HOUSTON – Greg Maddux earned his 295th win, pitching the Chicago Cubs past the Houston Astros 4-1 for their fifth straight victory.

Todd Hollandsworth’s RBI triple sparked a two-run eighth for the Cubs. Maddux (6-5) befuddled the Astros, allowing only one run and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.

Chicago’s Paul Bako doubled in speedy Corey Patterson for the tying run in the seventh and Walker drove in Bako on a sacrifice fly, giving the Cubs a 2-1 lead.

Maddux got off to a rocky start in the first, giving up three hits, including an RBI single to Lance Berkman that put the Astros on top 1-0.

But the four-time Cy Young Award winner found his groove, and he didn’t allow an Astro past first base the rest of the night.

Twins 5, Expos 4

MONTREAL – Luis Rivas hit a disputed home run in the 11th inning, sending the Minnesota Twins to a 5-4 win over the Montreal Expos on Wednesday night.

Rivas’ drive over the wall in the left-field corner was called fair by third base umpire Brian O’Nora. However, television replays clearly showed the ball sailed to the left of the net that serves as a foul pole at Olympic Stadium and should have been ruled foul.

Expos left fielder Brad Wilkerson immediately jumped up and down when he saw O’Nora signal a fair ball. Wilkerson ran in to join third baseman Tony Batista and manager Frank Robinson, who came out of the dugout to argue.

O’Nora was joined by umpires Phil Cuzzi, Mike Fichter and Brian Knight, who conferred but let the decision stand.

Robinson was ejected after repeatedly berating the entire crew.

He kept arguing for several minutes and came back out of the dugout to renew his dispute with Fichter. The manager made a series of choking gestures before he was ejected, bowing toward O’Nora to the applause of the tiny crowd of 3,763.

Marlins 4, White Sox 0

MIAMI – Carl Pavano pitched a three-hitter, and Mike Lowell homered for the second straight game to give the Florida Marlins a 4-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

Carlos Lee’s hitting streak ended at 28 games, a team record and the longest in the majors this season. He was 0-for-4 with a groundout, two strikeouts and a flyout. Lee hit .369 (45-for-122) during the streak.

Pavano (7-2) won his third consecutive start and picked up his second career shutout .

Scott Schoeneweis (5-5) lost his third straight start. He allowed 10 hits and four runs in 6 1-3 innings.

Pirates 5, Angels 3

PITTSBURGH – Daryle Ward’s three-run homer finished off Pittsburgh’s five-run fifth inning, and the Pirates avoided matching their longest losing streak in 36 years by beating the Anaheim Angels 5-3 Wednesday night.

Despite falling behind 2-0, the Pirates averted their first 10-game losing streak since July 6-15, 1968, or two ballparks ago for them. They also ended a 14-game interleague losing streak against AL West clubs and a six-game home skid, handing the Angels their eighth loss in 11 games.

Indians 9, Mets 1

NEW YORK – C.C. Sabathia allowed one run and six hits in eight impressive innings, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 9-1 victory over the New York Mets on Wednesday night.

Sabathia (4-3) shut down the Mets a night after they had 14 hits in a 7-2 win after firing batting coach Denny Walling. The big left-hander struck out three and walked one.

Casey Blake hit a two-run homer, and Omar Vizquel and Victor Martinez each drove in two runs for the Indians, who have won five of six.

Rick White pitched the ninth to complete the six-hitter.

Ginter allowed five runs – three earned – in 5 1-3 innings for the Mets, whose modest two-game winning streak was stopped.

Reds 7, Rangers 4

CINCINNATI – A capacity crowd hoping for home-run history saw Ken Griffey Jr. settle for a single, then reveled in another late comeback Wednesday night that rallied the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-4 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Ryan Freel had a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning, and Barry Larkin followed with a two-run single as the Rangers’ bullpen suffered a second straight meltdown.

Undefeated Paul Wilson also came up empty once again after turning a 3-2 lead over to the bullpen. Wilson is 7-0, but the Reds bullpen has blown save chances in each of his last three starts.

Cardinals 6, Athletics 2

ST. LOUIS – Jason Marquis pitched seven sharp innings and hit a two-run double, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night.

Jim Edmonds and Reggie Sanders homered for the Cardinals, who have won 12 of 15 to move a season-best 11 games above .500.

Jermaine Dye and Scott Hatteberg hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth for the Athletics, who have lost seven of eight on the road.

Sanders’ three-run shot off Arthur Rhodes with two outs in the eighth made it a four-run cushion.

Royals 10, Braves 4

ATLANTA – Angel Berroa hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and the Kansas City Royals had their most hits in almost four years, rallying for a 10-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night.

Joe Randa went 4-for-5 with an RBI double and Berroa had three hits and drove in a career-high four runs for the Royals, who ended a two-game losing.

Trailing 3-1 going into the eighth, the Royals scored four times on five hits off reliever Chris Reitsma (3-2), including Carlos Beltran’s go-ahead RBI single.

Brewers 4, Mariners 1

MILWAUKEE – Doug Davis pitched seven solid innings and pinch-hitter Bill Hall hit a two-run homer to lead the Milwaukee Brewers over the Seattle Mariners 4-1 Wednesday night.

Davis (6-5) gave up Pat Borders’ first homer of the year in the third inning and not much more. The right-hander scattered five hits and allowed one walk while striking out a season-high seven.

Luis Vizcaino pitched the eighth and Dan Kolb pitched the ninth for his 19th save in 20 chances.

Seattle rookie right-hander Clint Nageotte (1-2) pitched five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out five.