Stottlemyre Halts Florida Shy Of .500

National League

Against Todd Stottlemyre, the streaking Florida Marlins struck out.

Stottlemyre ended Florida’s nine-game winning streak Wednesday night, pitching a four-hitter with 13 strikeouts as the St. Louis Cardinals won 6-0 in Miami.

“That club has been hot,” said Stottlemyre (3-2). “They’ve been scoring a lot of timely runs, so I didn’t relax on one pitch. I just tried to go as hard as I could on every pitch.”

The Marlins, closing out their homestand at 9-1, squandered a chance to reach .500 for the first time in 1996. Their winning streak was a franchise record and the longest in the majors this season.

Astros 7, Cubs 5 Chicago

Derek Bell hit a two-run double and Sean Berry followed with a two-run homer to highlight a five-run third as Houston beat Chicago.

Bell, who entered the game batting .211 (8 for 38) on Houston’s current road trip, went 3 for 5 - including two doubles - to pace a 15-hit attack.

Pirates 3, Braves 0 Atlanta

Atlanta lost outfielder David Justice to a dislocated shoulder, then lost to Pittsburgh, which stopped its six-game losing streak.

The Braves were shut out just four times last year.

Justice, hitting .321 with six homers and 25 RBIs, dislocated his right shoulder in the second inning while swinging at a pitch and was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Phillies 7, Giants 6 (10) Philadelphia

Todd Zeile led off the bottom of the 10th with his second homer of the game to give Philadelphia a come-from-behind victory over San Francisco.

The Phillies had tied the score at 6 on Kevin Stocker’s two-run triple in the eighth against Rod Beck (0-1), who previously had nine saves in nine opportunities.

Dodgers 7, Expos 2 Los Angeles

Tom Candiotti pitched a four-hitter and Mike Busch, a late replacement in the lineup, hit a two-run single as Los Angeles beat Montreal.

Candiotti (2-3) walked one and struck out two in his first complete game this season. He retired 21 consecutive batters before David Segui’s two-out double in the ninth.

Padres 4, Mets 3 (10) San Diego

Major-league batting leader Tony Gwynn, given a chance by New York to win the game, came through with an RBI single with two outs in the 10th that gave San Diego a victory.

With runners on first and third, the Mets held a meeting on the mound and decided the pitch to Gwynn, a six-time N.L. batting champion, instead of walking him to pitch to Wally Joyner. Gwynn began the game as the top hitter in the league and Joyner was second.

Rockies-Reds, ppd., rain Cincinnati

Colorado’s worst road trip of the season (1-7) ended when its game with Cincinnati was postponed by rain.

Clearing the bases

Heavyweight boxer Eric “Butterbean” Esch visited the Dodgers clubhouse before the game. When introduced to Esch, Eric Karros drew laughs from players and reporters when he stuck out his hand and said, “Don’t hit me, man. How are you doing?” … The Pittsburgh-Atlanta game, broadcast on SportSouth, was carried live throughout Britain by London’s Channel 4. … When Colorado broke out of a 13-game losing streak in 1993 - the longest in franchise history - it went on to win six in a row.