It’s A Family Affair For Ramon, Pedro
National League
Ramon Martinez beat his younger brother, Pedro, limiting Montreal to three hits in eight-plus innings as Los Angeles won 2-1 Monday night in Montreal.
Mike Piazza and Eric Karros hit consecutive home runs in the fourth inning for the Dodgers, who have won six of seven games and remain two games behind first-place San Diego in the N.L. West.
Pitching against his brother for the first time, Ramon Martinez (11-6) improved to 6-0 in his last seven starts against Montreal. He struck out seven and left after allowing his fifth walk.
The Martinez brothers became the sixth set of siblings to face each other in major league history. They joined Virgil and Jesse Barnes, Don and Pat Underwood, Gaylord and Jim Perry, Joe and Phil Niekro, and the Madduxes, Greg and Mike.
Marlins 10, Cardinals 9
St. Louis
Florida hit four home runs off Todd Stottlemyre in the first three innings and held on for its sixth straight win.
Gary Sheffield hit a two-run home run, his 37th, and Alex Arias had a three-run shot in the first for the Marlins, who have won six in a row.
The barrage was the fifth four-homer game in the Marlins’ short history, matching a team record to seemingly give Al Leiter (14-11) all the runs he would need.
Braves 5, Pirates 1
Pittsburgh
Greg Maddux limited Pittsburgh to four hits over seven shutout innings and Jermaine Dye and Chipper Jones homered, leading Atlanta past the Pirates.
Dye hit a long drive off a picnic table beyond the left-field wall in the seventh inning and Jones added a two-run shot in the eighth.
Reds 18, Rockies 7
Denver
Joe Oliver drove in a career-high seven runs with a grand slam and three-run double, and Cincinnati had season highs in hits and runs in disposing of Colorado.
Oliver made it 9-2 with a bases-loaded double in a six-run fifth inning and added his third career grand slam in a six-run sixth.
Padres 3, Mets 2
New York
Joey Hamilton allowed two runs on six hits in eight-plus innings as San Diego handed new New York manager Bobby Valentine his third straight loss since replacing Dallas Green.
Hamilton (13-7), who struck out eight and walked one, lost his shutout bid in the ninth on Roberto Petagine’s two-run single.
Cubs 4, Astros 3
Houston
Jose Hernandez broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run single as Chicago ended Houston starter Shane Reynolds’ five-game winning streak.
Reynolds (16-7) lost for the first time in nine starts dating to July 17. Cubs starter Jaime Navarro (13-9) pitched 6 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. Turk Wendell finished for his 15th save.
No pressure here
Cincinnati closer Jeff Brantley has had remarkable success pitching out of bases-loaded jams this season.
Seven times Brantley has pitched without margin for error, and seven times he has gotten an out. Sometimes, he gets more than one.
Twice, he has induced batters to hit into game-ending double plays, including Tuesday night against Colorado when the Reds won 4-3 and Brantley picked up his N.L.-leading 36th save.