game winning streak.