HOUSTON – Astros pitcher Brandon Backe hit his first career homer, a two-run shot, and allowed one run in seven innings to keep Houston in the thick of the NL wild-card chase with an 11-5 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.

Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman and Jeff Kent also homered, helping the Astros extend their season-high winning streak to 10 games. Houston is on its longest win streak in five years and has won 18 of 21 since Aug. 15, the best record in the majors during that stretch.

The Astros closed within a game of NL wild-card leaders Chicago and San Francisco. Houston hasn’t been within striking range of the Cubs and Giants in more than three months.

Backe (3-2), making his fourth career start, virtually shut down the Reds after giving up three hits and a run-scoring single to D’Angelo Jimenez in the first. He gave up only four singles from there, finishing with a career-high eight strikeouts and a walk.

But it was Backe’s performance at the plate that was the biggest surprise.

White Sox 7, Rangers 4

ARLINGTON, Texas – Carl Everett homered and the Chicago White Sox took advantage of Texas’ season-high five errors in a 7-4 victory over the fading Rangers on Monday.

The White Sox won their fourth straight to move 7 games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.

In the first two innings, White Sox starter Jason Grilli (1-1) allowed three hits, three walks, committed an error and threw two wild pitches. But the Rangers were only able to come up with one run.

Grilli gave up three runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. Shingo Takatsu got two outs for his 17th save in 18 chances.

Brewers 9, Pirates 5

PITTSBURGH – Brady Clark drove in four runs and Milwaukee used a six-run third inning to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-5 on Monday.

Geoff Jenkins homered leading off the second, then followed Clark’s two-run single in the pivotal third with a two-run double – his third extra-base hit against Pirates starter Ryan Vogelsong in four at-bats.

Clark added a two-run double in the ninth as the Brewers won their fourth in five games, while the slumping-again Pirates dropped their fifth in a row and 14th in 18 games.

Orioles 4, Twins 1

BALTIMORE – Daniel Cabrera pitched three-hit ball into the eighth inning, and Jose Leon and Melvin Mora had two RBIs apiece to lead the surging Baltimore Orioles past the Minnesota Twins 4-1 on Monday.

It was the seventh win in eight games for the Orioles, playing at home for the first time since Aug. 22. Baltimore went 0-6 on its last homestand, and ended up losing 12 in a row overall.

But the Orioles have gone 7-1 since, in part because the starters have allowed only four earned runs over the last 41 2-3 innings.

Cubs 9, Expos 1

CHICAGO – Aramis Ramirez hit a pair of two-run homers and Carlos Zambrano allowed four hits in eight innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 9-1 victory over the Montreal Expos on Monday.

Mark Grudzielanek, Derrek Lee and Michael Barrett also homered for the Cubs, who played their first game since Wednesday’s 2-1 extra-inning victory at Montreal. The Cubs had their last three games against the Florida Marlins at Miami postponed because of Hurricane Frances.

Tigers 7, Royals 3

DETROIT – Craig Monroe homered and Omar Infante drove in three runs to back Wil Ledezma’s six strong innings in the Detroit Tigers’ 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday.

The Tigers’ second straight win was their 63rd of the season, preventing them from losing at least 100 games for a third straight season.

Detroit hadn’t played since Friday, when it won at Tampa Bay but had the last two games of the series postponed because of Hurricane Frances.

Braves 3, Phillies 1

ATLANTA – Replacement starter Travis Smith pitched five solid innings, Andruw Jones homered again and the Atlanta Braves buried Philadelphia a little deeper in the NL East, beating the Phillies 3-1 on Monday.

Smith (1-3), who has spent most of the season at Triple-A, got the start when Mike Hampton couldn’t go because of a stiff neck. The 31-year-old journeyman allowed five hits and a run before giving way to the bullpen.

Jones had two RBIs and knocked a potential Phillies run off the board by throwing out a runner at the plate.

Four relievers finished up for the Braves, who won for the 12th time in 14 games. John Smoltz pitched 1 2-3 innings for his 36th save.

The Phillies, expected to threaten Atlanta’s streak of 12 straight division titles, instead dropped 13 games behind in the NL East. They have only 25 games remaining and virtually no chance of catching the Braves.

Jones homered for the fourth time in six games, his solo shot in the second giving Atlanta a 1-0 lead. The Braves added two more runs in the third off Eric Milton (13-4), despite getting just one ball out of the infield.

Milton walked the first two hitters, then Eli Marrero singled to right to load the bases. Julio Franco dribbled a grounder that barely cleared the dirt in front of the plate, and Milton bobbled the barehanded pickup as J.D. Drew streaked across home. Jones picked up his second RBI with another infield hit, a grounder down the third-base line that left David Bell with no choice but to make a futile heave toward the plate.

Smith retired the first nine hitters before the Phillies broke through in the fourth. Jimmy Rollins led off with a double and moved to third on Placido Polanco’s single. Smith had a chance to escape the inning when Bobby Abreu lined into a double play, but Jim Thome singled to left to pull the Phillies within 3-1.

That was as close as they got. Smith got a big hand from his defense in the fifth when Jones threw out Jason Michaels attempting to score from second on a single up the middle.

Michaels managed to avoid the initial tag by catcher Eddie Perez, but couldn’t get a hand on the plate. Perez got the runner as he attempted to scramble back toward home.

Hampton, 9-1 over his last 11 starts, has been bothered for several days by a stiff neck. He’ll continue to receive treatment and rejoin the rotation when the pain subsides.

Notes: A stiff breeze blew throughout the game, foreshadowing Tropical Storm Frances. The storm came ashore in the Florida Panhandle and was expected to threaten Tuesday night’s game as it moves into Georgia with torrential rain. … Drew managed to extend his hitting streak to 15 games even though he walked three times. He hit a ground-rule double in the first, then walked in his next three plate appearances, giving him seven over the last two games. … Braves C Johnny Estrada was late getting to the ballpark. His wife, Jennifer, was scheduled to deliver the couple’s third child in the morning. … Ryan Howard had his first major league hit in the fifth, a pinch-hit single. His first RBI was denied when Michaels was thrown out at the plate.

AP-ES-09-06-04 1603EDT