NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Smoltz Mows Down Marlins as Braves Sweep

After carrying a no-hitter through five innings Sunday in Atlanta, John Smoltz admitted he had thoughts of pitching one.

“I got a little jumpy in the sixth,” he said. “I wanted to get the outs in a hurry.”

He got one out in the sixth before losing his no-hit bid and shutout, but the Braves still completed a three-game sweep of the Florida Marlins with a 5-1 victory.

“It was in the back of my mind,” pitching coach Leo Mazzone said of a possible no-hitter. “The first four innings was as good as you can throw a baseball.”

Smoltz (3-2) was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth and Mark Wohlers retired the Marlins in order in the ninth. David Justice and Chipper Jones each drove in two runs.

Philadelphia 5, New York 3--Rookie Michael Mimbs pitched six strong innings and Charlie Hayes had two runs batted in as the Phillies defeated the Mets in Philadelphia, improving the best record in the majors to 17-6.

Mimbs (2-1), who lasted only 2 2/3 innings and walked five in his previous start, gave up six hits while striking out a career-high seven and walking none. Heathcliff Slocumb pitched the ninth for his 11th save.

The Phillies have won seven of nine and 14 of their last 17 games.

Houston 5, Montreal 2--Craig Biggio continued his hot hitting with a two-run homer and Greg Swindell got his first career victory over the Expos, leading the Astros to a victory and a sweep of the three-game series in Houston.

Biggio has hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games with a .400 average over that span. He homered to left in the sixth, his third of the year, after John Cangelosi led off the inning with a single off Gil Heredia (1-3).

Swindell (3-1) got his third consecutive victory and improved his career record against Montreal to 1-4. He went 6 2/3 innings, yielding four hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

John Hudek pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for his fourth save, and he also drove in two runs in the eighth inning with a single off reliever Luis Aquino in his first major-league at-bat.

Colorado 5, Cincinnati 2--Vinny Castilla, Mike Kingery and John Vander Wal hit solo homers as the Rockies beat the Reds for only their second victory ever at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium.

The Rockies lost five of seven in the past week at Atlanta and Cincinnati, the two cities where they have fared the worst since joining the NL in 1993. Colorado is 2-12 at Riverfront Stadium.

St. Louis 9, San Francisco 7--Tripp Cromer hit his second homer in two days to spark a three-run fifth as the Cardinals, who scored three runs on groundouts, defeated the Giants in San Francisco.

Matt Williams, who began the day leading the National League in RBIs with 27 and was tied for fourth with a .364 average, had three doubles, a single and drove in two runs for the Giants. He raised his average to .387 by matching his career high with four hits.

Steve Scarsone and Kirt Manwaring hit solo homers for the Giants, the first of the season for each. Scarsone, filling in for the slumping Robby Thompson, had a career-best five hits.

Pittsburgh 6, San Diego 1--Denny Neagle threw a five-hitter for his third victory in a row as the Pirates beat the Padres in San Diego.

Former Padre catcher Mark Parent hit his fifth homer of the season and his second in the three-game series and Orlando Merced was 4 for 4 and Jeff King went 3 for 3 with two RBIs.

Neagle (3-1) had a 1.57 ERA in his three victories, allowing only four runs in 23 innings. He is 9-4 with a 2.00 ERA in 17 career games on the West Coast.

Padre starter Andy Benes (0-4) was the loser.