Cards alone in Central lead

Todd Stottlemyre took a no-hitter into the seventh inning andreceived offensive support from Gary Gaetti's home run and BrianJordan's two-run single Sunday as the St. Louis Cardinals completed athree-game sweep of the visiting Florida Marlins with a 5-3 victory.

The triumph moved the Cardinals into sole possession of firstplace in the bunched Central. They lead the Houston Astros by agame, the Cincinnati Reds by 3 1/2 and the Cubs by five.

Stottlemyre (11-8) held the Marlins without a hit until DevonWhite singled with one out in the seventh. He allowed four hits in 72/3 innings, struck out seven and walked four. Dennis Eckersleyloaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but he got Gary Sheffieldto hit into a game-ending double play to notch his 21st save.

Reds 9, Rockies 4: Kevin Mitchell's three-run home run and JoeOliver's three-run double powered host Cincinnati past Colorado.

The victory was the Reds' third against the Rockies in 24 hours.The Reds swept a doubleheader by scores of 5-3 and 9-5 onSaturday.The Rockies have lost seven of their last eight games andare 22-43 on the road.

Braves 2, Pirates 1: Chipper Jones, who was hitless in his firstsix at-bats, singled home Marquis Grissom with the winning run in the14th inning to help Atlanta post its first three-game sweep ofvisiting Pittsburgh since July, 1991. The Braves have won four in arow and seven of their last eight; the Pirates have lost three in arow and eight of their last nine.

Padres 8, Mets 0: Ken Caminiti, who was receiving intravenousfluids 90 minutes before the game to fight the effects ofdehydration, hit two home runs to support a strong outing by JoeyHamilton (11-7) and help San Diego blank New York in Monterrey,Mexico. The Mets played without catcher Todd Hundley, who wassuffering from food poisoning brought on by bad steak.

Expos 7, Dodgers 3: Rondell White had three hits, including hissecond career grand slam, and Mark Leiter (7-10) won his thirdconsecutive start since being acquired from the San Francisco Giantsas visiting Montreal ended a modest three-game skid by whipping LosAngeles.

Phillies 7, Giants 6: Rookie Wendell Magee Jr. went 2-for-4 anddrove in two runs as host Philadelphia averted being swept in thethree-game series by rallying from a 4-0 deficit to nip SanFrancisco.