MILWAUKEE – The Italian sausage made a sizzling comeback but the Milwaukee Brewers’ rally fell short Thursday, with Aramis Ramirez hitting a three-run homer that gave Pittsburgh a 5-4 victory.

Pirates first baseman Randall Simon did not play. Hours earlier, he was cited for disorderly conduct and fined $432 for hitting one of the Brewers’ popular racing sausages Wednesday night at Miller Park. Prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges.

Simon’s chop caused the 18-year-old woman in the Italian sausage costume to tumble, and the 19-year-old woman in the hot dog outfit also fell. Both were treated for scraped knees.

Four new people were inside the costumes Thursday. Pirates players moved into the dugout and away from the field as the sausage racers – an oversized bratwurst, hot dog and Italian and Polish sausages – ran past them along the infield warning track between the sixth and seventh innings.

“They’re rounding the Pirates dugout – they’ve made it safely,” said Robb Edwards, the Brewers announcer, to the wild cheers of fans on their feet.

The Italian sausage won the race. Jeff Suppan (8-7) won the game, pitching a complete game. He gave up eight hits, walked none and struck out nine.

Braves 13, Cubs 3

CHICAGO – Vinny Castilla homered and drove in four runs as the Atlanta Braves beat the slumping Chicago Cubs 13-3, extending their season-high winning streak to seven.

Greg Maddux (7-8) pitched a solid six innings, and Atlanta broke open the game with three runs in the sixth and five more in the eighth.

Padres 14, Diamondbacks 2

PHOENIX – Sean Burroughs hit a three-run homer, doubled twice and scored three runs as the San Diego Padres routed Arizona 14-2 Thursday, ending the Diamondbacks’ 11-game home winning streak.

Mark Kotsay, Mark Loretta and pitcher Kevin Jarvis each drove in two runs for the Padres, who snapped Arizona’s four-game winning streak. San Diego won for the ninth time in 12 games.

Phillies 7, Mets 2

NEW YORK – Jim Thome and Mike Lieberthal capped a four-run first inning with back-to-back homers, and Vicente Padilla pitched into the ninth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 7-2.

The Phillies wasted no time getting on the board after being no-hit for six innings by Montreal’s Tomo Ohka on Wednesday. Marlon Byrd led off with a sharp single off Steve Trachsel, and Philadelphia was up 4-0 before they made an out. It was 7-1 after two.

Dodgers 9, Cardinals 4

ST. LOUIS – Shawn Green had four hits and scored four as the Los Angeles Dodgers got production from an underachieving offense for a third straight game, beating Matt Morris and the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4.

Jolbert Cabrera and Adrian Beltre each drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who swept the two-game series. Los Angeles won consecutive games for the first time since June 20-21, going 4-13 since then.

Astros 11, Reds 2

HOUSTON – Richard Hidalgo hit a three-run double and the Houston Astros jumped out to the biggest first inning in franchise history, scoring nine runs in an 11-2 victory over the slumping Cincinnati Reds.

Geoff Blum had two hits in the first inning, including a two-run single. Jeff Bagwell, Brad Ausmus and Adam Everett added RBI singles as the Astros chased Paul Wilson before he got an out.

Rockies 11, Giants 3

DENVER – Preston Wilson had two homers and a career-high six RBIs, and Darren Oliver hit his first major league homer and won his fourth straight decision as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants 11-3.

Barry Bonds homered for the second straight night to give him 641 in his career, 19 shy of Willie Mays for third on the all-time list.

American League

Angels 7, Royals 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Garret Anderson hit a pair of two-run homers, both of them following two-out walks to Tim Salmon, and Adam Kennedy also homered as the Anaheim Angels beat the Kansas City Royals 7-1.

Anderson, picked as a reserve for the AL All-Star team, hit his 20th and 21st home runs.

.Tigers 1, White Sox 0

DETROIT – Nate Cornejo came within three outs of his first career shutout and led the Detroit Tigers to their first home sweep in a year with a 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Cornejo (4-7) won for the first time in 11 starts since May 11. He had lost his past five decisions.

Athletics 5, Devil Rays 2

OAKLAND, Calif. – Mark Mulder pitched a five-hitter for his AL-leading seventh complete game and the Oakland Athletics defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5-2.

Mulder (12-6) tied Toronto’s Roy Halladay and Atlanta’s Russ Ortiz for the most wins in the majors.

Indians 3, Yankees 2

CLEVELAND – Rookie Jody Gerut’s RBI single scored Coco Crisp in the 10th inning, giving the Cleveland Indians a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees.

Gerut grounded an 0-1 pitch from Sterling Hitchcock (0-2) through New York’s drawn-in infield as the Indians won two of three and took their first home season series from the Yankees since Jacobs Field opened in 1994.

Rangers 9, Twins 4

ARLINGTON, Texas – Juan Gonzalez homered twice, including a three-run shot in the first inning, and the Texas Rangers hit four home runs to beat the stumbling Minnesota Twins 9-4 and complete a three-game sweep.

Michael Young added a three-run homer and rookie Mark Teixeira also connected for the Rangers.

, who’ve won four in a row, six of seven and 11 of 16.

The Twins have lost five straight and 12 of 17.