PITTSBURGH – Wilson Alvarez pitched perfect ball into the sixth inning before Chris Stynes reached on an infield hit – Pittsburgh’s only runner of the night – and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pirates 4-0 Friday.

Alvarez (1-0), making his first start this season following eight relief appearances, combined with Guillermo Mota on the one-hitter, helping the NL West leader improve to 18-10.

Stynes led off the sixth with a hard grounder between first and second that second baseman Jose Hernandez knocked down but couldn’t make a play on. Stynes reached without a throw.

He was sacrificed to second but was stranded when Tike Redman grounded out.

Hernandez homered twice and had three hits and three RBIs for the Dodgers, who got their second shutout this season. Pittsburgh, which lost its fourth straight, was blanked for the second time.

Astros 5, Braves 3

ATLANTA – Jeff Kent drove in three runs and Tim Redding took advantage of Atlanta’s depleted lineup, allowing one run in six innings to lead the Houston Astros past the Braves 5-3 on Friday night.

Redding (1-3) had been knocked around in his first four starts, coming into the game with a 10.57 ERA. But he had no trouble against the Braves, who were missing Chipper Jones, Marcus Giles and Rafael Furcal from their batting order.

Kent hit a two-run double in the fourth, and homered in the sixth.

The Astros won for the eighth time in nine games to maintain the best record in the National League, while Atlanta lost its season-high third in a row.

John Thomson (2-2) retired the first 10 Houston hitters, but ran into major problems in the fourth.

The Astros wiped out the no-hitter with five straight hits, including Kent’s double and Lance Berkman’s run-scoring single for a 3-0 lead.

Brewers 7, Mets 5

NEW YORK – Keith Ginter, Lyle Overbay and pinch-hitter Ben Grieve homered and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated New York 7-5 Friday night, ending the Mets’ four-game winning streak.

The Brewers won for just the second time in seven games. The Mets, who got a three-run homer from Joe McEwing in the ninth inning, were coming off a sweep of San Francisco.

Ginter and Overbay connected off Tom Glavine (4-2) during a four-run third. The left-hander began the game with a 1.85 ERA, third best in the National League.

Doug Davis (2-2) had little trouble with the Mets in the early innings. He retired the first eight batters before giving up a two-out single to Glavine in the third.

Expos 4, Cardinals 2

MONTREAL – Brad Wilkerson and Terrmel Sledge hit two-run homers in the first inning to lead the Montreal Expos over the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 Friday night.

Sun-woo Kim (2-0) allowed one run and seven hits over six innings in his second start since joining the rotation. His 5-4 win at Los Angeles on Sunday was his first since Sept. 28, 2002.

Rocky Biddle pitched the ninth for his sixth save in as many chances. Montreal has won four of five for the first time this season, getting consecutive victories for only the third time. Matt Morris (3-3) gave up all four runs and seven hits in six innings. St. Louis, which outhit the Expos 9-7, fell to 2-2 on its six-game trip, dropping its road record to 9-4.

Giants 6, Reds 1

CINCINNATI – Manager Dave Miley’s decision to walk Barry Bonds backfired when Pedro Feliz followed with a homer, sparking the San Francisco Giants to a 6-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.

Left-hander Kirk Rueter (1-3) limited the Reds to three hits and no walks in eight innings. He also had an RBI double in the Giants’ four-run eighth, completing his breakthrough performance.

Rueter came in with a 7.06 ERA and no wins in six starts, the worst season-opening slump of his career. He had thrown 118 pitches when he left for a pinch-hitter in the ninth, and Tyler Walker came on in relief.

Walker gave up an RBI single to D’Angelo Jimenez in the ninth, and the Reds loaded the bases with no outs. Jason Christiansen struck out Adam Dunn and got Ken Griffey Jr. to line out before Matt Herges got Juan Castro to fly out for his 10th save in 11 chances.

Marlins 3, Padres 1

MIAMI – Mike Lowell hit two home runs, Carl Pavano pitched eight sharp innings and the Florida Marlins beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 Friday night.

The Padres had two players ejected, including starting pitcher Jake Peavy after he hit Pavano with a pitch with two outs in the seventh inning.

Lowell led off the second inning with a drive that traveled an estimated 402 feet into the left-field stands. His ninth homer of the season was a liner leading off the fourth that barely cleared the 330-foot marker in the left-field corner.

After striking out the first two batters of the seventh inning, Peavy hit Pavano with the first pitch of his at-bat. Home plate umpire Doug Eddings immediately tossed Peavy and went to restrain Pavano who threw his helmet to the ground on his way first base.

Cubs 11, Rockies 0

CHICAGO – Carlos Zambrano gave up a career-low two hits and the Chicago Cubs teed off on former teammate Shawn Estes in a 11-0 rout of the Colorado Rockies on Friday. The Rockies had no answer for Zambrano (3-1), who retired the first 14 batters and allowed only four baserunners the entire afternoon.

Matt Holliday had a two-out single between short and third in the fifth inning for the Rockies’ first hit, but Zambrano came right back and struck out Brad Hawpe.

Luis Gonzalez reached on shortstop Ramon Martinez’s error in the sixth inning, but was doubled off one batter later. Zambrano then retired seven straight before hitting Gonzalez in the ninth.