Houston ? Greg Maddux scrunched up his face in disgust as he watched yet another of his pitches land in the outfield seats.

Maybe the Houston Astros weren’t in a slump after all.

Jeff Bagwell, Jeff Kent and Lance Berkman each homered off Maddux, and the Astros overcame the early loss of Andy Pettitte to complete a two-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs with a 7-3 victory Wednesday night.

Chicago was swept for the first time this season, and it was the first time the Astros did it against their NL Central rivals since May 2001.

“I think I pitched (terrible),” Maddux said. “I made some mistakes and they took advantage of it.”

Pettitte was pained in a different way, leaving in the fourth inning with discomfort in his left forearm, and the team said he was day-to-day.

Pettitte also hurt himself in his debut with the Astros on April 6 and missed the next three weeks with a strained left elbow. After Wednesday night’s game, Pettitte said the pain in his forearm had subsided but he wasn’t sure exactly what was wrong.

“We’re just two months into the season and it already seems like the longest season of my life,” Pettitte said. “I’m frustrated. It’s aggravating and disappointing.”

Imagine how the Cubs must feel. They came into Houston facing a team mired in a five-game losing streak. Now they head back to Chicago with two lopsided losses to a division rival, dropping them into third place.

“We just have to go back to the drawing board and come up with something different,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. “We’re trying to come up with some solutions.”

The Astros’ offensive onslaught overshadowed a highly touted pitching duel against Pettitte and Maddux — a couple of playoff-tested offseason acquisitions — that never really materialized.

Pirates 11, Cardinals 8

St. Louis — Daryle Ward hit for the cycle and tied his career best with six RBIs in Pittsburgh’s victory over St. Louis. Jack Wilson was 4-for-6, drove in a run and scored three times while raising his average to .363 for the Pirates, who have won six of their last seven on the road.

Giants 4, D’backs 3

San Francisco — Barry Bonds hit his second homer in two days, Pedro Feliz hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the eighth and San Francisco rallied to beat Arizona. Bonds hit a 2-2 pitch from Casey Daigle to dead center for his 12th home run of the year and career No. 670 leading off the fourth inning to give San Francisco a 2-1 lead — but the Giants couldn’t hold it for starter Kirk Rueter again.

Marlins 3, Reds 0

Cincinnati — Tommy Phelps limited hot-hitting Cincinnati to one double over seven innings, leading Florida a victory that ended the Reds’ winning streak at seven games. The Reds were held to one hit for the first time since Sept. 26, 2001, when Philadelphia’s Randy Wolf beat them out 8-0. Hee Seop Choi hit his fourth homer in his last five games against the Reds, who lead the NL Central.

Rockies 13, Padres 6

Denver — Vinny Castilla homered twice and drove in four runs, helping Colorado end a six-game losing streak. Castilla hit homers in first and eighth innings, increasing his season total to 14.

Phillies 7, Mets 4

New York — First baseman Mike Piazza’s throwing error set up Jim Thome’s tiebreaking double, and Philadelphia scored six runs in the seventh inning to beat New York. Mike Lieberthal got the Phillies going with an RBI double, sparking their rally from a 3-0 deficit. Philadelphia snapped New York’s four-game winning streak and remained in a virtual tie with Florida in the NL East.

Brewers 2, Dodgers 1, 12 innings

Milwaukee — Third baseman Adrian Beltre’s throwing error on Keith Ginter’s sacrifice bunt in the 12th inning allowed Geoff Jenkins to score the winning run for Milwauke. Ginter, who fouled out to Beltre with Jenkins on third in the 10th, laid down a perfect bunt with runners at first and second and nobody out. Beltre fielded it and overthrew first base, allowing Jenkins, who led off with an infield single, to score.

Braves 6, Expos 1

Montreal — Russ Ortiz threw a five-hitter for his first complete game of the season and eighth of his career, leading Atlanta over Montreal. Ortiz (5-4) allowed one run in winning his second straight start.