Turnaround Is a Cy of Relief for Glavine

Tom Glavine is showing his Cy Young Award form again.

In one of his best starts of the season, Glavine gave up four hits in seven innings and the Atlanta Braves pushed their lead in the East Division back to three games with a 7-2 victory over the second-place New York Mets on Saturday at Atlanta.

Ryan Klesko hit a three-run home run in the first inning as the Braves pounced on New York starter Octavio Dotel, who was making his major-league debut. Dotel gave up four runs in five innings as the Mets lost for only the fourth time in 19 games.

Glavine (6-7) already has lost more games than he did all of last season, when he went 20-6 to win his second Cy Young. But he has been effective in his last six starts, giving up 14 earned runs in 42 innings to lower his earned-run average from 5.54 to 4.53.

“I’m happy with the way I’m throwing the ball,� he said. “It’s been like two seasons for me. The first four weeks were terrible. The last six weeks or so have been pretty good. This is a lot more like I threw the ball last year.�

New York’s Mike Piazza, who had missed the last two games because of a mild concussion, returned and had one hit with two walks.

Milwaukee 7, Pittsburgh 4--Hideo Nomo won his fifth consecutive decision to lead the Brewers at Milwaukee for their sixth win in seven games.

Nomo (6-1), the 1995 NL Rookie of the Year who was released by two teams earlier this season, hasn’t lost since May 16 and has won four starts in a row.

“I feel very comfortable on the mound, and I like this environment,� Nomo said through an interpreter. “I feel needed on this team, and that’s important to me.�

Jeromy Burnitz put the Brewers ahead, 4-2, with a leadoff homer in the sixth inning, his 20th, against Pirates starter Todd Ritchie (6-6). Burnitz had two hits and drove in three runs and Jeff Cirillo had two runs batted in.

Kevin Young hit two home runs for Pittsburgh, a solo shot in the second inning off Nomo and one in the eighth against Eric Plunk.

Nomo gave up three runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings, while striking out seven. He left the game to a standing ovation and chants of “No-Mo!� in the seventh inning.

“There’s a good feeling out there when [Nomo] is getting ready to take the ball,� Milwaukee Manager Phil Garner said. “I think guys have confidence in him. I think we’ve really enjoyed watching him.�

Florida 9, Montreal 3--Ryan Dempster pitched eight strong innings and Mike Redmond hit a three-run double in the sixth at Montreal to help the Marlins end a losing streak at 10 games.

Dempster (4-3) gave up seven hits and three runs in his longest outing in 20 career starts.

“The guys . . . made some great plays behind me and hit the ball,� Dempster said. “It’s pretty easy to win when they give you nine runs.�

Redmond’s bases-clearing double capped a four-run inning as the Marlins, who end a 12-game trip today.

Cincinnati 8, Houston 1--Steve Parris gave up one hit over seven innings and Sean Casey had three hits at Houston as the Reds won their sixth consecutive game.

“They’re all playing well right now,� Cincinnati Manager Jack McKeon said. “You just stick the lineup out there and go hide [and] don’t bother them.�

Parris (5-1) gave up only an infield single to Carl Everett in the first inning and an unearned run in the seventh as the Reds closed within one game of the first-place Astros in the Central Division.

Stan Belinda and Gabe White finished the combined two-hitter, sending Houston to its third consecutive loss and fifth in six games.

“We were awful,� Houston interim manager Matt Galante said. “We didn’t hit, we didn’t pitch and we didn’t field. I feel like we were on the bottom swing of a roller coaster. If anybody didn’t believe they were for real, you should know now.�

Philadelphia 6, Chicago 2--Bobby Abreu and Rico Brogna each hit two-run homers in the first inning for the Phillies at Chicago.

Robert Person (1-1) gave up a home run to Sammy Sosa but pitched well enough to help hand the Cubs their 13th defeat in 16 games.

For Sosa, the home run was his 27th of the season and 300th of his his career.

“This means a lot,� said Sosa, who became the 83rd player to reach 300 homers. “For me, I’m not going to stop there. It would’ve been better if we won today.�

St. Louis 2, Arizona 1--Alberto Castillo’s fly ball brought home Edgar Renteria in the 10th inning to lead the Cardinals over the the slumping Diamondbacks at Phoenix.

Arizona, which has lost six of seven games, had tied the score in the eighth on Luis Gonzalez’s two-out RBI double.

Manny Aybar (4-1) got the Cardinals out of trouble by getting two outs with two runners on in the ninth, then pitched a scoreless 10th.

Mark McGwire left the game in the top of the fourth inning with a sprained left ankle. The injury occurred Friday night and McGwire’s availability will be evaluated day to day.