MILWAUKEE — CC Sabathia often talks about how much he likes to hit. He just hadn't done much at the plate with the Milwaukee Brewers until last night.

Sabathia improved his perfect record with the Brewers, pitching another complete game in a 9-3 victory over the Houston Astros. He also hit a two-run single in a five-run fourth inning.

"I like to hit, but I think since I've been here the more I hit, the worse I've been getting," said Sabathia, who was batting .160 (4 for 25) with the Brewers before yesterday.

It's been quite the opposite on the mound.

Sabathia is 8-0 with a 1.60 ERA and five complete games in nine starts for the Brewers since they acquired him from Cleveland in a July 7 trade. Last year's AL Cy Young Award winner has won 11 straight decisions overall.

Sabathia struck out nine, walked two and gave up 11 hits in 130 pitches as the Brewers moved 2 1/2 games ahead of idle St. Louis in the wild-card race. They also pulled within five games of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

"He showed he's a horse," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. "I guess they're going to hitch their wagon to him and just ride him off into the sunset."

Corey Hart singled, doubled and homered for Milwaukee, and Ray Durham had three hits and three RBIs.

Pirates 5, Mets 2: Steve Pearce hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth and host Pittsburgh beat New York, ending the Mets' six-game winning streak. Adam LaRoche homered and Jack Wilson hit a two-run double as the Pirates stopped a four-game skid.

Giants 5, Braves 0: Barry Zito had one of his best starts of the season, leading visiting San Francisco over Atlanta. Zito (7-15) allowed five hits in seven innings, combining with Keiichi Yabu and Sergio Romo on a seven-hitter.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Athletics 3, Twins 2: Kirk Saarloos (1-0) pitched 3 2/3 shutout innings after Justin Duchscherer left with a hip injury and visiting Oakland beat Minnesota. Mark Ellis homered and Maui's Kurt Suzuki had two RBIs for Oakland. Duchscherer departed with right hip pain after throwing a pitch to Joe Mauer with two outs in the third.

White Sox 13, Mariners 5: Nick Swisher hit a two-run home run and Orlando Cabrera started a six-run fifth inning with another two-run shot to help host Chicago beat Seattle. Alexei Ramirez hit a three-run homer, and Jermaine Dye doubled twice and drove in two runs for the White Sox.

Tigers 8, Rangers 7: Gary Sheffield hit career homer No. 493, Curtis Granderson had two triples and four RBIs, and visiting Detroit beat Texas. Sheffield went 3 for 5 and moved into a tie with Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for 25th on the career home run list.

Red Sox 6, Orioles 3: Jon Lester pitched seven solid innings, and Jason Bay homered twice for visiting Boston. Lester (12-4) allowed one run, four hits and a walk to improve to 5-0 lifetime against the Orioles.

Rays 6, Angels 4: Cliff Floyd and Eric Hinske hit two-run homers for host Tampa Bay, helping Andy Sonnanstine get his 13th win. Sonnanstine (13-6) allowed three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

NOTES

Maddux to Dodgers: Greg Maddux is headed back to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Diego and Los Angeles agreed to a trade that puts the 353-game winner in a pennant race again, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity last night.

It was unclear what the last-place Padres would receive in return for the 42-year-old Maddux, who is 6-9 with a 3.99 ERA in 26 starts for San Diego this year.

Maddux was 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA in 12 starts for the Dodgers in 2006.

Rangers: Texas All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler was placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with a sports hernia, and could be headed for season-ending surgery.