DENVER – Josh Phelps had three RBIs and a career-high four hits, Paul Maholm scattered seven hits over seven innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 5-1 Thursday.

Phelps, who was acquired off waivers from the New York Yankees on June 22, went 4-for-5 in his sixth start for the Pirates. Maholm (10-14) allowed a run, walked two and struck out five in winning for the fifth time in seven starts.

The Pirates took three of four games from the struggling Rockies, losers of four of five.

Giants 4, Cubs 1

SAN FRANCISCO – Matt Cain outpitched and even outslugged opposing starter Carlos Zambrano, shutting down the Chicago Cubs for seven innings and hitting his second career home run Thursday to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 4-1 victory.

Cain, who came into the game with the third-lowest run support in the National League, figured out a way to fix that problem by homering for the second time this month. Cain (6-13) has won three of his last four starts – including both starts he homered in – after winning just three of his first 22 this season.

Reds 9, Braves 7

CINCINNATI – Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer in the 12th inning to give the Cincinnati Reds a 9-7 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night for their third straight win.

Mark Teixeira homered and Chipper Jones matched a career high with five RBIs, but that wasn’t enough to keep the Braves from their second three-game losing streak in eight days. Atlanta fell three games behind San Diego, the NL wild card leader.

Nationals 7, Astros 8

HOUSTON – Ronnie Belliard capped a five-run first inning with a two-run homer, and Austin Kearns had three hits as the Washington Nationals hung on to beat the Houston Astros 7-6 on Thursday night.

Washington roughed up Astros rookie Juan Gutierrez in his first major league start, tagging him for another run in the third. The Nationals took three of four in the series against the Astros after losing five of their previous six games.

Padres 9, Mets 8

NEW YORK – Adrian Gonzalez homered in the 10th inning and the San Diego Padres outlasted the New York Mets 9-8 on Thursday night in a wild game that included blown saves by Billy Wagner and Trevor Hoffman.

The Padres took two of three from the NL East leaders in a potential playoff preview. San Diego increased its lead in the wild-card race to two games over Philadelphia.