Clemens Records Win No. 325

Roger Clemens got his 325th win to pass Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton and move into sole possession of 12th place on the career list, and the surging Houston Astros won their season-high seventh consecutive game, 8-6 over the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday night in Houston.

Jeff Bagwell, Carlos Beltran, Craig Biggio and Jose Vizcaino homered for Houston, which has won 10 of 11 and closed to within 2 1/2 games of the Chicago Cubs, the wild-card leader.

Clemens (15-4), who won his third straight start, took a 7-0 lead into the seventh inning but tired and wound up yielding four runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. He even had a run-scoring single in the sixth for his seventh RBI of the season.

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Philadelphia 8, New York 1 -- Gavin Floyd, the fourth overall pick in the 2001 draft, made the most of his major league debut, holding the Mets to four hits over seven innings at Philadelphia to send them to their seventh consecutive loss.

Pat Burrell helped Floyd by hitting a home run for the first time since Aug. 3, Jason Michaels homered twice and Placido Polanco also homered for the Phillies, who ended a three-game losing streak.

Floyd, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound right-hander, used a nasty curveball to keep the Mets off balance and never seemed rattled during his few jams.

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Atlanta 7, Montreal 1 -- Paul Byrd pitched eight strong innings and Eli Marrero homered at Montreal to help the Braves extend their winning streak to four games.

Byrd (6-4) held the Expos scoreless into the eighth before Maicer Izturis hit a leadoff triple and scored on pinch-hitter Ryan Church’s grounder.

Byrd, who returned June 19 from Tommy John surgery that caused him to sit out the 2003 season, gave up four hits, struck out five and walked two.

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Milwaukee 11, Cincinnati 4 -- Geoff Jenkins and Wes Helms each drove in three runs, and Scott Podsednik tied a career high with four hits to lead the Brewers at Milwaukee.

The Brewers, who scored their most runs since defeating the Angels, 12-2, on June 9, have won consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 8-10.

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San Diego 7, Colorado 6 -- Phil Nevin hit a three-run homer with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Padres rallied from a five-run deficit.

The Padres trailed, 5-4, before Nevin drove an 0-2 pitch from rookie Scott Dohmann about 420 feet into the Padre bullpen beyond the center-field fence for his 20th home run.

Mark Loretta singled with two out and Brian Giles walked to bring up Nevin.

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The Florida Marlins postponed today’s game against the Chicago Cubs as Hurricane Frances moved closer to Florida. The Marlins already had postponed Friday night’s game against the Cubs. No makeup dates have been scheduled. Marlin spokesman Steve Copses said the games will be made up in Miami. Both teams have an open date Monday, Sept. 20. Or the games may be played after the season ends Oct. 3. The Marlins trail the Cubs by 2 1/2 games in the wild-card race.

Padre left-hander Sterling Hitchcock, 33, announced his retirement after 12 years in the major leagues. Hitchcock, who had reconstructive surgery on his left elbow in 2001, was plagued by rib, groin and elbow injuries this season.