HOUSTON – Roger Clemens won his 332nd game with some rare run support, and Morgan Ensberg and Jason Lane homered during a five-run first inning in the Houston Astros’ 6-4 win over St. Louis on Sunday.

Willy Taveras had a career-high four hits and Lane went 2-for-3 with two RBIs to help Clemens (4-3) overcome some early struggles and outlast St. Louis lefty Mark Mulder, who lost his second straight after a seven-game winning streak.

Russ Springer and Dan Wheeler combined to pitch three scoreless innings and Brad Lidge got the final three outs for his 13th save in 15 chances, snapping Houston’s five-game losing streak to the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

Pirates 5, Braves 2

PITTSBURGH – Rob Mackowiak hit a go-ahead two-run homer, Matt Lawton added a solo shot and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the skidding Atlanta Braves 5-2 Sunday behind seven strong innings by Oliver Perez.

Perez (4-4) allowed just four hits and won his third consecutive decision since missing a start with shoulder soreness. He struck out seven and walked three to help the Pirates win for the fifth time in seven games.

Dodgers 10, Brewers 6

LOS ANGELES – Jeff Kent had four hits and four RBIs and Jayson Werth had a two-run triple among his four hits, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 10-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

Kent, went 4-for-4 and drove in a run with each of his hits, helping the defending NL West champions back to the .500 mark at home (15-15). The four-time All-Star, who signed with the Dodgers in the offseason, leads all second basemen with 44 RBIs.

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Cubs 4, Padres 0

SAN DIEGO – Carlos Zambrano was impressive again, combining with two relievers on a five-hitter and leading the Chicago Cubs to a 4-0 win over San Diego on Sunday, their ninth win in 10 games.

The Cubs took three of four from the NL West-leading Padres – including two shutouts – and went 6-1 on a swing through Los Angeles and San Diego.

Phillies 7, D-backs 6

PHILADELPHIA – Mike Lieberthal hit a disputed three-run homer and Randy Wolf pitched seven solid innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 Sunday, their sixth straight win.

Arizona’s Luis Gonzalez hit his 300th career home run – a solo shot in the eighth off reliever Rheal Cormier.

Giants 6, Mets 3

NEW YORK – Brett Tomko hit a three-run double and shut down the New York Mets, and the San Francisco Giants snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory Sunday in the first game of a doubleheader.

Lance Niekro homered and got three hits, Deivi Cruz added three hits and Marquis Grissom drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning double, ending San Francisco’s longest skid since also dropping eight straight in May 2000.

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Nationals 6, Marlins 3

WASHINGTON – Those maddening Washington Nationals did it again: another come-from-behind victory, this time punctuated by a three-run, eighth-inning homer from Ryan Church in a 6-3 win Sunday that completed a sweep of the Florida Marlins.

The win, coupled with Atlanta’s loss to Pittsburgh, puts a team called Washington in first place this late in the season for the first time since 1933, when the Washington Senators won the American League pennant.

Rockies 8, Reds 6

DENVER – Todd Greene homered and had three RBIs, and the Colorado Rockies made two spectacular defensive plays in the eighth inning to beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-6 Sunday for their fourth-straight victory and first sweep this season.

Cincinnati pulled to 7-6 in the eighth on Felipe Lopez’s RBI single and had runners at second and third with no outs against Blaine Neal (1-1).


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