Miami ? The Florida Marlins drew another big crowd Saturday night, and Mike Lowell didn’t make them wait long for something to cheer about.

Lowell hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and Carl Pavano held Houston without a hit until the sixth to help Florida beat the Astros, 5-2.

With 25,206 fans on hand, the Marlins surpassed their ticket sales for all of last season. Attendance in Miami is up 45 percent.

“When you get a big crowd, you want to have a good performance to keep them coming back,” Lowell said. “I think we’re doing that. We’re giving the fans their money’s worth.”

The crowd roared in the ninth as Braden Looper pitched a 1-2-3 inning to complete a three-hitter. The Marlins improved to 7-1 on their homestand with one game left.

Lowell reached the 30-homer milestone for the first time.

“Does it bring special privileges now?” the All-Star third baseman said jokingly. “I’m in uncharted waters this whole year. It feels great.”

Teammate Alex Gonzalez hit his 13th homer in the second. Ivan Rodriguez had three hits, drove in a run, stole a base and scored once.

The Astros lost to Florida for the first time in five meetings this season.

Reds 5, Giants 4

Cincinnati — Pinch-hitter Barry Larkin drew a bases-loaded walk that broke a seventh-inning tie and Cincinnati sent San Francisco to its third straight defeat.

Barry Bonds hit his 647th career homer. It was Bonds’ first homer at Great American Ball Park, completing his collection.

Florida pitcher Carl Pavano wheels and deals against Houston. The Marlins starter held the Astros hitless until the sixth inning of Florida's 5-2 victory Saturday in Miami.

Bonds has homered in each of the 31 ballparks he has played in. He had great success at the Reds’ old place — his 31 homers at Cinergy Field were the most by any opponent.

The Reds are 5-1 since Monday, when they fired manager Bob Boone and general manager Jim Bowden.

Diamondbacks 4, Cubs 3

Chicago — Alex Cintron hit a tying homer and Raul Mondesi delivered an RBI double later in the ninth inning, rallying Arizona. The Diamondbacks snapped a six-game losing streak and ended a team-record 10-game road losing streak.

Pirates 1, Rockies 0

Pittsburgh — Brian Meadows took Jeff Suppan’s spot in the rotation and pitched seven shutout innings, leading Pittsburgh. Abraham Nunez, whose son, Abraham Jr., was born 21/2 hours before the game, drove in the only run with a second-inning groundout.

Cardinals 10, Mets 9

New York — Rookie Bo Hart hit his first career grand slam, Albert Pujols had his 30th homer, and St. Louis withstood New York’s five-run rally in the ninth inning to hold off the Mets. Brett Tomko (7-7) went 52/3 innings for the win. Jae Seo (5-8) lost his sixth straight decision.

Braves 6, Dodgers 4

Atlanta — Chipper Jones drove in three runs, Mike Hampton (8-5) won his fifth in a row, and Atlanta defeated slumping Los Angeles.

Expos 7, Brewers 1

Montreal — Javier Vazquez fanned 11 to pass 1,000 career strikeouts, and also hit a two-run single to lead Montreal. With a crowd of 22,280 on hand as the Expos honored new Hall of Famer Gary Carter, Vazquez (9-7) allowed only an unearned run in his second complete game of the season.

Padres 6-4, Phillies 4-10

Philadelphia — Placido Polanco and Bobby Abreu drove in three runs apiece, leading Philadelphia in the nightcap for a doubleheader split. Jake Peavy allowed two hits over seven shutout innings as San Diego won 6-4 in the opener. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the NL wild card-leading Phillies.