PHOENIX – Elmer Dessens drove in a run with his first triple and pitched seven shutout innings to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

It was Arizona’s second straight narrow decision over the Dodgers, coming hours after a 2-1 victory in 15 innings Friday night.

Eddie Oropesa and Jose Valverde worked out of a jam in the eighth and Matt Mantei pitched the ninth for his 11th save, finishing the Diamondbacks’ sixth shutout of the season – a six-hitter.

Dessens (6-7), the only member of the Diamondbacks opening day rotation to make every start this year, allowed four hits and one intentional walk while striking out six.

Dessens retired 16 consecutive batters between singles by Cesar Izturis in the first inning and Dave Roberts in the sixth. Roberts reached second on a balk, but Dessens struck out Izturis, the next batter, for the third out.

Astros 3, Cubs 1

HOUSTON – Tim Redding allowed just two hits in seven strong innings and Jeff Bagwell homered as the Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 Saturday.

Lance Berkman had an RBI double for the NL Central-leading Astros, who took a 3-1 lead on Bagwell’s 22nd homer in the sixth.

Jeff Kent, the next batter, objected to a strike call by plate umpire Matt Hollowell and was ejected with two strikes.

Marlins 10, Phillies 5

MIAMI – Two errors by center fielder Marlon Byrd led to a pair of unearned runs, and Josh Beckett allowed one run in six innings to help the Florida Marlins beat the Philadelphia Phillies for the seventh time in a row, 10-5 Saturday night.

Ivan Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera each drove in three runs for the Marlins, who climbed six games above .500 for the first time since they finished the 1997 season 92-70. That team went on to win the World Series.

Florida is three games behind Philadelphia, the leader in the NL wild-card race. The Phillies stranded 10 runners, struck out 14 times and committed three errors, giving them 10 in the past four games.

Cardinals 13, Pirates 8

ST. LOUIS – Albert Pujols had four hits and drove in four runs and Jason Isringhausen hit a bases-loaded triple, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 13-8 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

Tino Martinez went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, Edgar Renteria added three hits and Scott Rolen hit a three-run homer for St. Louis, which got 19 hits.

Pujols went 4-for-5 with two doubles to increase his major league-leading average to .376. He now has an NL-high 44 multihit games and has hit in at least 10 straight games for the third time this season. Pujols is second to Preston Wilson in the NL with 96 RBIs.

Reds 8, Mets 3

NEW YORK – Jose Acevedo struck out a career-high 10 in his first complete game, and Adam Dunn had three hits and drove in two runs as the Cincinnati Reds snapped a four-game losing streak with an 8-3 win over the New York Mets on Saturday night.

The Reds scored three times in the first inning en route to just their second win in nine games since the All-Star break.

Acevedo (2-0) was overpowering. He threw 111 pitches – 81 strikes – and, struck out four straight in the fourth and fifth innings. He has won two straight since being recalled from Triple-A Louisville on July 18.

Braves 15, Expos 4

MONTREAL – Javy Lopez’s bases-loaded triple keyed a five-run first inning and Andruw Jones had four hits and three RBIs as the Atlanta Braves routed the Montreal Expos 15-4 Saturday night.

Gary Sheffield had three hits – including his 25th homer – and three RBIs for Atlnta, which tied a season-high with 18 hits.