NEW YORK, 7 May 2004 — Brad Penny pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings and became Florida’s all-time career wins leader as he guided the Marlins past the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 in the National League on Wednesday.

Penny (3-1) moved past Ryan Dempster after collecting his 43rd career victory before a meager 13,308 fans in Miami, marginally better than the team’s smallest crowd of the season Tuesday.

The defending World Series champions Marlins snapped a four-game losing streak in a match-up between two division leaders. Penny did not let the small crowd bother him as he allowed only four hits while striking out five batters and walking one.

In other NL games Wednesday:

In Houston, Roger Clemens moved into second place on the all-time strikeout list with a total of 4,137 after powering the Astros to a 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 41-year-old pitcher struck out Raul Mondesi in the fifth inning to nudge ahead of Hall of Famer Steve Carlton in the all-time list.

In Atlanta, David Wells tossed seven shutout innings and had an infield single as the San Diego Padres beat the Braves 2-0.

Wells (2-2) allowed five hits in a dominant performance. Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his eighth save of the season.

In Montreal, Joe Kennedy pitched a one-hitter over six scoreless innings to help the Colorado Rockies blank the struggling Expos 2-0.

In Philadelphia, David Bell drove in four runs as the Phillies edged the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4. Bell notched a three-run homer and Marlon Byrd also homered. Kevin Millwood (3-2) pitched seven solid innings for the win while Scott Rolen had two hits and drove in three runs for the Cards.

In New York, Mike Piazza set a home-run record for catchers as the Mets breezed past the San Francisco Giants 8-2. Piazza’s homer gave him a total of 352 as a catcher, breaking Carlton Fisk’s career record.

In Cincinnati, Juan Castro cracked a game-winning, pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to hand the Reds a 5-4 triumph over the Milwaukee Brewers.

In Chicago, rookie Casey Daigle tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks blanked the Cubs 2-0.

Ortiz Hits Two Homers as

Red Sox End Slump

David Ortiz belted two home runs and Bill Mueller’s three-run homer broke a tie, propelling the Boston Red Sox to a 9-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the American League (AL) Wednesday. The Red Sox ended their five-game losing streak while halting Cleveland’s four-game winning run.

Mueller’s homer came off reliever David Riske in the sixth inning and snapped a 5-5 tie as the Red Sox won the third contest of the four-game series. Bronson Arroyo (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the win.

Ortiz drove in four runs in total while Mueller had three RBI. Kevin Millar produced two hits and drove in a run for the Red Sox.

In other AL games Wednesday:

In Baltimore, Juan Uribe notched a triple in the seventh inning to help the Chicago White Sox edge the Orioles 6-5. Shingo Takatsu (2-0) pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the win. Billy Koch tossed out of a jam in the ninth to earn his fifth save of the season.

In Toronto, Vernon Wells stroked two homers and drove in five runs to steer the Blue Jays past the Kansas City Royals 10-3. Roy Halladay (3-3) went seven innings on three days’ rest, allowing three runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Josh Phelps also homered for Toronto.

In Arlington, Ryan Drese pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings as the Texas Rangers recorded a 6-1 triumph over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Michael Young had four hits for the Rangers, including a solo homer. Drese (2-0) allowed only five singles.

In Seattle, Carlos Silva pitched eight solid innings to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 5-1 victory over the Mariners. Silva (5-0) allowed one run on five hits with five strikeouts and one walk. Jacque Jones picked up a two-run homer for the Twins.

In Anaheim, Jose Guillen homered and drove in three runs as the Angels overcame the Detroit Tigers 6-3. Troy Glaus also homered for the Angels while Kelvim Escobar (2-1) allowed three runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings.

In Oakland, Tony Clark drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning double to guide the New York Yankees to their eighth straight triumph, a 4-3 decision over the Athletics.