Rueter Remembers How to Beat Braves, 5-2

Six years after beating the Atlanta Braves the first time he faced them, Kirk Rueter finally figured out how to do it again.

Rueter worked six strong innings despite fatigue and an aching left shoulder Sunday to help the San Francisco Giants avoid a sweep with a rain-shortened 5-2 victory at Atlanta.

Ellis Burks hit his 250th homer in the fourth, breaking a 1-1 tie and sending the Giants to only their eighth victory in 24 games.

Rueter (10-6) was 1-4 with a 6.22 earned-run average in 10 previous appearances against the Braves, his lone victory coming on Aug. 6, 1993, as a rookie with the Montreal Expos.

Rueter said he felt a cramp in his shoulder in the fifth, then left an inning later on a sweltering, 90-degree day. The injury wasn’t serious, but the heat proved an unbeatable foe.

Play was halted for 34 minutes in the top of the ninth when a severe thunderstorm hit. After initially trying to get through the inning, umpires immediately stopped the game when a bolt of lightning struck nearby.

Arizona 7, Philadelphia 4--Armando Reynoso won his seventh consecutive decision while Luis Gonzalez and Damian Miller homered to supply much of the offense at Philadelphia.

Bobby Abreu went a career-best five for five, raising his average to .349.

The Phillies lost on an afternoon in which they honored the franchise’s 10 greatest moments of the century. Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts and Jim Bunning took part in the pregame tribute, and the 1980 World Series championship was selected as the top highlight.

Pittsburgh 5, St. Louis 1--Kris Benson held the Cardinals to one run over seven innings at Pittsburgh in his third consecutive strong start, highlighted by a strikeout of Mark McGwire with the bases loaded.

McGwire began the series with 17 homers in 21 games, including Nos. 500 and 501 of his career Thursday, but went one for 10 without an extra-base hit against the Pirates.

Benson (10-8) pitched four-hit ball and gave up one run for the third start in a row. He beat the New York Mets, 5-1, with a complete game on July 27 and held Atlanta to a run over eight innings in a 7-1 win Tuesday.

Houston 6, Chicago 2--Mike Hampton pitched four-hit ball for seven innings to become the NL’s first 16-game winner, and Carl Everett drove in three runs as the Astros won at Chicago.

Cincinnati 8, Milwaukee 2--Greg Vaughn, a two-time all-star with the Brewers, hit a three-run home run off Hideo Nomo (9-5) at Milwaukee that helped Pete Harnisch (11-6) extend his career-best winning streak to six games.

Florida 2, Colorado 2--Rookie Ryan Dempster and Antonio Alfonseca combined on a four-hitter to give the Marlins a three-game sweep at Miami.