After Scare, Lowell Still a Big Hit

Mike Lowell was back to dealing with issues he can handle.

A day after returning from a weekend of medical examinations as part of a tumor scare, Lowell went two for three with two runs batted in, leading the Florida Marlins to a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Expos on Monday night at Miami.

Lowell, who had surgery in 1999 for testicular cancer, felt soreness in his groin the last three weeks and doctors told him Friday that a golf ball-sized mass above his left femur might be a tumor.

But the next day, specialists in Gainesville, Fla., determined it was not a tumor or cancerous, and instead was fibrous dysplasia, a benign condition of the bone.

Lowell said getting into the batter’s box “felt like I was back in the normal world, not in the worries that I was in the last few days.”

In his first at-bat, Lowell singled home Juan Pierre. He also drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth.

“He was a big lift to our ballclub, as soon as he walked in our clubhouse you could see it in the atmosphere and the attitude. It was completely upbeat,” Marlin Manager Jack McKeon said. “They were happy to see him, and as soon as he got that first hit, the guys in the dugout were hollering ‘Mike’s back, Mike’s back.’”

Josh Beckett (4-4) scattered seven singles over seven innings, striking out seven and walking one.

Expo outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, who was activated from the disabled list after sitting out 39 games, had two singles in his return to the lineup.

A pair of hitting streaks ended for Expo players. Jose Vidro was 0 for 2 with a walk and a sacrifice bunt to snap his 13-game string and Orlando Cabrera was 0 for 4 to end his 15-game streak.

Ugueth Urbina pitched a scoreless eighth for Florida. The Expos scored in the ninth on Brad Wilkerson’s triple and Wil Cordero’s groundout.

New York 8, Philadelphia 6 -- Aaron Heilman earned his first major league victory and John Franco picked up his first save since 2001 to lead the Mets at Philadelphia.

Cliff Floyd, Jason Phillips and Joe McEwing homered as the Mets ended a four-game losing streak.

Heilman (1-2) gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings in his fifth big league start. The rookie right-hander, the 18th overall pick in the 2001 amateur draft, had given up 13 runs in his previous two outings.

Franco got the final three outs for his first save since June 19, 2001.

Chicago 15, Atlanta 6 -- Sammy Sosa homered and drove in four runs, Moises Alou had four hits and five RBIs and the Cubs routed the Braves at Atlanta.

Tom Goodwin matched a career high with five hits and scored four times and Alex Gonzalez homered and drove in three runs. The Cubs finished with a season-high 21 hits.

Sosa homered for the 10th time since July 1 as the Cubs won their third in a row. They ended the Braves’ five-game winning streak and handed Atlanta only its second loss in 15 games.

Cincinnati 11, Milwaukee 2 -- Jose Acevedo pitched seven shutout innings as a fill-in starter and Russell Branyan had a pinch-hit grand slam to lead the Reds at Cincinnati.

The Reds ended a seven-game losing streak at home by beating the one team they’ve handled easily. They’ve won their last five against Milwaukee, going 7-3 this season against the Brewers.

Acevedo (1-0) held the Brewers to two hits and struck out six, throwing 102 pitches in equaling the longest outing of his career.

Pittsburgh 5, Houston 3 -- Matt Stairs homered and drove in two runs and the Pirates jumped on Astro starter Tim Redding for five runs in the first three innings at Pittsburgh.

The Pirates, the only team to beat the Astros in their last 15 games, ended Houston’s five-game winning streak. Pittsburgh has won four straight at home against the Astros.

The Astros had won 10 of 11, matching Atlanta for the NL’s best pace over that span.

San Diego 5, St. Louis 4 -- Miguel Ojeda homered in the 10th inning to lead the Padres over the Cardinals at San Diego.