Suppan pitches Cards past Marlins

St. Louis claims 1-0 victory, extends winning streak to seven games

? If the St. Louis Cardinals could just get the offense going, they’d really be tough to beat.

For the second night in a row, St. Louis won without much production from its vaunted lineup. Jeff Suppan allowed only two hits in eight-plus innings, and the Cardinals extended their winning streak to seven games Wednesday night by beating the Florida Marlins, 1-0.

Edgar Renteria singled home the lone run for the Cardinals, who improved to 20-5 since the All-Star break. They’ve won the first two games in their series with the Marlins by a combined score of 3-1.

Suppan (10-6) walked two, struck out two, threw 100 pitches and benefited from outstanding glove work, especially by third baseman Scott Rolen.

“I was able to keep the goose eggs going,” Suppan said. “I tried to throw strikes and use the defense.”

Carl Pavano (12-5) was almost as good, allowing one run and six hits in eight innings. The Marlins have given up eight hits in two games against the Cardinals, who lead the NL in hitting and added three-time batting champion Larry Walker last week.

St. Louis’ pitchers have been even better. They limited Florida to one run Tuesday, and Suppan took a no-hitter into the sixth.

“I was aware I was throwing one,” he said. “There was a guy in the front row who kept telling me every time I went out there.”

Astros 5, Mets 4, 10 innings

New York — Brad Ausmus’ RBI single in the 10th inning sent Houston over the New York. Morgan Ensberg had three hits for the Astros, who won for only the second time in seven games.

The teams played through a steady rain until a 55-minute delay in the sixth. Lightning flashes throughout the early innings drew gasps from a sparse crowd.

Playing without starting pitcher Tom Glavine, slugger Mike Piazza (knee) and shortstop Kaz Matsui (back), the injury-depleted Mets lost for the fourth time in five games. Piazza was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 7, because of inflammation in his left knee.

Cubs 5, Padres 1

Chicago — Carlos Zambrano pitched eight strong innings in his return from a suspension and Corey Patterson homered to lead Chicago over San Diego. Zambrano, suspended five games for hitting St. Louis’ Jim Edmonds with a pitch last month, allowed one run and five hits and walked one and struck out six. The victory puts the Cubs two games ahead of the Padres for the lead in the NL wild-card chase.

Braves 10, Brewers 3

Atlanta — Adam LaRoche hit two home runs and J.D. Drew added a solo shot, leading Mike Hampton and Atlanta past Milwaukee. It was the first career two-homer game for LaRoche. Even without Chipper Jones, who sat out nursing a bruised right hand, Atlanta bounced back from a 3-2 loss in 10 innings a night earlier to win for the 15th time in 18 games. Charles Thomas had two hits for the Braves, including a two-run single after a brief power outage in the fifth inning.

Dodgers 11, Reds 1

Cincinnati — After finding out that Ken Griffey Jr. would miss the rest of the season, Cincinnati was shut down by Jeff Weaver and Los Angeles.

Pirates 8, Giants 6, 11 innings

Pittsburgh — Craig Wilson hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning and Pittsburgh beat San Francisco for its fourth straight victory. Ray Durham’s two-run homer in the ninth tied it for San Francisco. Barry Bonds was given an intentional walk to lead off the 10th, but the Giants could not score after loading the bases.

Expos 7, D’backs 3

Montreal — Brian Schneider’s grand slam capped Montreal’s six-run outburst in the fourth inning, and the Expos extended Arizona’s losing streak to six. John Patterson, acquired from Arizona in March, took a shutout into the seventh and won for the first time in more than four months.

Phillies 15, Rockies 4

Philadelphia — Pitcher Randy Wolf homered twice, giving him three this season, and threw seven solid innings to lead Philadelphia over Colorado. Wolf, who has four career homers, went 3-for-3 and scored three runs in becoming the first major-league pitcher to homer twice in a game since the Phillies’ Robert Person did it on June 2, 2002, against Montreal.