NL roundup: Phillies pound Cardinals 14-6

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Jimmy Rollins hit a go-ahead grand slam and had a career-high five RBIs, Shane Victorino went 4 for 4 with a homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 14-6 on Saturday in a matchup of division leaders.

Rodrigo Lopez (3-0) allowed four runs - three earned - and 10 hits in six innings. The veteran right-hander likely would be the odd man out when recently signed Pedro Martinez is ready to join the Phillies' rotation.

Cardinals center fielder Rick Ankiel hit a solo homer and robbed Jayson Werth of a two-run shot with an outstanding catch. Ryan Ludwick also went deep for the NL Central leaders.

Rollins connected off reliever Jason Motte (3-4) in the sixth to give Philadelphia a 7-4 lead. Victorino followed with a homer.

The NL East-leading Phillies have won 16 of 19.

Matt Holliday went 2 for 4 with a walk after getting four hits in his debut with St. Louis.

Cubs 5, Reds 3

CHICAGO (AP) - Aramis Ramirez hit his second homer in two days and Chicago beat struggling Cincinnati for its ninth victory in 12 games.

Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley added solo shots to back a strong start by Kevin Hart (2-1) and send the Reds to their fifth straight loss.

Ramirez gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead in the first with a two-run drive after compiling four hits the previous game. Soriano added his 17th homer in the fifth off Johnny Cueto (8-7), and Bradley, after getting booed, connected against David Weathers in the eighth for his first career pinch-hit homer.

That was enough for Hart, who allowed one run over six innings in place of injured Ted Lilly to win his second consecutive start. Lilly went on the disabled list before the game with inflammation in his left shoulder, and Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee left before the top of the eighth because of back spasms.

The Reds got solo homers from Joey Votto and Jonny Gomes in the ninth off Aaron Heilman that made it 5-3 before Kevin Gregg retired Jerry Hairston Jr. for his 20th save.

Brewers 4, Braves 0

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Yovani Gallardo scattered four hits in 7 1-3 scoreless innings and drove in the only run Milwaukee needed off previously unbeaten Tommy Hanson to lead the Brewers over the Atlanta Braves.

The RBI single by Gallardo (9-7) broke open a scoreless game in the fifth and gave the struggling Brewers a boost of confidence after a miserable start to July. Milwaukee had lost 13 of 19 to fall from first to fourth in the NL Central.

Gallardo's recent performances matched the Brewers' slide. He started July 0-3 with a 5.09 ERA, while Hanson (5-1) came in looking for the best start by a Braves rookie since Larry McWilliams won his first seven decisions in 1978.

Mets 10, Astros 3

HOUSTON (AP) - Jeff Francoeur hit a three-run homer, David Wright added a solo shot and the New York Mets enjoyed a rare offensive outburst in a victory over the Houston Astros.

Omir Santos also homered and touted prospect Jonathon Niese (1-0), just recalled from the minors, pitched seven impressive innings while cruising to his second major league win. New York snapped a three-game skid, matching its season high for homers in a game and reaching 10 runs for the third time this year.

Luis Castillo, Daniel Murphy and Cory Sullivan also drove in runs for the Mets, who had dropped six of their previous eight games and averaged 1.5 runs in the losses.

Hunter Pence hit a two-run homer in the ninth for Houston off Francisco Rodriguez. But the Astros mustered only four hits against Niese, called up from Triple-A Buffalo earlier in the day. Russ Ortiz (3-5) struggled with his control from the start and the Mets took a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

Rockies 8, Giants 2

DENVER (AP) - Troy Tulowitzki homered and drove in a career-high five runs and Jorge De La Rosa won his career-best sixth straight start, leading Colorado's rout of San Francisco.

The Rockies also moved a game ahead of the Giants in the NL wild-card race.

De La Rosa (8-7) allowed one run on seven hits over 7 1-3 innings with no walks and seven strikeouts. He retired the first 11 batters he faced, six by strikeout, before Pablo Sandoval stroked a double into right field with two outs in the fourth.

Jonathan Sanchez (3-9) matched De La Rosa inning for hitless inning until Todd Helton led off the fourth with a line-drive single to right for Colorado's first hit. One night earlier, Matt Cain had held the Rockies without a hit until Ian Stewart's single with two outs in the fifth.

Diamondbacks 7, Pirates 0

PHOENIX (AP) - Justin Upton homered and drove in three runs, and Doug Davis rebounded from his worst start of the season with six sharp innings in the Arizona Diamondbacks' victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Upton's two-run homer into the left-field seats off Ross Ohlendorf broke a scoreless tie in the fourth, after Stephen Drew led off with a double.

Davis (5-10) gave up five hits and walked three while tying a season high with eight strikeouts.

Ohlendorf (8-8) lost his fourth straight road start, and Upton's 18th homer was the first he had allowed in his last five outings.

Nationals 13, Padres 1

WASHINGTON (AP) - Adam Dunn's grand slam capped a five-run second inning after a rain delay of more than three hours and the Washington Nationals beat the San Diego Padres for their most lopsided victory of the season.

Dunn finished with five RBIs, Ryan Zimmerman homered and drove in three runs and Nyjer Morgan equaled a career high with four hits for Washington, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

After San Diego stranded a pair of runners in the second, the game was halted for 3 hours, 11 minutes by a line of storms that drenched Washington, threatening the Nationals' 2-0 lead. It was the 17th Nationals game delayed by rain this season, with those stoppages totaling 33 hours, 42 minutes.

Tyler Clippard (1-0) relieved J.D. Martin and fanned a career-high seven in four innings in which he allowed one hit. Padres starter Tim Stauffer (0-2) took the loss.

Dodgers 4, Marlins 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Casey Blake blooped a bases-loaded single with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Florida Marlins for their sixth win in seven games.

James Loney and Russell Martin tied it in the sixth with run-scoring singles for the Dodgers, who improved the majors' best record to 62-35 while snapping the Marlins' four-game winning streak on their West Coast road trip.

After Rafael Furcal's one-out bunt single in the ninth, Orlando Hudson singled to left off Dan Meyer (2-1). Luis Ayala then struck out Manny Ramirez, but walked Andre Ethier to load the bases before Blake dropped his hit into shallow right-center, finishing Los Angeles' 27th comeback win.

Jonathan Broxton (7-0) pitched a perfect ninth for the Dodgers, who have lost back-to-back games just once in July. They still haven't lost three straight all season.