A 40-year-old Greg Maddux won his fifth straight start to be 5-0 starting the season for the first time in his distinguished career as the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 Friday.
Twice facing bases-loaded jams, Maddux escaped to earn his 323rd victory, one win shy of tying Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton, for 13th place all-time in Major League Baseball.
He gave up eight hits and two runs in six innings and was backed by a homer and a strong defensive play from shortstop Ronny Cedeno.
Jacque Jones also homered for the Cubs.
Maddux is 13-3 against the Brewers, representing his best winning percentage against any National League team.
Dave Bush (2-2) lasted six innings, giving up 10 hits and five runs.
Pirates 3, Phillies 1
At Pittsburgh, Ian Snell allowed an unearned run over seven innings and Jack Wilson drove in the go-ahead run to help Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia and snap a seven-game losing streak.
Craig Wilson and Jason Bay also drove in runs for the Pirates, who won for only the sixth time in 24 games during their worst start since 1957.
Snell (1-2) struck out seven and allowed five hits in his 11th career start and second victory. Mike Gonzalez pitched the ninth for his third save in as many opportunities.
Brett Myers (2-1) gave up nine hits and three runs in seven innings to get the loss.
Reds 5, Astros 4
At Cincinnati, Brandon Phillips had three hits and two RBIs and Cincinnati beat finally beat Roy Oswalt and Houston.
With their eighth victory in nine games, the Reds moved into first place in the NL Central, a half-game ahead of the Astros. Cincinnati (16-7) also matched its club record for most victories in April, with two chances left to top it.
Oswalt (4-1) was the only pitcher in major league history to go 15-0 against a team but the Reds got to him for eight hits and three runs in six innings.
Left-hander Brandon Claussen (2-2) gave up two runs in 5 1-3 innings. David Weathers gave up a two-run homer in the ninth to Lance Berkman before finishing it for his seventh save in eight chances.
Mets 5, Braves 2
At Atlanta, Pedro Martinez allowed four hits in seven innings and the New York Mets strengthened their hold on first place in the NL East, getting two homers from David Wright to beat Atlanta.
John Smoltz also went seven innings, striking out 10 and hanging around long enough to throw 122 pitches. But he left trailing 3-2, and Chris Reitsma gave up two more runs in the ninth to clinch the Braves' fourth straight loss.
Wright homered off Smoltz (1-2) in the fifth and went deep on Reitsma in the ninth. He also had a sacrifice fly.
Martinez's only slip-up came in the sixth, when he surrendered a two-run homer to Chipper Jones on an 0-2 pitch. Martinez (5-0) helped the Mets stretch their lead over the Braves to six games in the division race.
Nationals 8, Cardinals 3
At St. Louis, Albert Pujols tied the major league record with his 13th home run in April, but Nick Johnson and Ryan Zimmerman homered in the first inning to lead Washington past St. Louis for the win.
Pujols' drive in the eighth inning came off a 2-0 pitch from Felix Rodriguez and matched the mark shared by Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997 with Seattle and Luis Gonzalez in 2001 with Arizona. It was Pujols' first homer in four games and left him with two games this month to break the record.
Tony Armas (2-2) worked six solid innings for Washington, which ended a five-game losing streak.
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