MIAMI – Rookie Anibal Sanchez outdueled Roger Clemens, and Reggie Abercrombie hit a two-run homer to lead the Florida Marlins to a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night.

Sanchez (2-0), who was born 78 days after Clemens made his major league debut in 1984, was making his third career start and first at Dolphin Stadium. He didn’t allow a hit until pinch-hitter Willy Taveras singled to lead off the sixth. Sanchez pitched seven shutout innings, giving up two hits while striking out two and walking one.

Logan Kensing pitched the eighth for the Marlins, and Joe Borowski earned his 17th save despite allowing a run in the ninth.

The Marlins broke a three-game losing streak, while Houston has lost three of its last four road games.

Clemens (1-3), making his fifth start of the season, lasted five innings, giving up two runs and seven hits with seven strikeouts.

Reds 3, Rockies 1

CINCINNATI – Adam Dunn homered on a pitch he wasn’t supposed to reach, and Aaron Harang became Cincinnati’s first 10-game winner, leading the rejuvenated Reds to a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.

Cincinnati had slipped four games behind St. Louis in the NL Central with a 1-8 slump heading into the All-Star break. In the last two days, the Reds have made an eight-player trade and won both of their games.

The Rockies have dropped five straight, a midseason stumble that cost them ground in the wide-open NL West. The latest loss dropped Colorado below .500 (44-45) for the first time since June 23.

Pirates 7, Nationals 4

PITTSBURGH – Jason Bay drove in two runs and Jose Bautista homered among his three hits, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-4 victory over the revamped but still-slumping Washington Nationals on Friday night.

The Nationals played their first game since making a number of moves during the All-Star break, including an eight-player deal that landed them starting outfielder Austin Kearns and shortstop Felipe Lopez from the Cincinnati Reds.

Both players were in the lineup, but the Nationals had a familiar problem while losing their fifth in six games: a lack of offense. They left 12 on base, and Kearns and Lopez failed repeatedly to come through with runners in scoring position.

Mets 6, Cubs 3

CHICAGO – Steve Trachsel won his seventh straight start, and the New York Mets used a four-run fourth inning to defeat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 on Friday.

Down 2-1 after three innings, the Mets had four hits in the fourth and got help when Ronny Cedeno’s throwing error allowed two runs to score, sending Greg Maddux to his fifth straight loss.

Trachsel (9-4) gave up two runs on three hits in six innings. The former Cub hasn’t lost since May 17, a span of 10 starts. He retired 13 of 15 batters after a two-run first inning, giving up a single and a walk.

The Mets won their third straight game.

Maddux (7-10) hasn’t won since June 9, a total of six starts, and is 2-10 since his perfect April. He gave up five earned runs on eight hits in seven innings, striking out six on 98 pitches.

Cardinals 5, Dodgers 0

ST. LOUIS – Chris Carpenter threw a two-hitter and David Eckstein had four hits to help the St. Louis Cardinals to their fifth straight victory, 5-0 over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.

Chris Duncan hit a two-run homer off Derek Lowe (7-6) in the third inning for the Cardinals, who had needed extra innings to win their previous three games, including a 14-inning victory over the Dodgers on Thursday in the series opener. Juan Encarnacion added a solo homer in the eighth off Danys Baez.

Eckstein is 11-for-26 (.423) for his career against Lowe.

Carpenter (8-4) threw his 10th career shutout and 21st complete game, the first of each this season. He struck out seven and hit a batter, requiring only 101 pitches.

Rafael Furcal lined a single over Eckstein’s head at shortstop to lead off the fourth, and Carpenter retired the next 14 hitters before Cesar Izturis singled up the middle with two outs in the eighth. Nomar Garciaparra was 0-for-3 with three groundouts, ending a 22-game hitting streak during which he batted .360.