NL Roundup Mets can't touch Pirates' Duke

Pirates rookie Zach Duke won his sixth straight decision, limitingthe Mets to two hits in seven innings of a 5-0 victory Thursday nightin New York.

Pitching with the poise of a veteran, the 22-year-old left-handerallowed just four baserunners. He struck out five and walked one.

Duke (6-0) retired the first 11 batters, mixing speeds and keepingthe hitters off balance.

New York's first baserunner came with two outs in the fourthinning, when right fielder Nate McLouth dropped Carlos Beltran'sroutine fly ball. The mistake hardly disturbed Duke, who struck outcleanup hitter Cliff Floyd with a 75 mph curveball to end the inning.

By then, the Pirates had a 4-0 lead on a pair of RBI doubles byJose Castillo and a two-run homer by Brad Eldred against VictorZambrano (6-10).

BREWERS 5, ASTROS 2: Milwaukee got to Roger Clemens for four runsin the seventh inning and rallied to beat host Houston.

Clemens (11-5) gave up a season-high five earned runs and lost forthe first time since July 17. He had been 4-0 in five starts sincethen.

PHILLIES 2-4, NATIONALS 1-5: Carlos Baerga's go-ahead single inthe eighth inning lifted visiting Washington over Philadelphia andgave the Nationals a split of the day-night doubleheader.

In the opener, Vicente Padilla kept up his recent run ofoutstanding starts, and Bobby Abreu delivered a key two-RBI double inPhiladelphia's victory.

MARLINS 2, PADRES 0: Josh Beckett pitched seven innings and had anRBI single to help Florida hand visiting San Diego its secondstraight shutout.

Beckett (12-6) allowed four hits, two walks and struck out six inwinning his fourth straight decision.

DIAMONDBACKS 9, CARDINALS 2: Claudio Vargas worked six solidinnings, and Luis Gonzalez homered twice for visiting Arizona.

Cardinals pitcher Jason Marquis had an infield hit and an RBIdouble his first two at-bats, giving him six straight hits, beforeflying out in the seventh. He leads all pitchers with 25 hits.

REDS 4, GIANTS 2: Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 530th career home run,and Felipe Lopez also connected for host Cincinnati.

Griffey followed Rich Aurilia's first-inning walk with his 29thhomer of the season, a two-run shot to center field. He has four homeruns during a five-game hitting streak.

DODGERS 7, BRAVES 4: Jeff Weaver won his fourth straight decision,and Milton Bradley hit a three-run homer for visiting Los Angeles.

AP