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Cardinals match previous year's total of 85 victories

National League

Reggie Sanders hit a three-run homer and the St. Louis Cardinals matched last year's total with their 85th win, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 on Saturday.

Jim Edmonds hit his fifth homer in as many games for St. Louis, a major league-best 85-44. The Cardinals improved to 11-5 this year against the Pirates.

Matt Morris (14-8) allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings, and Jason Isringhausen pitched the ninth for his 38th save.

Nelson Figueroa (0-1), making his second start of the season, gave up five runs and six hits in four innings as the Pirates lost for the seventh time in nine games.

Dodgers 4, Mets 2

In New York, Adrian Beltre went 5-for-5 with his major league-leading 42nd home run for the Dodgers.

Eric Gagne worked a perfect ninth for his 36th save in 38 chances and first since Aug. 15 at Wrigley Field. His 143rd save since 2002 broke Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley's major league record for most in a three-year span. Eckersley had 142 from 1990-92 with Oakland.

Giovanni Carrara (4-1) struck out two in a perfect seventh for the win.

Jeff Keppinger led off the first with his first major league homer for the Mets, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

With the Mets leading 2-1, Beltre singled off Ricky Bottalico with one out in the eighth. Mike Stanton (2-6) gave up a double to Shawn Green, and pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz came through with an RBI infield single up the middle to tie it. Pinch-hitter Jose Hernandez followed with an RBI single to center.

Astros 7, Cubs 6

In Chicago, Roger Clemens pitched six innings for his 324th victory and the Astros made the most of three Cubs errors.

Clemens (14-4) allowed five runs and eight hits as Houston won for the 10th time in 13 games. Staked to an early 5-0 lead, Clemens tied Don Sutton and Nolan Ryan for 12th place on the career wins list.

Brad Lidge struck out two in the eighth to stop a rally attempt and finished for his 18th save as Houston pulled within five games of Chicago, which holds a one-game lead over San Francisco in the NL wild-card race.

Carlos Zambrano (12-8) gave up seven runs -- three earned -- seven hits and season-high six walks in 5 2-3 innings.

Braves 9, Giants 3

In Atlanta, Paul Byrd (5-4) allowed one run in six innings and hit a pair of run-scoring singles off Jason Schmidt, leading the Braves past the Giants.

Rafael Furcal had four hits and four RBIs for the Braves, who have won six straight. They moved a season-high 22 games over .500 and improved to 15-1-3 in their past 19 series.

Barry Bonds went 1-for-3 with an infield single on a day on which he was originally scheduled to have off, but told manager Felipe Alou after Friday's 5-3 loss that he wanted to play.

Marlins 4, Rockies 3

In Miami, Juan Encarnacion hit a two-run single in the first inning and a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth, extending the Rockies' losing streak to six.

With Colorado leading 3-2 in the eighth, Jeff Conine singled off Steve Reed (3-4) leading off and Encarnacion followed with his 14th homer.

Carl Pavano (15-5) allowed three runs and seven hits in eight innings, and Armando Benitez finished with a perfect ninth for his 38th. Jennings gave up two runs and six hits in six innings.

The defending World Series champions, who have won four of their last six games, closed with 5{ games of the Chicago Cubs, the NL wild-card leader.

Padres 5, Expos 2

In Montreal, Jake Peavy won his sixth straight decision, and Phil Nevin homered and drove in three runs for San Diego.

Peavy (11-3), unbeaten in nine starts since the All-Star break, held Montreal to five hits and two runs in 6 2-3 innings. It was the 18th time in 20 starts he's allowed two earned runs or less.

Trevor Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth for his 33rd save in 37 chances.

Ramon Hernandez also homered for San Diego, which pulled one game behind Chicago in the NL race.

Phillies 4, Brewers 3

In Philadelphia, Placido Polanco homered off Mike Adams (2-2) with one out in the ninth inning, and the Phillies extended the Milwaukee Brewers' losing streak to 10.

The Phillies are 5-0 against Milwaukee this season, but have lost 12 of their last 13 against teams other than the Brewers.

Before the game, Phillies general manager Ed Wade said Larry Bowa will remain as manager for the rest of this season, but Wade did not address Bowa's status for next year.

Other results: Diamondbacks 6, Reds 3

American League: Yankees 18, Blue Jays 6; Twins 7, Angels 1; Red Sox 5, Tigers 1; Rangers 4, Orioles 3; Athletics 5, Devil Rays 4; White Sox 5, Indians 3
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