CINCINNATI – Barry Larkin homered for the first time since April, and Juan Castro hit a tiebreaking shot in the eighth inning Friday night, rallying the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Castro’s two-out, two-run homer off Felix Rodriguez (6-1) gave the Reds their 26th victory in their final at-bat, the most in the majors.

The Reds are 4-1 in their gut-wrenching week, with all four wins coming in their final at-bat. They fired their manager and general manager, and traded away four key players for prospects and cash.

Phillies 6, Padres 0

PHILADELPHIA – Kevin Millwood did not allow a baserunner until the sixth inning, finishing with a three-hitter to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the San Diego Padres 6-0.

Jim Thome drove in two runs and Marlon Byrd had four hits, helping the NL wild card-leading Phillies to their fourth straight win.

Expos 8, Brewers 4

MONTREAL – Jamey Carroll homered off an Olympic Stadium speaker and Brad Wilkerson homered and drove in three runs, leading the Montreal Expos over the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4.

Tomo Ohka (8-10) got his first win in over a month, allowing eight hits and one run in seven innings.

Astros 2, Marlins 1

MIAMI – Jeff Kent’s solo home run and Josh Beckett’s balk were enough for the Houston Astros to defeat the Florida Marlins 2-1. Tim Redding (8-9) gave up one run on six hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked one.

Cardinals 8, Mets 2

NEW YORK – Miguel Cairo and reliever Steve Kline each hit a two-run double in a six-run eighth inning that sent the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-2 victory over the New York Mets.

Edgar Renteria went 3-for-4 with a homer and a double for the Cardinals, who remained two games behind first-place Houston in the NL Central.

Pirates 12, Rockies 11

PITTSBURGH – Jason Kendall’s RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning capped a six-run rally and gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 12-11 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Tike Redman hit a two-out, two-run triple off Adam Bernero (0-1) to tie it.

Cubs 4, Diamondbacks 3

CHICAGO – Aramis Ramirez hit an RBI single in the 14th inning and the Chicago Cubs beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 in a game that included a three-hour rain delay.

Ramirez barely scored on pinch-hitter Troy O’Leary’s tying, two-out, two-run double in the 11th. Then in the 14th, Ramirez singled home Sammy Sosa to extend Arizona’s team-record road losing streak to 10.

Braves 2, Dodgers 0

ATLANTA – Greg Maddux reached 10 wins for the 16th straight season and Andruw Jones homered before leaving with an injury, leading the Atlanta Braves past the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0.

Robin Ventura entered at first base during a double switch in the sixth and went 0-for-2 with a flyout to end the game.

American League

Rangers 10, Indians 3

ARLINGTON, Texas – Mark Teixeira and Todd Greene each homered twice and the Texas Rangers tied a team record by hitting seven home runs in beating the Cleveland Indians 10-3.

Michael Young set the tone for the Rangers when he led off the first with his 10th home run of the season.

Twins 10, Tigers 4

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Twins stopped the Tigers for the 16th straight time, 10-4.

The Twins have not lost to Detroit since May 5, 2002, and have outscored the Tigers 99-32 in that span. Minnesota won its third in a row overall and sent Detroit to its fifth straight loss. Kyle Lohse (7-9) won for the first time in over seven weeks.

Devil Rays 9, Royals 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Travis Lee homered and drove in four runs as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays won their fourth in a row, beating the slumping Kansas City Royals 9-6.

The Royals lost their fourth straight game, matching the worst skid of the season.

for the AL Central leaders.

Raul Ibanez homered and drove in five runs for Kansas City.