jp/10/Bball

jp/10/Bball

Williams, Burkett lead Giant uprising

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuter): Matt Williams led a Giant uprising by homering twice off Zane Smith and driving in five runs, and John Burkett pitched seven scoreless innings to lead the Giants to an 8-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Burkett scattered five hits, walked one and struck out three, combining on the major league's first shutout of the season with Rich Monteleone and Kevin Rogers.

In Houston, Ken Caminiti doubled in two runs to cap a three- run, 12th-inning outburst that gave the Astros a 6-5 victory over the Montreal Expos and made Terry Collins a winner in his managerial debut.

Newly acquired Mitch Williams issued bases loaded walks to Randy Milligan and Marquis Grisson to force in two runs and give Montreal a 5-3 lead in the top of the 12th.

In Cincinnati, Kevin Mitchell's solo home run off Rob Murphy in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted the Reds to a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Two-run homers by Reggie Sanders and Joe Oliver off Rheal Cormier in the fourth gave the Reds a 4-0 lead.

But St. Louis rallied for three runs in the sixth and tied the game in the eighth when Erik Pappas scored on a wild pitch by Chuck McElroy.

Winning pitcher Hector Carrasco loaded the bases in the top of the 10th but got Gregg Jefferies to pop up.

In Chicago, Jose Vizcaino, Todd Hundley and Jeff Kent hit homers to overcome a three-homer assault by Karl Rhodes and give the New York Mets a 12-8 victory over the Cubs.

Rhodes hit solo homers off Dwight Gooden in his first three at-bats to become the first National League player ever to hit three homers on opening day. Kent finished the day 4-for-5.

In San Diego, Greg Maddux pitched eight scoreless innings and Ryan Klesko and Deion Sanders each hit solo home runs as the Atlanta Braves earned a 4-1 win over the Padres.

Maddux scattered seven hits and did not walk a batter while striking out five.

At Colorado, Mariano Duncan homered and drove in four runs and the Philadelphia Phillies scored eight times in the eighth inning on just two hits to batter the Rockies, 12-6.

Colorado's Andres Galarraga, the defending batting champion, had three hits and three RBI, including a home run.

In Toronto, Roberto Alomar's two-out, three-run homer off Jack McDowell in the seventh inning lifted the Blue Jays to a 7-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Juan Guzman scattered seven hits, allowing two runs in seven innings to earn his eighth straight regular season victory.