NEW YORK, 17 May 2006 — Brian McCann had a three-run homer and drove in five runs as the Atlanta Braves scored a wild 11-8 win over the Florida Marlins on Monday in Atlanta.

McCann’s home run keyed a six-run sixth inning as the Braves rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to take an 8-5 lead, but needed three runs in the bottom of the seventh to finally seal the win after Florida tied the game at the top of the same inning.

Andruw Jones had four hits and drove in four runs for the Braves, who improved to 18-20, leaving them in third place in the NL East, 5 games behind the first place New York Mets.

Atlanta has won a record 14 consecutive division titles. Florida slipped to 11-25 and is buried in last place in the division.

Jones, McCann and Jeff Francoeur all had RBI singles in the seventh to snap an 8-8 tie as the Braves pounded out 18 hits off five Florida pitchers. Reliever Oscar Villarreal (5-0) got credit for the win, despite allowing three runs on one hit in one inning. Chris Reitsma pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.

In San Francusco, Pedro Feliz hit a grand slam home run and had five RBI and Barry Bonds again failed to homer as the San Francisco Giants bombed the Houston Astros 10-1. Feliz had three of the Giants 13 hits and Randy Winn also homered for the Giants, but Bonds went a seventh consecutive game without a home run, remaining stuck at 713, one behind Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time list.

Mike Matheny drove in a pair of runs for the Giants and Steve Finley, Omar Vizquel and Winn all had two hits. Bonds did have an RBI double and a walk in four appearances at the plate.

Brad Hennessey (3-1) got the win, allowing one run on seven hits over five innings with four strikeouts and three walks.

Taylor Buchholz (2-3) gave up eight runs on seven hits in just three innings and took the loss.

Garcia Wins Six in a Row as White Sox Beat Twins

Freddy Garcia won his sixth straight game to give the Chicago White Sox a 7-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday, salvaging a split of their four-game series.

The defending World Series champions improved to a Major League-leading 25-12 and moved a full game ahead of the Detroit Tigers for first place in the AL Central.

Scott Podsednik, Joe Crede and Chris Widger homered for the White Sox, who rested three regulars but still produced more than enough offense for Garcia. Garcia (6-1) allowed three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk over 6 2/3 innings, with two relievers finishing up to complete an eight-hitter. The White Sox broke in front with three runs in the third inning on Widger’s RBI single and Podsednik’s two-run home run and never lost that lead.

It was a strong performance by Widger, who is the club’s backup catcher.

In Baltimore, Josh Beckett pitched seven strong innings as the Boston Red Sox beat the Orioles for the 12th consecutive time, 11-1.

Beckett (5-1) allowed just one run on two hits with six strikeouts and no walks for the Red Sox, who held the Orioles to just three hits in the game and moved back into first place in the AL East by one game over the New York Yankees.

Willy Mo Pena homered and drove in four runs for Boston, while Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell both homered and drove in three runs.