Maddux Cools Off Reds for 15th Win

Greg Maddux, coming off a 78-pitch, complete-game win in his last start, could throw only 75 pitches Sunday before he’d had enough at Cincinnati.

At that, though, he took care of some unfinished business.

Maddux gave up four hits and a run in helping Atlanta win, 3-2, for his eighth victory in a row and 15th in 18 decisions this season. And he caught up with the Reds, who went into the game as the only team in the National League with a winning record against him. He is now 11-11 lifetime against Cincinnati.

His last pitches were probably his best, and were probably motivated by self-preservation.

Maddux struck out Reggie Sanders and Willie Greene to end the sixth inning, then called it quits.

“He struck out the two and was rushing himself like crazy just to get them out, to get off the field,” Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox said.

And into the dugout.

The official game-time temperature was 94 degrees, but it was 152 degrees on the artificial-turf field, making the surface so hot the players couldn’t touch it and could feel it through their shoes.

It was 109 degrees in the Red dugout, which is shaded, and hotter than that in Atlanta’s, which was in the sun all day.

“It was hot, man,” Maddux said. “It was hard to stay focused because it was so hot. I know you’re supposed to let the other team worry about the weather and you worry about beating them, but it was easier said than done.

“It’s one of the few times it actually feels like a job.”

Houston 7, Montreal 2--Mike Hampton earned his fifth victory in July and Sean Berry homered and tripled for the Astros, who increased their winning streak to nine games by winning in Houston.

Hampton (8-7), won for the sixth time in seven decisions and pitched his fourth complete game in six starts. He scattered eight hits and struck out six without walking a batter.

Berry, whose 10th-inning homer gave Houston a 9-8 victory Saturday night, hit his eighth of the season in the second for a 1-0 lead, giving him homers in consecutive at-bats.

He also drove in two more runs with a triple to deep center field in the sixth. Berry has five hits and five RBIs in his last six at-bats.

San Diego 5, New York 3--Ken Caminiti’s bloop RBI double highlighted a three-run seventh inning for the Padres, who won their second in a row and 13th in their last 16 games by beating the Mets at home.

The rally compensated for shortstop Craig Shipley’s two-out error that led to three unearned runs in the sixth inning and gave the Mets a 3-1 lead.

Caminiti, hitting only .200 in his previous 35 at-bats, scored Quilvio Veras with the go-ahead run. Tony Gwynn had tied the score, 3-3, in the seventh with a sacrifice fly, giving him a personal-best 91 RBIs.

Pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney began the decisive rally with a single off reliever Cory Lidle and went to third base on a groundout. Veras followed with a single off Takashi Kashiwada (3-1). Sweeney then scored on Gwynn’s sacrifice fly.

Caminiti followed with a bloop double that scored Veras and put San Diego ahead, 4-3. After a walk to Steve Finley, Wally Joyner singled off Greg McMichael to score Caminiti. The hit was the 1,700th of Joyner’s career.

St. Louis 6, Florida 4--Delino DeShields insists he’s not swinging for the fences, the ball just keeps clearing them.

DeShields homered twice at St. Louis and got his 1,000th hit.

DeShields hit a two-run home run in the third inning off Kevin Brown (9-8), then connected for a solo shot off Rick Helling in the seventh. DeShields hit a game-winning, two-run homer off Helling Saturday.

“I’m not up there trying to hit home runs,” DeShields said. “I’m just trying to hit the ball hard. The ball is just going out of the park.”

Brown gave up five runs--four earned--and six hits in six innings. Since the All-Star break, Brown is 1-3 with a 5.54 earned-run average. His lone victory was a one-hitter July 16 against the Dodgers.

Florida’s Moises Alou also had two solo home runs.

Colorado 4, Chicago 0--After three no-decisions in which he had given up only five total runs but received only 10, John Thomson (3-6) took matters into his own hands, giving up six hits and striking out eight in eight scoreless innings of a win in Denver.

The victory completed a four-game sweep of the Cubs for Colorado, which has won five in a row.

The Rockies, who have swept six series this season, have two shutouts at Coors Field this year.

Quinton McCracken had three hits and Neifi Perez homered for Colorado.

Jeremi Gonzalez (7-4) struck out Larry Walker three times. Walker went 0 for 4 and dropped to .386, his lowest average since the first week of the season.

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BESTS OF THE DAY

BATTING

Player: D. DeShields

Team: St. Louis

Performance: 2 for 4, two homers, 1,000th hit, 3 RBIs

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Kevin Young

Team: Pittsburgh

Performance: 2 for 5, two homers, 4 RBIs in second game

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Moises Alou

Team: Florida

Performance: 2 for 4, two homers, 2 RBIs, 2 runs

Team’s Result: Loss

PITCHING

Player: John Thomson

Team: Colorado

Performance: 8 innings, 6 hits, no runs, 8 strikeouts

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Greg Maddux

Team: Atlanta

Performance: 6 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Mike Hampton

Team: Houston

Performance: 9 innings, 8 hits, two runs, 6 strikeouts

Team’s Result: Win