Hamels pitches Phillies to victory

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Cole Hamels pitched seven effective innings, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz both had three hits and Philadelphia beat San Diego 9-4 on Thursday night.

One day after their 10-game winning streak ended, the NL East-leading Phillies moved 6 1/2 games ahead Atlanta and Florida with their 15th win in 17 games.

Kyle Blanks hit a two-run homer for San Diego, which has the second-worst record in the majors (37-59).

Hamels (6-5) allowed three runs and four hits, striking out six. He won for the second time in nine starts.

Kevin Correia (6-8) allowed eight runs and nine hits in 3 1-3 innings. It was his shortest outing in 20 starts this season.

The Phillies scored three runs in the second, one in the third and four in the fourth. Carlos Ruiz hit a solo homer in the seventh for the Phillies, who had 14 hits.

Giants 5, Braves 1

ATLANTA (AP) - Barry Zito gave up three hits in seven innings and San Francisco avoided a four-game sweep.

The Giants improved to 2-5 on their 10-game trip while the Braves, who had a four-game winning streak end, finished a 6-2 homestand. They were denied their first four-game sweep of the Giants in Atlanta.

Zito (6-10) walked five batters but gave up one run, Yunel Escobar's second-inning homer, and San Francisco scored four unearned runs in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie.

Mike Gonzalez (3-3), who had ligament-replacement surgery on his left elbow in May 2007, suffered a left forearm contusion when struck by Nate Schierholtz's line drive to open the eighth inning.

Escobar has four homers and 13 RBIs in eight games since the All-Star break.

Atlanta starter Kenshin Kawakami gave up four hits and one run in five innings.

Cardinals 4, Nationals 1, 6 innings, rain

WASHINGTON (AP) - Adam Wainwright pitched six strong innings and Rick Ankiel broke a five-week homer drought as St. Louis snapped a three-game losing skid with a rain-shortened victory.

Wainwright (11-6) allowed one run and eight hits in the 19th consecutive start he has gone at least six innings. He walked one and struck out seven in his first complete game of the season and third of his career.

The game, a makeup of a May 3 contest postponed by rain, was called with one out in the top of the seventh after a 1-hour, 30-minute delay left the field unplayable. There was a 76-minute stoppage in the fourth inning.

Adam Dunn had three hits for the Nationals, who had won two straight.

Ankiel led off the second with his sixth homer, and first since June 19.

Collin Balester (0-1) started for the Nationals in place of the injured Jordan Zimmermann, but was removed after thunderstorms forced the first delay. He allowed three runs - two earned - and three hits, walked one and struck out two in his 2009 debut.

Diamondbacks 11, Pirates 4

PHOENIX (AP) - Miguel Montero doubled in the go-ahead run in Arizona's five-run seventh and pinch-hitter Chad Tracy capped the inning with a three-run homer.

The Diamondbacks' bullpen pitched four scoreless innings after Dan Haren allowed four runs in five innings. It was the NL ERA leader's shortest outing of the season and only the second in which he gave up more than three runs.

Mark Reynolds doubled with one out in the seventh off reliever Evan Meek (1-1) and Montero followed with a double for a 5-4 lead.

Josh Whitesell greeted reliever John Grabow with a run-scoring single, and after Augie Ojeda walked, Tracy hit his sixth homer.

Justin Upton hit a two-run homer, his 17th, in the eighth.

Juan Gutiererz (3-2), the third of four Arizona relievers, won after pitching a 1-2-3 seventh.

Garret Jones hit a two-run double before Ryan Doumit hit his fifth homer of the season in the fifth.