Denver ? Craig Biggio’s arm guard is headed to the Hall of Fame.

The way Houston Astros manager Phil Garner sees it, the player won’t be far behind.

Biggio set the modern record for being hit by pitches and added a solo homer, helping Roy Oswalt win his fourth straight start in Houston’s 7-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

“When you look at where he stands (with) offensive numbers, he’s pretty impressive,” Garner said. “The guys that are ahead of him are baseball icons that live forever. The guys that he’s passed and he continues to pass are baseball icons, too. So he’s in high cotton he deserves to be there.”

Biggio was hit on the left elbow in the fourth inning by Byung-Hyun Kim, breaking Don Baylor’s post-1900 record of 267 times hit by pitches. Biggio calmly turned and trotted to first as he had so many other times, but this time he pointed to the ball and asked the ball boy to send it back to the Astros’ dugout as a keepsake for his years of pain.

“Anybody that’s been hit that many times, you have no understanding about how many times that is and how painful it is over the years,” said Biggio, who had two hits to move into 52nd place with 2,718.

Many of the fans at Coors Field gave Biggio a standing ovation, and Cooperstown asked for his arm guard. As for the ball, it’s headed home to his kids.

“My kids collect a bunch of stuff, it’s amazing,” Biggio said. “We have a rotation going on, I don’t know if it’s my daughter’s or my oldest boy’s – somebody is going to get it. They treat everything with respect, they respect the game.”

Baylor, now a Seattle Mariners coach, complimented Biggio.

“It was an honor to watch him play,” Baylor said before the Mariners played Oakland. “I’ve always liked his style. When he became a free agent, I tried to lure him to Colorado.”

He didn’t mind Biggio’s breaking the record wearing protective gear.

“It’s all right. I had a lot of close calls,” Baylor said. “Body parts are not going to Cooperstown. I got hit in the elbow, the back, the head, the shins. You play and prepare for the next at-bat. I never missed a game or an at-bat because of it, but I charged the mound a few times.”

Cubs 3, Brewers 2

Chicago – The Cubs extended their winning streak to four in Kerry Wood’s return, getting an RBI single in the ninth from Todd Hollandsworth against Julio Santana (1-2).

Wood, throwing at up to 97 mph, had not pitched since April 30 because of a strained right shoulder. He allowed one run and two hits in six innings, struck out nine and walked two.

Dodgers 4, Padres 2

Los Angeles – Jeff Weaver (7-7) allowed one run and six hits in 71â3 innings, and Antonio Perez broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth with a three-run homer off Darrell May (1-3). Los Angeles won for just the fourth time in 16 games.

Yhency Brazoban worked the ninth for his 15th save.

Phillies 6, Mets 3

New York – Chase Utley hit a three-run homer, and Philadelphia snapped its five-game losing streak by capitalizing on Kazuhisa Ishii’s wildness to beat New York.

Cory Lidle (7-6) tossed seven solid innings in a steady rain, and David Bell drove in two runs to spark the Phillies to only their second win in 10 games.

Cardinals 11, Reds 3

St. Louis – Fortified by a cortisone shot to his ailing neck, Larry Walker returned to the St. Louis lineup and hit two-run homers his first two times up in a victory over Cincinnati.

Marlins 6, Braves 5

Miami – Juan Encarnacion’s single to right field with two outs in the 13th inning drove home Miguel Cabrera with the winning run, capping Florida’s second comeback of the night against Atlanta.

Giants 4, D’backs 2

Phoenix – Moises Alou and Omar Vizquel each had three hits and combined for three RBIs, helping San Francisco win two in a row for the first time in 11 games.

Vizquel drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh and scored a run, and Alou singled in two runs off Arizona starter Brandon Webb (8-4), who allowed three runs on nine hits.

Nationals 3, Pirates 2

Washington – Jose Guillen hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth inning, lifting Washington over Pittsburgh in a game delayed by rain for over two hours.