NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Ryan Howard hit a three-run homer and Pat Burrell added a solo shot as Philadelphia survived a ninth-inning scare to beat Atlanta 7-3 on Wednesday night.
The Phillies improved to 5-0 in Atlanta this season and 7-1 overall in the season series.
The Braves (40-45) fell a season-worst five games under .500 with their second straight loss in the series, despite homers from Chipper Jones and Ruben Gotay.
Jones, playing his second game after missing eight straight starts with a strained right quadriceps, hit his 17th homer off J.C.
Romero in the eighth, cutting the Phillies’ lead to 5-3.
The Phillies answered with two runs in the ninth on Jimmy Rollins’ RBI triple and Chase Utley’s run-scoring single.
The Braves loaded the bases against Brad Lidge in the ninth on one hit and two fielding errors by Howard at first base but Lidge struck out Mark Teixeira to end the game.
MARLINS 4, NATIONALS 2
At Miami, Alfredo Amezaga hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in seventh inning to lead Florida past Washington when play resumed after a 1 1/2-hour rain delay.
Florida trailed 2-1 when the game was halted with one and two outs in the seventh for 1 hour, 35 minutes. Charlie Manning (0-2) relieved starter Odalis Perez after the delay, and Amezaga his second home run of the season and 11th in 1,106 career at-bats.
Wes Helms added a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Ricky Nolasco (9-4) improved to 4-0 in his last five starts, allowing two runs and three hits in seven innings. Kevin Gregg threw a perfect ninth for his 15th save.
PIRATES 9, REDS 5
At Cincinnati, Xavier Nady homered twice and drove in four runs to lead Pittsburgh, which lost another pitcher to injury.
Closer Matt Capps will be gone for about eight weeks after a medical test detected bursitis and tightness in his pitching shoulder. Capps is the fourth Pittsburgh pitcher to wind up on the disabled list in the last two weeks.
The rest of the bullpen came through, helping the Pirates win consecutive road games for only the second time this season.
Nady had a run-scoring single, a solo homer and a two-run shot off right-hander Daryl Thompson (0-2), who got hit hard in his third major league start.
DODGERS 4, ASTROS 1
At Houston, Hiroki Kuroda threw seven shutout innings after coming off the disabled list, and Jeff Kent had two RBI-doubles as Los Angeles downed Houston.
Kuroda (4-6) allowed five hits in his first start since going on the DL on June 18 with tendinitis in his right shoulder.
Andre Ethier hit a solo homer and Blake DeWitt scored on Luis Maza’s squeeze bunt for the Dodgers, who have won five of their last six road games.
Carlos Lee homered in the ninth off Cory Wade for Houston’s only run. Wade relieved Kuroda in the eighth and retired the other six batters he faced.
The Dodgers scored all their runs off Runelvys Hernandez (0-2), who was making his second start since replacing Shawn Chacon in the Astros’ rotation.
ROCKIES 8, PADRES 1
At Denver, Garrett Atkins, Troy Tulowitzki and Yorvit Torrealba homered to lead Colorado past San Diego.
Atkins drove in four runs and Ubaldo Jimenez pitched into the seventh inning for his second win in his last three starts.
Colorado scored seven runs in the first three innings against Randy Wolf (5-8).
Atkins singled in a run in the first and followed Matt Holliday’s RBI single in the third with a three-run drive, his 11th of the year. Tulowitzki added a two-run homer in the third, his third of the year.
RSS