Andy Pettitte pitched seven sharp innings to extend one of the best runs of his career, and the Houston Astros beat up on the slumping Pirates 8-0 on Wednesday to complete a four-game sweep.
Lance Berkman gave Pettitte the lead even before the left-hander took the mound with his second homer in as many games. Mike Lamb hit a three-run homer in a four-run sixth inning that made it 5-0 against Josh Fogg (4-6).
"You have a great series to this point ... but we needed something to get over the top today and that big inning gave us some breathing room," Houston manager Phil Garner said.
Pettitte (7-7) improved to 4-0 with a 0.90 ERA in his last six starts. He struck out seven and walked one, allowing only one runner to reach second after striking out Jose Castillo to leave the bases loaded in the first.
"It's been tight all year, but we're coming around. The guys are swinging it better and you can tell they're feeling better about themselves and that's good," Pettitte said.
Russ Springer and Chad Harville each pitched an inning to complete the Astros' seventh shutout and the seventh against Pittsburgh.
Braves 4, Giants 1
At San Francisco, John Smoltz pitched eight smooth innings for his seventh straight win, and rookie Jeff Francoeur went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer in Atlanta's victory.
Smoltz (11-5) allowed six hits and struck out seven. He didn't walk a batter and permitted just two runners to reach second base in his first victory over San Francisco since April 1996.
He even added a run-scoring double in the seventh, padding a lead that was never threatened by the Giants' meek bats.
The five-time All-Star remained unbeaten in eight starts since June 6 while improving to 11-14 in his career against the Giants. The St. Louis Cardinals are the only other NL team with a winning record against Smoltz over his career.
Mets 7, Padres 3
At New York, Mike Piazza hit a two-run homer to move into a tie with Johnny Bench on the career home run list, and Carlos Beltran also had a two-run shot for the Mets.
Tom Glavine (7-7) won his third consecutive decision for New York. He allowed two runs and six hits in six innings and now has given up three runs or fewer in his last five starts. The win was the 269th of his career.
Piazza had an RBI double in the third inning to go with his homer off Woody Williams (5-6) in the fifth. Piazza's homer was his 389th, tying him with Bench for 46th all-time, one behind Graig Nettles. It was Piazza's 367th as a catcher, most for the position.
Reds 9, Cubs 3
At Cincinnati, Ken Griffey Jr. hit one of Cincinnati's homers off Kerry Wood, who was forced from the game after only three innings because of a stiff shoulder.
Aaron Harang (6-8) pitched a seven-hitter for Cincinnati's first complete game of the season, slowing a Cubs offense that has nine homers in the series' first three games. Derrek Lee hit his major league-leading 31st and Jeromy Burnitz followed with a solo shot in the seventh.
Dodgers 10, Phillies 2
At Philadelphia, Jeff Kent hit a three-run homer and Jayson Werth a two-run shot during a nine-run fifth inning, and Derek Lowe pitched seven strong innings for Los Angeles.
Lowe (6-10) allowed six hits, struck out five, gave up two unearned runs and walked none in winning for the first time since June 6. David Bell hit a two-run homer off Lowe in the seventh.
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