The Associated Press

CHICAGO - David Wells warmed up quickly to the party-like atmosphere at Wrigley Field, where the New York Yankees hadn't played since the 1938 World Series.

"You can't get anything better," he said after a 5-3 victory Friday that kept the Yankees perfect at the Chicago Cubs' picturesque neighborhood park. "It's like Yankee Stadium. The people are unbelievable. They were all going crazy in the bullpen."

The portly left-hander pitched 7 2/3 innings in his first Wrigley appearance and doubled for his first hit in three years.

"It's fun for us," he said. "You got two teams with a lot of history. Just the scenery - it's all good. I love it. The more hype, the better it is. I heard all the fat jokes, and it's something I heard all my career."

Sammy Sosa's eight-game suspension for using a corked bat was the focus before the game, and then the Yankees took over, helped by three RBI from Jason Giambi.

Wells, who's never shy with an opinion on a variety of topics, said earlier this week that Sosa shouldn't be allowed to play in the series because of the corked bat.

"We knew he was going to play," Wells said, backing off. "Sammy's a great guy. I don't know him real well but pretty good. It makes for a lot of fun with him in the game."

Sosa went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and made a diving catch in the sixth inning, and still hasn't homered since May 1, a stretch that included a trip to the disabled list when he missed 17 games. He's 5-for-28 since returning from the DL.

The Yankees had been to Wrigley on just two previous trips, going a combined 4-0 in the World Series in 1932 and 1938.

The park and the adjacent rooftops were jammed, and there was a loud contingent of New York fans chanting. The crowd was announced at 39,359, the second-largest this season.

"There was a little bit different atmosphere in the stands. I've never seen so many opposing fans probably other than the St. Louis Cardinals," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "It was electric."

Astros 11, Devil Rays 8

HOUSTON - Jeff Kent hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the eighth inning as Houston held off Tampa after wasting a seven-run lead.

Houston, which moved past the Chicago Cubs into first place in the NL Central for the first time since April 15, led 7-0 after two innings, then fell behind 8-7 when Marlon Anderson hit an RBI double off Octavio Dotel (5-1) in the eighth.

The hit scored Julio Lugo, released from the Astros on May 9 after being charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly attacking his wife. Lugo was booed every time he came to the plate and went 1-for-5.

Cardinals 8, Orioles 6

ST. LOUIS - Albert Pujols capped a four-hit game with a three-run double in the eighth inning as St. Louis extended its winning streak to five games.

Pujols has seven straight hits, hiking his major league-leading average to .391, and is 19-for-29 during an eight-game hitting streak. He was 4-for-4 with three singles and four RBI in the first meeting between the former St. Louis rivals.

Brewers 9, Red Sox 3

MILWAUKEE - Richie Sexson hit his 19th home run, and Wes Helms and Royce Clayton also homered as Milwaukee won its season-high fourth straight game.

Boston starter Tim Wakefield left in the third inning after he was hit on the right ankle by a pitch from Wayne Franklin. Manny Ramirez homered for the Red Sox, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games and dropped 1 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East.

Mets 3, Mariners 2

NEW YORK - Cliff Floyd and Jason Phillips homered as New York broke Seattle's nine-game winning streak behind a fine pitching effort from rookie Jae Seo.

In the first meeting ever between the teams, the Mets ended Seattle's 13-game road winning string. The Mariners had posted the longest single-season road win streak in the majors since Detroit took 17 in a row in 1984.

Seo (3-2) held the Mariners to an unearned run until the eighth.

Athletics 7, Phillies 4

PHILADELPHIA - Miguel Tejada broke out of a slump by tying a career high with four hits and drove in three runs, and Barry Zito took a one-hitter into the sixth inning as the Athletics returned to Philadelphia for the first time since they left after the 1954 season.

Tejada, who had one hit in his last 15 at-bats, tied an Oakland record with three doubles.

Zito (7-4) picked up his first win since May 15 and improved to 54-21 in his career.

Expos 13, Rangers 10

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Brian Schneider drove in a career-high five runs with a homer and a three-run double as Montreal sent Texas to its season-high seventh straight loss.

Ron Calloway homered for the second straight game in place of the injured Vladimir Guerrero, and Livan Hernandez (5-4) pitched seven innings and hit a two-run single for the Expos.

After being held to 22 runs while losing eight of nine games, the Expos have broken out for 21 runs in two days, setting a season high Friday.

Marlins 4, Angels 1

MIAMI - Ivan Rodriguez hit a three-run homer and Carl Pavano retired his final 18 batters.

Rodriguez's sixth-inning home run, which broke a 1-1 tie, was his seventh of the season and first in his last 16 games.

Pavano (5-6) pitched eight impressive innings, allowing only three hits while striking out six. He issued just one walk; it was intentional.

Kevin Appier (4-3) lost for the first time in seven starts since April 14.

Dodgers 2, White Sox 1

LOS ANGELES - Paul Lo Duca extended his career-best hitting streak to 15 games with a pair of hits, including a tiebreaking single that led Los Angeles.

Brian Jordan homered to help back Kazuhisa Ishii (5-2), who allowed one run and four hits over seven innings and struck out nine.

Rockies-Royals ppd.

DENVER - The game between Kansas City and Colorado was postponed because of rain with the Rockies leading the Royals 3-1 in the top of the fifth inning.

The game will be made up today as part of a split doubleheader. The makeup game will be at 3:05 p.m., with the regularly scheduled game to start at 8:05.

Pirates-Braves ppd.

ATLANTA - Heavy rain forced a postponement of Friday night's game between Atlanta and the Pittsburgh Pirates, a break for the Braves with several players ailing.

It was the second rainout of the year and third in the history of Turner Field. A May 7 game against the Colorado Rockies was postponed, forcing the teams to play a doubleheader the following day.

With all the injuries, the Braves decided to make up this game as part of a doubleheader on Sept. 5.