LOS ANGELES (AP) – Hideki Matsui hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat against Hideo Nomo, and Brad Halsey won his major league debut Saturday in the New York Yankees’ 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The second regular-season meeting between the division leaders attracted another sellout crowd of 54,876 on a cool, gloomy day that required the stadium lights to be on.

The largest crowd in Dodger Stadium history – 55,207 – saw the home team win 6-3 Friday night.

Halsey was called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Columbus, where manager and former Yankee Bucky Dent recommended him to Joe Torre.

Halsey (1-0) even got his first major league hit with a single off Nomo in the second. Nomo responded by hitting a home run against Halsey in the fifth.

The left-hander gave up two runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings, struck out three and walked one before leaving to a standing ovation from pinstripe-clad Yankee fans.

The Dodgers threatened in the seventh. Tom Gordon relieved Paul Quantrill with runners at the corners and retired Milton Bradley to preserve a 4-2 lead.

Gordon retired the side in order in the eighth, and Mariano Rivera worked a scoreless ninth.

Cardinals 9, Reds 2

ST. LOUIS – For the second straight game, Albert Pujols upstaged Ken Griffey’s quest for 500 homers.

Pujols’ three-run homer in the seventh inning led the St. Louis Cardinals to a 9-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night, their sixth straight win. Pujols hit the game-winning homer leading off the 10th Friday.

Griffey remained stuck on 499 homers for the fifth straight game, although he contributed to the offense with two singles, an RBI and a walk. He was 2-for-3 Saturday and is 5-for-20 with three RBIs since his last homer on Sunday at Cleveland.

Griffey is 13-for-29 (.448) against Woody Williams with five homers, although he didn’t come close to a longball on Saturday.

Cubs 4, Athletics 3

CHICAGO – Michael Barrett’s two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Chicago Cubs a 4-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.

Mark Mulder outpitched Mark Prior in a marquee matchup, helping Oakland take a 3-2 lead into the ninth. But with closer Arthur Rhodes absent, Chad Bradford couldn’t hold it.

Derrek Lee went 4-for-4 for the Cubs, and Barrett had three RBIs.

Pinch-hitter Todd Hollandsworth started the winning rally with a one-out infield single. Todd Walker had a pinch-hit single, and both scored on Barrett’s drive down the right-field line.

Kyle Farnsworth (2-3) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out two.

The Cubs spoiled another strong start by Mulder, who scattered 10 hits over eight innings.

Braves 4, Indians 0

ATLANTA – Paul Byrd pitched seven shutout innings in his first start since 2002, and Eli Marrero and Julio Franco hit two-run homers to lead the Atlanta Braves over the Cleveland Indians 4-0 Saturday night.

Giving the slumping Braves a needed lift, Byrd held the Indians to four hits and did not walk a batter. The Braves had lost three straight and seven of 10 to fall four games under .500 this late in the season for the first time since 1990.

Byrd (1-0) received an ovation from the Turner Field crowd of 41,987 and handshakes from his teammates when he walked off the field after the seventh inning.

Antonio Alfonseca gave up two hits with two outs in the eighth inning. John Smoltz relieved and got Travis Hafner to ground out with runners on first and second. Smoltz then pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save.

Mariners 5, Pirates 1

PITTSBURGH – Joel Pineiro limited Pittsburgh to one run over eight innings in his second straight strong start, and Rich Aurilia drove in three runs to lead the Seattle Mariners past the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 Saturday night.

Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect ninth to finish it.

Aurilia, batting only .227 at the time, singled to left field to score Spiezio and moved to second on the throw to the plate. Hiram Bocachica followed with an RBI single under shortstop Jack Wilson’s glove.

Seattle added a run in the ninth on Edgar Martinez’s pinch-hit RBI double.

Angels 6, Astros 4

HOUSTON – Ramon Ortiz pitched six scoreless innings, Vladimir Guerrero homered and drove in three runs and the Anaheim Angels handed Roger Clemens his second straight loss by beating the Houston Astros 6-4 Saturday night.

Ortiz (3-5) easily outpitched Clemens, allowing only three hits with five strikeouts in his best start of the season. The Angels’ right-hander, who came into the game with a 5.32 ERA, managed to virtually shut down the NL’s second-best offense.

But Angels reliever Kevin Gregg nearly blew the victory, giving up four runs in the seventh. Scot Shields replaced Gregg and got the final out of the inning to thwart the comeback.

Phillies 4, Royals 2

PHILADELPHIA – Jim Thome hit his major league-leading 21st homer, Eric Milton earned his ninth win and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-2 Saturday night.

Placido Polanco also homered for the Phillies in their first victory over Kansas City since Game 6 of the 1980 World Series.

Milton (9-1) pitched effectively into the eighth inning, tying Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Kenny Rogers for the most wins in the majors.

The left-hander had his best outing in 14 starts for the Phillies since being acquired from Minnesota in the offseason. He allowed six hits, walked three and tied a season high with eight strikeouts.

Brewers 7, Twins 6

MILWAUKEE – Geoff Jenkins hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the eighth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the Minnesota Twins 7-6 Saturday night.

The Brewers were down 5-0 before going ahead with a six-run seventh. Milwaukee got just one runner past second base in the first six innings.

Luis Rivas homered in the eighth to get Minnesota even again but Jenkins sent the first pitch he saw from Terry Mulholland deep into the right-field stands. Jenkins, who has homered in five of nine games, was batting .196 against left-handers this season.

Rangers 7, Marlins 6

MIAMI – Eric Young drove in three runs, Kevin Mench hit a two-run homer and the Texas Rangers held on to beat the Florida Marlins 7-6 Saturday night.

Young had a two-run double in the second inning and an RBI single in the fifth, giving the Rangers lots of production from the leadoff spot for the second straight game.

Michael Young had three hits and scored twice atop the order in Friday’s 8-1 win at Florida.

The Rangers got plenty of help from the Marlins in Saturday’s game. They committed three errors, including one by Alex Gonzalez in the second that led to three unearned runs.

Gary Matthews Jr. reached base on Gonzalez’s one-out throwing error and later scored on Eric Young’s double. Michael Young followed with a single that made it 3-0.

Expos 17, White Sox 14

MONTREAL – Juan Rivera hit two homers, including his first career grand slam, in the second inning as the Montreal Expos built a 10-run lead before holding on for a wild 17-14 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.

Juan Uribe had a career-high seven RBIs for the White Sox.

Rivera drove in six runs in the inning, tying Andre Dawson’s team record with a two-run homer and a grand slam in the second off Arnie Munoz (0-1), who made his major league debut.

Montreal, which ended a seven-game losing streak, scored nine of its 11 runs off Munoz in the second for its biggest inning in nearly five years. Rivera’s slam came with two outs and gave the Expos a 10-1 lead. It was their first this season.

Mets 4, Tigers 3

NEW YORK – Jose Reyes’ 10th-inning triple set up Mike Cameron’s second game-winning hit in two nights, and the New York Mets beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 Saturday night.

Just off the disabled list after missing the first 66 games of the season, Reyes was in the middle of the Mets’ two key rallies.

Reyes, who had been out since straining his right hamstring in spring training March 14, was hitless in his first three at-bats, striking out twice.

With one out in the 10th, Reyes tripled to right-center off Craig Dingman (1-1). Two intentional walks loaded the bases, and Reyes was forced at the plate on pinch-hitter Shane Spencer’s grounder.

But Cameron, whose ninth-inning homer won Friday night’s game, followed with a drive to the left-field warning track for a game-winning single.

Rockies 11, Orioles 6

DENVER – Preston Wilson drove in four runs in his second game since coming off the disabled list and Jeff Fassero threw five-plus solid innings to win for the first time in nearly a year, lifting the Colorado Rockies to an 11-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night.

Vinny Castilla drove in three runs, Todd Helton drove in two, and Royce Clayton had two RBIs and scored four runs for Colorado. Wilson, who missed 58 games due to knee surgery, was 2-for-3.

The Rockies scored five runs in the third inning off Eric DuBose (5-5) and three more in the fourth.

Javy Lopez was 3-for-5 and Rafael Palmeiro had three RBIs for Baltimore.