Tom Glavine became the second 12-game winner in the majors, surviving early trouble to pitch the Atlanta Braves to their sixth straight victory, 3-2 over the New York Mets Friday.
The Braves' winning streak is their second-longest of the year, surpassed only by a seven-game stretch in May, and they pushed their NL East lead to a season-high 10 1/2 games over the Mets.New York had four baserunners in the first but failed to score against Glavine (12-3). Benny Agbayani was caught stealing after a single, a crucial play when John Olerud doubled and Glavine walked two to load the bases with two outs.
Luis Lopez, inserted into the lineup when Edgardo Alfonzo was scratched because of a sore right knee, grounded back to Glavine to end the threat.
Glavine allowed eight hits in seven innings to join teammate Greg Maddux in the dozen-victory club. Glavine also had two hits, raising his average to .222.
The Mets threatened to tie it in the eighth against Dennis Martinez. Two infield singles around a bloop hit made it 3-2 before Brian McRae lined a single to center. Andruw Jones' powerful throw reached home on the fly, allowing catcher Eddie Perez to tag Carlos Baerga a split-second before the runner could touch home with a head-first slide.
CUBS 12, PIRATES 9: Tyler Houston homered twice and drove in five runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates for their fourth win in five games.
REDS 6, CARDINALS 3: Reggie Sanders homered and had three RBIs as Cincinnati beat St. Louis for its seventh victory in eight games.
Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire thrilled more than 10,000 fans who showed up for batting practice by clearing the wall on 13 of 21 swings, but got to swing the bat only once during the game and flew out. He is tied with Reggie Jackson for most homers before the All-Star break at 37.
PHILLIES 2, BREWERS 0: Curt Schilling added five strikeouts to his major league-leading total and Doug Glanville had a two-run single in the second as Philadelphia beat Milwaukee.
EXPOS 8, MARLINS 4: Shane Andrews homered and drove in three runs, and Orlando Cabrera also had three RBIs in Montreal's victory over Florida.
ASTROS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 5: Derek Bell hit a two-run homer and Bill Spiers had three hits as the Houston Astros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first game between the teams.
PADRES 4, ROCKIES 2: Ken Caminiti hit a go-ahead double with two out in the seventh and Steve Finley and Carlos Hernandez hit consecutive homers in the fifth as San Diego beat Colorado.
Mike De Jean (3-1) took the loss. He was 8-0 in 92 career appearances coming into the game, the longest string of games without a loss to open a career in big league history.
GIANTS 6, DODGERS 3: J.T. Snow hit a three-run homer, Charlie Hayes added a two-run shot and Orel Hershiser pitched seven strong innings in his first start against his former team as San Francisco beat Los Angeles.