Castillo streak hits 33

Marlins' standout ties record for second basemen

? With two hits, an RBI and a run scored, Luis Castillo beat the Cleveland Indians and tied Rogers Hornsby.

“Who?” Castillo said.

Texas' Rafael Palmeiro, right, is welcomed by teammate Alex Rodriguez after his fifth-inning home run. The Rangers won, 7-4, in 10 innings Wednesday at Wrigley Field.

Even though his grasp on baseball history is shaky, he’s creating some himself. Castillo matched Hornsby’s 80-year-old record for the longest hitting streak by a second baseman, going 2-for-4 to make it 33 games in a row Wednesday night as the Florida Marlins beat Cleveland, 2-1.

Castillo had a hand in both Florida runs. He was 0-for-2 before beating out a dribbler to the pitcher in the sixth inning, and he scored the tying run on Cliff Floyd’s single.

His one-out single to right in the seventh drove in Preston Wilson.

“Luis took care of his hit,” manager Jeff Torborg said. “I was thinking about the game. Then Luis took care of that too.”

Castillo tied four players at 33 games in a row Hornsby of St. Louis in 1922, Heinie Manush of Washington in 1933, Hal Chase of the New York Yankees in 1907 and George Davis of the New York Giants in 1893.

Only 13 players have had a longer streak, including just four since 1949.

“Tomorrow is a new day,” Castillo said. “Four more at-bats. I start over.”

The speedy leadoff hitter extended the streak when he topped a 1-0 pitch that pitcher Danys Baez fielded on the second hop between the mound and plate. Baez’s hurried throw sailed over first baseman Jim Thome, and Castillo continued to second.

Official scorer Ron Jernick immediately credited Castillo with a hit and charged Baez with an error for allowing the runner to advance. TV replays confirmed the call, showing that Castillo reached first as the throw sailed past.

“I don’t think his feet hit the ground,” teammate Derrek Lee said. “He wanted it bad.”

Castillo raised his average to .401 during the streak and .338 this season. The Dominican is one game from matching Benito Santiago’s record for the longest hitting streak by a Latin player, set in 1987.

Rangers 7, Cubs 4 (10)

Chicago Cubs reliever Jeff Fassero blamed his sweaty hand for making him lose his grip on the ball and the game. Fassero threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded to let the go-ahead run score and the Texas Rangers won for the first time in extra-innings this season, beating Chicago in 10 innings Wednesday.

Phillies 4, White Sox 3

Philadelphia Pinch-hitter Jason Michaels’ RBI single in the ninth inning led Philadelphia over the Chicago. The Phillies scored three times in the ninth to snap a two-game losing streak. Chicago had won two straight.

Giants 8, Devil Rays 0

San Francisco Jason Schmidt struck out 11 batters in his first career shutout as San Francisco beat Tampa Bay without retaliating for the pitch thrown behind Barry Bonds a night earlier.

Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 2

Los Angeles Shawn Green hit a three-run homer and pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii drove in the first two runs of his major league career as Los Angeles beat Toronto. Ishii (11-2) tied Atlanta’s Tom Glavine for second-most wins in the NL, behind Curt Schilling’s 12.

Orioles 6, D’backs 1

Phoenix Tony Batista hit a two-run homer and Gary Matthews Jr. had a two-run triple as Baltimore spoiled Curt Schilling’s bid for his 13th win. Schilling (12-3) has lost consecutive decisions for the first time in 31 regular-season starts since last July 8.

Padres 3, Red Sox 2

San Diego Rookie Julius Matos doubled in the go-ahead run with one out in the seventh inning and Boston starter Frank Castillo was ejected a few moments later as San Diego beat the Red Sox. Castillo appeared to bump third base umpire Bill Welke before he was restrained by teammates.

Braves 4, Tigers 1

Atlanta Kevin Millwood pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning and Atlanta broke its first two-game losing streak in more than a month. Chipper Jones had two doubles and an RBI, breaking out of a 1-for-13 skid, and Julio Franco and Gary Sheffield hit consecutive solo homers in the eighth.

Mariners 2, Reds 0

Cincinnati Bret Boone and Mike Cameron homered, and Seattle rode another impressive start by Freddy Garcia to a victory over Cincinnati.

Cardinals 6, Angels 2

St. Louis As they began paying tribute to broadcaster Jack Buck, the St. Louis Cardinals won their fifth straight game, beating Anaheim on Placido Polanco’s two home runs. The Cardinals extended their NL Central lead to two games over the Reds a day after the death of Buck, who was honored in a pregame ceremony and whose closed casket will be at home plate for a visitation on Thursday.

Mets 4, Twins 2

New York Al Leiter pitched into the eighth inning and sparked a sluggish Mets offense with two surprising hits, leading New York over Minnesota. Tony Tarasco had a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth, and Mike Piazza added an RBI single as the Mets snapped Minnesota’s three-game winning streak.

Athletics 3, Pirates 2 (10)

Pittsburgh John Mabry’s single in the 10th inning drove in Oakland’s first run since Miguel Tejada’s two-run homer in the first, and the Athletics again the best team in interleague play beat Pittsburgh. Oakland won for the 11th time in 12 games and the 15th time in 18 games. The Athletics are 10-1 against the NL this season and 60-37 since interleague play began in 1997.