Wilson, Fogg Pace Pirates

Extra batting practice paid off in a big way for Craig Wilson.

Wilson went four for four--his first career four-hit game--with two runs batted in, and rookie Josh Fogg pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1, Friday night at St. Louis.

Wilson, who entered the game batting .234, spent some time with hitting instructor Dave Clark and raised his average 31 points to .265.

“Clarkie told me to do a couple of things and they worked,” Wilson said. “Clarkie really worked his magic and it was on display.”

Fogg faced the Cardinals for the second consecutive outing and fared a lot better in the rematch, allowing only J.D. Drew’s eighth home run leading off the seventh. Fogg (6-3) lasted just 4 1/3 innings last Sunday in Pittsburgh, giving up three homers in a 7-3 loss.

The Cardinals have lost two straight for the first time since May 5-7, when they dropped three in a row. Despite the mini-slump, they’ve won 16 of 21.

Cardinal center fielder Jim Edmonds left for a pinch-hitter in the fourth with a sprained right wrist while sliding at the plate in the second. He was listed as day-to-day.

New York 6, Florida 5--Rey Ordonez tied a career high with four RBIs, including his first homer of the season in the 10th inning to help the Mets win at Miami. Ordonez also doubled home three runs in the second inning. The light-hitting shortstop had only eight extra-base hits coming into the game, all doubles. Teammate Roger Cedeno hit his second home run. The Mets remained a half-game behind NL East leader Atlanta.

Milwaukee 12, San Diego 1--Geoff Jenkins hit his first career grand slam and Ruben Quevedo pitched seven strong innings to lead the Brewers at San Diego. Alex Sanchez matched his career best with four of Milwaukee’s season-high 19 hits. Jenkins’ grand slam was the second in two nights given up by the Padres.

Houston 4, Chicago 1--Richard Hidalgo hit two home runs and Carlos Hernandez gave up three hits over seven innings as the Astros won at Chicago. Sammy Sosa hit his major league-leading 19th homer for Chicago in the eighth inning. Hidalgo opened the scoring in the seventh with his ninth homer of the season then finished a four for four performance with another two-run homer off Juan Cruz in the ninth.

Montreal 8, Philadelphia 7--Troy O’Leary homered and drove in four runs and Fernando Tatis added a two-run homer to lead the Expos at Philadelphia.

Colorado 6, San Francisco 2--Rookie Jason Jennings retired his first 16 batters and Todd Helton hit a three-run homer as the Rockies won at San Francisco. Jennings (7-2) did not allow a hit until Barry Bonds’ single to right-center with one out in the seventh.