Ryan Howard hit a grand slam and a solo homer and Philadelphia, which led 11-0 in the sixth inning, hung on for its fifth straight victory, 13-11 over St. Louis on Monday.
The Phillies, who swept New York over the weekend, pulled within 2.5 games of the NL East-leading Mets and moved a season-best 12 games above .500 (81-69). The Phillies remained 1.5 games behind San Diego in the wild card race. The Padres defeated Pittsburgh 3-0.
Philadelphia had taken a 12-11 lead when Aaron Rowand made a tumbling catch on the warning track in center of Ryan Ludwick's drive with two on in the eighth. Rowand homered in the ninth and Francisco Rosario struck out Russell Branyan with two on and two outs to earn his first career save.
PHOTO: AP
Rowand and Jimmy Rollins homered in the fourth inning and Howard's fifth career grand slam off reliever Anthony Reyes in the sixth made it 11-0. The Cardinals responded with three runs in the sixth, six in the seventh and two in the eighth.
Albert Pujols had an RBI single in the sixth and he drove in two runs in the seventh.
Nationals 12, Mets 4
At Washington, Nook Logan had three hits and New York committed four errors as Washington sent the Mets to their fourth straight loss.
The Mets, who had six errors against Philadelphia on Sunday, saw their lead over the Phillies, who beat St. Louis 13-11, in the NL East drop to 2.5 games. The 10 errors over two games set a franchise record.
Cubs 7, Reds 6
At Chicago, Mark DeRosa hit a go-ahead single against a five-man infield for his fifth hit of the game as Chicago rallied for three runs in the ninth inning to hang onto first place in the NL Central.
The Cubs remained in first by one game over Milwaukee, which beat Houston 6-0.
Cincinnati protested the game, saying Chicago manager Lou Piniella made an illegal double switch in the sixth inning because he did not go directly to the plate umpire.
Brewers 6, Astros 0
At Houston, Yovani Gallardo dominated Houston for the second time in two weeks and Corey Hart hit a two-run double as Milwaukee won.
Gallardo (9-4) allowed seven hits and struck out five in a season-high eight innings to win his fourth consecutive start. He hasn't allowed a run in 21 innings, a streak that began when he threw seven shutout innings against the Astros in a 14-2 victory on Sept. 5.
Giants 8, Diamondbacks 5
At Phoenix, Randy Winn and Pedro Feliz homered off Tony Pena in the eighth inning for San Francisco as Arizona saw its lead in the NL West cut to one game over San Diego.
The Padres beat Pittsburgh 3-0.
Arizona led 5-3 when Pena (5-4) opened the eighth by hitting a batter and walking another. Winn, who also had a sacrifice fly, followed with his 11th homer. An out later, pinch-hitter Nate Schierholtz hit a double and Feliz hit his 19th homer. Pena allowed three hits and five runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Padres 3, Pirates 0
At San Diego, rookie Jack Cassel pitched six solid innings for his first big league win and Khalil Greene hit a two-run homer for San Diego, which moved within one game of first-place Arizona in the NL West.
The Padres, trying to reach the playoffs for the third straight season, remained 1.5 games in front of Philadelphia in the wild-card race. The Phillies beat St. Louis 13-11. San Francisco beat Arizona 8-5.
Braves 11, Marlins 6
At Atlanta, Andruw Jones hit a three-run homer, Jeff Francoeur reached 100 RBIs for the second straight year and John Smoltz pitched six strong innings as Atlanta downed Florida.
Jones hit his 25th homer to cap a five-run fifth inning that gave the Braves a 10-1 lead.
Francoeur had a run-scoring single in the third and a two-run double in the fifth that gave the 23-year-old outfielder an even 100 RBIs. He drove in 103 last year, his first full season in the big leagues.
Frank Thomas hit three home runs to lift the Toronto Blue Jays over the Boston Red Sox 6-1 on Monday, raising his total to 512 and tying Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews for 18th on the career list.
Dustin McGowan (11-9) pitched a five-hitter, struck out nine and walked none, sending the American League East leaders to their third loss in four games. Boston's lead over New York in the division was cut to 3.5 games after the Yankees beat Baltimore -- the smallest deficit since before play on April 22.
Yankees 8, Orioles 5
At New York, Hideki Matsui broke out of a slump with a go-ahead homer and Phil Hughes won his second straight start with help from a bullpen that escaped two bases-loaded jams as New York downed Baltimore.
Alex Rodriguez tied his career high of 142 RBIs, Jorge Posada got three hits, Doug Mientkiewicz hit a two-run single, Robinson Cano had an RBI double and Bobby Abreu drove in two runs as New York waited out an inconsistent Daniel Cabrera (9-17).
Derek Jeter singled and doubled, passing Bernie Williams for fourth place on the club's career list with 2,337 hits. The Yankees improved to a season-best 22 games over .500.
Indians 6, Tigers 5, 11 innings
At Cleveland, Casey Blake homered with one out in the 11th inning to give the Indians a comeback win over Detroit, who slid 5.5 games back in the AL Central.
Blake turned on a 1-2 pitch from Zach Miner (3-4) and drove it into the left-field bleachers for his second game-ending homer in four days, a shot that lowered the Indians' magic number to seven and inched them closer to their first postseason appearance since 2001.
Mariners 4, Athletics 0
At Oakland, California, Jose Lopez hit a three-run homer and Miguel Batista outpitched All-Star Dan Haren to end a five-start winless stretch as Seattle beat Oakland.
Yuniesky Betancourt drove in Seattle's first run and had the first hit off Haren (14-8), who was trying for the fifth time to notch his 15th victory.
Angels 10, Devil Rays 7
At Anaheim, California, Chone Figgins and Casey Kotchman each had three hits and two RBIs as Anaheim beat Tampa Bay to lower its magic number for clinching the AL West to five.
Darren Oliver (3-0) allowed two hits in one-and-two-thirds scoreless innings for the Angels, who had 18 hits. Los Angeles overcame deficits of 2-0 and 4-3 and also wasted leads of 3-2 and 6-4. Starter Kelvim Escobar allowed B.J. Upton to steal home in the third.
Twins 5, Rangers 4
At Minneapolis, Ian Kinsler badly misplayed Jason Bartlett's popup with two outs in the ninth inning, allowing Lew Ford to score the winning run as Minnesota rallied to beat Texas.
Michael Cuddyer opened the inning by driving a 2-2 pitch from Joaquin Benoit (7-4) into the left field seats to tie the game. Ford then walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brian Buscher. After Nick Punto struck out, Bartlett hit a popup behind second base that hit the glove of the backpedaling Kinsler.
White Sox 11, Royals 3
At Kansas City, Missouri, Jermaine Dye, Danny Richar and Josh Fields homered in an 11-run fifth inning as Chicago rallied to beat Kansas City.
It was Chicago's biggest inning since an 11-run third at St. Louis on June 20 last year. It was the most runs in an inning off the Royals since an 11-run first at Cleveland on Aug. 13 last year.
Kansas City led 2-0 before Kyle Davies (2-6) gave up Richar's leadoff homer, Fields' two-run double and Dye's three-run homer, which put Chicago ahead 6-2.
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