MIAMI, 13 August 2003 — The Los Angeles Dodgers stunned Florida’s Dontrelle Willis by sending the rookie for an early shower in a 9-3 romp over the Marlins in the National League on Monday.

Willis (11-3) remained one win shy of the Florida record for a rookie after giving up seven runs, six hits and three walks to the NL’s worst offensive team in two-plus innings.

The left-hander, who also fell to 5-2 in 10 home starts, failed to finish the third inning as the Dodgers scored six times in the frame en route to their sixth straight victory over the Marlins.

Adrian Beltre thumped a three-run homer for the Dodgers while Odalis Perez (8-9) worked eight innings for the victory, retiring 13 straight batters at one stage. Perez allowed seven hits while striking out four.

Los Angeles, which has won seven of its last eight outings, had not scored nine runs in a game since April. It was a costly loss for the Marlins, who fell 1/2 game behind NL wild-card leader Philadelphia.

Expos 3 Rockies 1

In Montreal, Vladimir Guerrero took Jason Jennings (10-10) deep with a man aboard in the third inning to plate the winning runs as the Expos edged the Colorado Rockies 3-1. The Expos, coming off a 1-5 road trip, are 27-16 at Olympic Stadium.

Zach Day (6-4) scattered five hits while striking out a career-high seven over six innings to notch the victory.

Cardinals 6 Pirates 4

In Pittsburgh, the St Louis Cardinals picked up where they left off against Atlanta, pounding out four solo homers in a 6-4 win over the Pirates. The Cards used two eighth-inning homers to dump the Braves Sunday.

NL batting leader Albert Pujols had the second of the four blasts Monday, extending his hitting streak to 25 games. Bo Hart, Miguel Cairo and Scott Rolen had the others, all served up by Kip Wells (5-6).

Jim Edmonds threw out two runners at the plate to save the day for Danny Haren (3-3), who worked 5 1/3 innings for the victory.

Astros 3 Cubs 1

In Chicago, Jeff Kent doubled off loser Kerry Wood (11-9) with a man aboard in the fifth inning to plate the winning run as the Houston Astros beat the Cubs 3-1 to maintain a two-game margin atop the NL Central. But the hard-throwing Wood had something to celebrate. He struck out nine to total 1,000 in only his 134th game, making him the fastest to reach the mark. Wade Miller (9-10) scattered five hits over six innings for the win.

Rallying Royals Too Strong for Yankees

In Kansas City, the Kansas City Royals rallied from an early 5-1 deficit to overcome the New York Yankees 12-9 in the American League on Monday.

The Royals, who are vying for the AL Central Division title after losing 100 games last year, had not beaten the Yankees at home since September 2000.

The teams combined for 19 doubles to set an AL record. The major league best is 23, set in 1931 in a game between St. Louis and the Chicago Cubs.

Mike DiFelice had three of Kansas City’s club record 11 doubles, with Mike Sweeney and Angel Berroa getting two each.

Alfonso Soriano had two for the Yankees, who also collected homers from Jason Giambi and Hideki Matsui, the Japanese slugger’s 15th of the season.

The Royals won it with a four-run eighth inning, three doubles doing the damage.

DJ Carrasco (4-4) notched the victory with 1 2/3 innings of hitless relief. The loss went to Sterling Hitchcock (1-3), the second of six New York pitchers.

Devil Rays 4 Orioles 3

In St. Petersburg, Jared Sandberg’s ninth-inning double plated Julio Lugo with the winning run as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays rallied to edge the Baltimore Orioles 4-3.

Lugo reached on a single served up by loser Hector Carrasco (1-3). Tampa’s Travis Lee knotted the game at 3-3 with a two-run homer in the eighth. Travis Harper (2-6) tossed two scoreless innings in relief of Joe Kennedy to earn the decision.

Twins 5 Indians 3

In Minnesota, a two-run homer by Luis Rivas gave the Twins an early advantage and they never trailed in a 5-3 triumph over the Cleveland Indians. Rivas took loser Jake Westbrook (5-7) deep in the third inning, which finished with Minnesota up 3-0.

Kyle Lohse (9-9) tossed eight innings of seven-hit ball for the victory, his third in a row. Jody Gerut had three of the hits.

Athletics 4 Red Sox 0

In Oakland, Tim Hudson eclipsed Pedro Martinez, allowing only two hits as the Athletics blanked the Boston Red Sox 4-0.

Hudson (11-4), a 20-game winner in 2000, went all the way, striking out seven while walking a single batter. Martinez (8-3) surrendered two runs in the third to take the loss. Terrence Long later went deep off reliever Casey Fossum with a man aboard to pad the lead. Both teams are 68-50, leaving them deadlocked in the AL wild-card race.

Rangers 9 Tigers 3

In Arlington, the Texas Rangers turned a five-run fifth inning into a 9-3 rout of the Detroit Tigers in a game delayed for nearly two hours by rain. Todd Greene had the big blow, a two-run homer served up by luckless loser Steve Sparks (0-5), who took over from Wilfredo Ledezma after the rain delay.

Blue Jays 5 Mariners 3

In Seattle, the Toronto Blue Jays scored four times in the third inning on their way to a 5-3 triumph over the Mariners.

AL RBI leader Carlos Delgado’s single off loser Joel Pineiro (13-7) plated two runs in the third. Former pro basketball player Mark Hendrickson (7-8) tossed 6 2/3 innings of nine-hit ball for the victory. He had to sweat out the final frame, the Mariners loading the bases with one man gone.

Angels 10 White Sox 8

In Anaheim, Bengie Molina matched his personal best with four RBI as the Angels dumped Chicago 10-8 to hand the White Sox only their sixth loss in 22 games.