CINCINNATI – Cory Lidle pitched his third career shutout and Ken Griffey Jr. hit a two-run homer Sunday, leading the Cincinnati Reds to their fifth straight win, 7-0 over the Houston Astros.

The Reds have won eight of nine, putting together their best surge of the season as they pulled into first place in the NL Central. They opened the day tied with the Astros and the Cubs.

The five-game winning streak also matches their best stretch of last season, when they lost 93 games.

The Astros have lost a season-high four in a row, knocking them out of first place for the first time since April 29.

Lidle (3-4) allowed only six singles in his first victory since April 22.

Brewers 2, Pirates 1

PITTSBURGH – Keith Ginter hit a solo home run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

With the game tied at 1, Ginter hit a 3-2 pitch from reliever Brian Meadows over the left-center field wall for his seventh homer as the Brewers avoided a two-game sweep.

Luis Vizcaino (1-2) allowed a run and one hit in one relief inning for the win, and Dan Kolb pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 11th save

Braves 5, Dodgers 1

ATLANTA – Mike Hampton pitched six scoreless innings for his first win of the season and homered, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

Hampton (1-5) surrendered nine hits and walked two, but pitched out of two bases-loaded jams. He also hit his 13th career homer – most among active pitchers. Chipper Jones added a two-run homer and rookie Nick Green drove in Atlanta’s other two runs.

The Braves made two errors, but made up for it with several outstanding defensive plays.

Mets 4, Rockies 0

NEW YORK – Tom Glavine came within four outs of the first no-hitter in New York Mets history Sunday, blanking the Colorado Rockies 4-0 with his first career one-hitter.

Working just five days after Arizona’s Randy Johnson pitched the 17th perfect game in major league history, Glavine got two outs in the eighth inning before Kit Pellow hit a 1-1 pitch for a double off the right-field wall.

Glavine, who retired his first 18 batters before a leadoff walk in the seventh, got a nice ovation from the crowd. He came right back to strike out Rene Reyes, then finished it with a 1-2-3 ninth.

The two-time Cy Young winner struck out eight and walked only one in the best outing of his stellar career.

But in their 43rd season, the Mets are still without a no-hitter.

Phillies 6, Padres 4

PHILADELPHIA – Tomas Perez hit a two-run homer and Vicente Padilla won his fourth straight start, leading the Philadelphia Phillies over the San Diego Padres 6-4 on Sunday.

Padilla (4-4) had labored through six innings, but pitched well enough to get the victory.

He gave up three runs – one earned – on eight hits, struck out five and hit two batters.

Rheal Cormier and Roberto Hernandez each tossed a shutout inning, and Tim Worrell pitched the ninth for his fifth save in seven opportunities as the Phillies took two of three games from San Diego.

Giants-Expos postponed

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The series finale between the San Francisco Giants and Montreal Expos was postponed because of rain Sunday.

No makeup day was announced.

All week, persistent rain has hammered San Juan, where the Expos are playing 22 of their home games this season.

It rained every day during the six-game homestand, and there were a total of six rain delays over the first five games.

Cubs 4, Cardinals 3

CHICAGO – Matt Clement earned his team-best sixth win, Aramis Ramirez hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and the Chicago Cubs held on for a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night.

Clement (6-3) went seven innings, retiring 11 straight during one stretch and allowing three hits – including Albert Pujols’ 12th homer in the sixth and Scott Rolen’s 10th in the seventh that made it a one-run game. LaTroy Hawkins pitched a perfect eighth, and Joe Borowski got three outs for his eighth save and club-record 22nd straight.

dating to Aug. 5.