Clemens Is First 10-Game Winner

Roger Clemens got back on track, and Brad Lidge looked good as a closer.

Clemens became the first 10-game winner in the majors, and Morgan Ensberg hit a go-ahead single in the seventh inning, leading the Astros to a 3-2 victory Thursday night over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Houston.

Clemens (10-2) earned his 320th win, moving within four of Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton for 12th place on the career list. The Rocket gave up two runs -- one earned -- and four hits in seven innings. He also had four strikeouts, giving him 4,200 for his career, second only to Ryan’s 5,714.

“Those first nine wins weren’t as easy as they looked to some people,” Clemens said. “Tonight wasn’t easy, either. It’s a long road, and sometimes you just try to stay the course.”

Ensberg was two for three with the tiebreaking single and scored twice, helping Houston move back into fourth place in the NL Central for the first time in nearly two weeks.

“We have something to build on here,” Astro Manager Jimy Williams said, “and hopefully it will continue.”

Dan Miceli pitched a scoreless eighth to set up Lidge. Lidge got Craig Wilson to pop up to center, then struck out Rob Mackowiak and Jason Bay to earn his third save of the season.

Atlanta 9, Florida 4 -- Chipper Jones, J.D. Drew and Nick Green drove in two runs apiece at Miami, helping the Braves avoid their first series sweep of the season.

Drew doubled twice and tripled as Atlanta ended a three-game losing streak. The Braves roughed up Dontrelle Willis and won for only the second time in eight games. Willis (6-5), last year’s NL rookie of the year, gave up seven hits and six runs in four innings.

Mike Hampton (2-7) settled down after a shaky first inning and won for the first time in five starts.

St. Louis 4, Chicago 0 -- Chris Carpenter threw eight sharp innings and had two hits and a run batted in, leading the Cardinals at St. Louis.

The Cardinals scored all their runs in the fourth with the help of an error by shortstop Rey Ordonez. Tony Womack had three hits and an RBI, and Hector Luna and Mike Matheny drove in a run apiece.

Carpenter (8-2) struck out nine, tying his season best.

Montreal 3, Philadelphia 2 -- Tony Armas Jr. pitched six scoreless innings for his first win in 14 months, and Tony Batista hit a two-run homer, leading the Expos at Montreal.

Armas (1-2) had season-ending shoulder surgery in May 2003 and sat out the first two months of this season while recovering from a strained right rotator cuff. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out seven.

Montreal left fielder Brad Wilkerson threw out Jim Thome -- the potential tying run -- on a close play at the plate to end the eighth.

Cincinnati 6, New York 2 -- Mike Cameron lost Ken Griffey Jr.’s bases-loaded fly ball in the sun, allowing three runs to score in a five-run seventh inning as the Reds rallied at New York.

Cincinnati’s Cory Lidle (5-5) pitched eight innings, allowing nine hits and zero walks while striking out seven.

Colorado 3, Milwaukee 0 -- Mark Sweeney hit a two-run homer to back Aaron Cook, and the Rockies won at Milwaukee.

The Rockies have won consecutive road games after losing eight in a row away from Coors Field. Overall, the Rockies have won three consecutive series for the first time since May 7-16, 2002.

Cook (2-2) won for the first time in four starts, giving up eight hits in eight innings. He had been 0-2 in his previous three starts. Ben Sheets (6-5) struck out 10, reaching double digits for the fourth time this season.

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10 and Counting

Houston’s Roger Clemens became the National League’s first 10-game winner Thursday:

*--* Pitcher Team Rec. Roger Clemens Houston 10-2 Eric Milton Philadelphia 9-2 Jason Schmidt San Francisco 9-2 Randy Johnson Arizona 9-5 Chris Carpenter St. Louis 8-2 Carl Pavano Florida 8-2 Carlos Zambrano Chicago 8-2 Shawn Estes Colorado 8-3 Kazuhisa Ishii Dodgers 8-3 Brian Lawrence San Diego 8-5

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