Astros lose Enron Field opener

National League round-up

A new ballpark brings teams immediate cash, not necessarily wins.

"It was such a wonderful atmosphere," Astros manager Larry Dierker said after Houston lost 4-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies in Enron Field's opener Friday night.

"The most disappointing aspect of the loss was we couldn't get enough going to give our fans a chance to show their presence. We couldn't make those vibrations pay off with a win."

Scott Rolen broke up a scoreless game with a sixth-inning home run. Ron Gant added a two-run homer off Doug Henry in the eighth for the Phillies, who also opened the Astrodome in 1965.

"It's a great ballpark. We're going to have some great memories here," Jeff Bagwell said. "We're going to hit a lot of home runs. We just didn't do it tonight."

In other games, Chicago beat Cincinnati 10-6, New York beat Los Angeles 2-1, San Diego beat Montreal 10-5, San Francisco beat Atlanta 6-2, Florida beat Colorado 4-3, Milwaukee beat St. Louis 9-1 and Pittsburgh beat Arizona 7-2.

Houston's first outdoor home game since 1964 drew a sellout crowd of 41,583 that included former President George Bush and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the former Texas Rangers owner. The dlrs 248 million, retractable-roof ballpark opened with a pregame ceremony that included skydivers and the raising of the NL Central flag. A sellout crowd of 41,583 filled the stands.

Octavio Dotel (0-1) allowed only three hits until Rolen led off the seventh with a drive over the left-field scoreboard, his third home run of the season. Mickey Morandini hit a sacrifice fly, and Gant added a two-run homer.

Randy Wolf (1-0) also allowed a leadoff homer in the seventh, a 122 1/2-meter (408-foot) drive to left by Richard Hidalgo. Wayne Gomes finished with hitless relief for his first save.

Cubs 10, Reds 6

Sammy Sosa hit a two-run homer deep to center field, stopping an 0-for-16 slide, and added a sacrifice fly to the warning track at Cincinnati.

Ken Griffey Jr. struck out, grounded out twice, popped out, and hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the ninth. In five games for his hometown team, Griffey has gone 1-for-18, hitting only two balls out of the infield.

Andrew Lorraine (1-0) won, and Rick Aguilera got the final out for his second save. Damon Buford homered leading off the second and Ricky Gutierrez broke it open with a two-run double as part of a three-run fourth against Pete Harnisch (0-1).

Mets 2, Dodgers 1

Rick Reed (1-0) overcame New York's early-season offensive funk, allowing one run - Gary Sheffield's solo homer in the fourth - and four hits in 7 2-3 innings at Shea Stadium.

Mike Piazza hit a towering fly to right that Shawn Green could not track down and fell for an RBI double. Robin Ventura drove in his first run of the season on a groundout.

Darren Dreifort (0-1) lost and Armando Benitez got four outs for his second save.

Padres 10, Expos 5

Phil Nevin hit a three-run homer, Ryan Klesko added a two-run drive and Damian Jackson had a career-high four hits for visiting San Diego.

Brian Meadows (1-0) led 9-0 before he was chased in a four-run sixth.

Montreal third baseman Michael Barrett had two errors, giving him six this season. The Expos had five in all and have 12 in five games. Jeremy Powell (0-1) was the loser.

Giants 6, Braves 2

Barry Bonds hit a two-run homer, one of three home runs off Terry Mulholland (0-1) at Turner Field.

Mark Gardner (1-0) allowed two runs and 10 hits in seven innings, leaving after Javy Lopez's eighth-inning homer.

Marlins 4, Rockies 3

Brad Penny, backed by Kevin Millar's tiebreaking three-run triple in the sixth, won in his major league debut, allowing one run and six hits in seven innings. Mike Lansing homered twice for visiting Colorado.

Antonio Alfonseca pitched a hitless ninth for the save. Masato Yoshii (0-1) lost his first start for Colorado.

Brewers 9, Cardinals 1

Jason Bere (1-0) struck out eight in six innings at St. Louis, allowing five hits, and Jeromy Burnitz homered. Bere has won eight straight decisions and is unbeaten in 17 starts since Sept. 19, 1998.

Andy Benes (0-1) lost in his first game back with St. Louis following two seasons with Arizona.

Pirates 7, Diamondbacks 2

First baseman Erubiel Durazo's error opened the way for visiting Pittsburgh's six-run eighth.

Durazo's inability to field a grounder allowed the tying run to score, then pinch-hitter Kevin Young singled in the go-ahead run.

Jason Christiansen (1-0) won and Armando Reynoso (0-1) lost.