CINCINNATI – Pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.

Anderson homered off Danny Graves, the major leagues saves leader with 33, after Reggie Sanders hit a two-run single to pull St. Louis to 5-4. It was the eighth blown save in 41 opportunities for Graves (1-4).

Kiki Calero (1-0) pitched a perfect seventh inning. Jason Isringhausen pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 26 opportunities.

Cincinnati opened a four-run lead in the first, capped by Wily Mo Pena’s three-run homer. Pena’s 11th homer came off Woody Williams, who hasn’t lost since June 8 at Chicago. Since then, Williams has three wins and three no-decisions.

Williams allowed eight hits and five runs in six innings. He walked one and struck out five. It was the fifth this season time Williams left with a lead and didn’t get a win.

Brewers 3, Cubs 2

CHICAGO – Pinch-hitter Brooks Kieschnick singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied for a 3-2 victory Friday over the Chicago Cubs.

Victor Santos (9-3) allowed four hits and two runs in six innings to win for the seventh time in his last eight decisions.

Bill Hall, who entered the game in the bottom of the first because third baseman Wes Helms had an upset stomach, singled in the seventh and advanced two bases on the same play with an easy steal of second and Matt Clement’s wild pitch.

Expos 5, Braves 1

ATLANTA – Jose Vidro homered and had three hits, helping the Montreal Expos beat Atlanta 5-1 Friday night and knock the Braves out of first place.

A night after the Expos were shut out for the 14th time this season, Montreal rebounded to beat Atlanta for only the third time in 11 games this year.

Nick Johnson added two hits, including an RBI double in the eighth off Chris Reitsma, and the Expos’ bullpen pitched 4 1-3 shutout innings. Joe Horgan (2-0) escaped a bases loaded jam in the sixth after he relieved Claudio Vargas, and Chad Cordero pitched the ninth.

Pirates 6, Marlins 2

PITTSBURGH – Kris Benson made another strong start as he apparently winds down his Pirates career, limiting Florida to two runs over 8 1-3 innings to lead Pittsburgh past Florida 6-2 Friday night.

Benson (7-7), being eyed by a half-dozen contending teams as the July 31 deadline for trades without waivers approaches, was in little trouble after working out of a first-inning jam to help the Pirates win their eighth in a row at home.

Benson was trying for his first complete game since he blanked the Braves on June 15, 2000, but came out after allowing three hits to the four batters in the ninth, including Jeff Conine’s RBI single. Benson gave up eight hits, struck out four and walked one.

Phillies 5, Mets 1

NEW YORK – Jim Thome hit his major league-leading 29th home run, and Kevin Millwood pitched three-hit ball for seven innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the New York Mets 5-1 Friday night.

Bobby Abreu also homered and drove in two runs for the Phillies, who bounced back from an 11-inning loss in the opener of the four-game series. Thome finished with three RBIs, and Jimmy Rollins stole two bases. Millwood (7-5) didn’t give up a hit until the fifth and outpitched Jae Seo, who got the start when the Mets changed their minds about calling up Scott Erickson.

Padres 5, Astros 1

HOUSTON – Phil Garner opened his tenure as manager of the Houston Astros with a loss.

Mark Loretta’s three-run double backed Jake Peavy, who sent Andy Pettitte to his third straight loss and led the San Diego Padres to a 5-1 victory Friday night.

Garner, who managed Milwaukee and Detroit to a combined 708-802 record during parts of 11 seasons, replaced Jimy Williams on Wednesday, the day after Houston hosted the All-Star game. The Astros lost for the seventh time in nine games, dropping to 44-45 and falling under .500 for the first time since they were 1-2 on April 7. Houston dropped a season-high 12 games behind NL Central-leading St. Louis, which has won 10 of 11 games.

Pettitte (5-3), who left the New York Yankees for the chance to pitch for his hometown Astros, allowed four runs and seven hits over five innings in his first career start against San Diego.

Peavy (6-3), who struggled against Houston on July 7 in his second start after coming off the DL, allowed one run and six hits in five-plus innings.

Khalil Greene, Peavy and Jeff Cirillo singled in the second before Loretta drove them in with a double that went just over the outstretched glove of All-Star center fielder Carlos Beltran.

Ryan Klesko and Jeff Cirillo added run-scoring doubles in the fifth and sixth fpr a 5-0 lead.

Beltran hit an RBI triple in the sixth, and Houston loaded the bases. Scott Linebrink relieved Peavy and retired Jeff Bagwell on a flyout, then struck out Brad Ausmus and got Adam Everett on another flyout.

The crowd of 39,106 booed, and many fans started heading for the exits by the thousands.

Notes: Pettitte threw a ball past home plate in the third, but Ausmus scrambled to retrieve it and flipped the ball to Pettitte, who tagged out Jay Payton. … Beltran had his first hit in Houston after going 0-for-11 in a three-game series against Texas last week.

AP-ES-07-16-04 2315EDT