MILWAUKEE -- Manny Parra won for the first time since July 20, J.J. Hardy hit a two-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Houston Astros 5-2 on Wednesday.
Hardy's two-run shot in the seventh provided put the game out of reach, helping Manny Parra to his first win in six starts.
Parra (10-6) won 7-4 at San Francisco a month ago, but then lost four straight decisions over his next five starts.
He allowed two runs on six hits, walked four and struck out two over five innings. Carlos Villanueva and Eric Gagne combined for three hitless innings of relief and Salomon Torres closed it out with his 24th save in 29 chances.
Hardy homered off reliever Doug Brocail, who had just come into the game after reliever Wesley Wright walked Rickie Weeks with two outs in the seventh inning.
The Brewers gave Parra a 2-0 lead with Gabe Kapler's run-scoring double and Prince Fielder' sacrifice fly in the first. Fielder added another sacrifice fly in the third to make it 3-0.
The Astros sent eight batters to the plate in the fourth inning and Miguel Tejada and Lance Berkman scored. Full story
Diamondbacks 8, Padres 6
PHOENIX -- Adam Dunn hit his National League-leading 34th home run, his second in as many games, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres.
Chris Snyder also homered for the Diamondbacks, who have won five of seven to maintain their lead over Los Angeles in the NL West.
Kevin Kouzmanoff and Jody Gerut homered for the Padres, who have lost six of their last eight.
Arizona starter Dan Haren (14-6) struggled through a six-inning stint but won for the seventh time in eight outings.
Phillies 4, Nationals 0
PHILADELPHIA -- Brett Myers tossed a nine-hitter for his first shutout in four years and the Philadelphia Phillies beat Washington, handling the Nationals their 12th straight loss.
Myers (6-10) struck out nine and walked one in his sixth start since being recalled from the minors on July 20. He earned his first shutout since a 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 20, 2004, and his first complete game since he tossed a six-hitter in a 6-2 victory against the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 20, 2006.
It was the third complete game this season for the Phillies, who stayed 1½ games back of the NL East-leading New York Mets.
The Nationals tied the Kansas City Royals for the longest losing streak in the majors this season. The skid is the franchise's longest since the Montreal Expos dropped 12 straight from Aug. 13-27, 1976.
Pirates 11, Cardinals 2
ST. LOUIS -- Rick Ankiel and Jason LaRue hit two-run home runs and Todd Wellemeyer beat the Pittsburgh Pirates for the third time this season in the St. Louis Cardinals' victory.
Skip Schumaker had three hits and Wellemeyer (11-4) won his fourth straight decision and added an RBI single for St. Louis, which won for only the fourth time in its last 12 games at home.
The Cardinals are an NL-best 37-29 on the road and 34-29 at home after splitting a two-game series with the Pirates.
Ryan Doumit had three hits including his 13th homer for Pittsburgh, but Jason Davis (1-3) failed to make it out of the fourth coming off two straight effective starts. Doumit is hitting .538 (14-for-26) with five RBI against the Cardinals and leads NL catchers with a .333 average.
Giants 6, Marlins 5
SAN FRANCISCO -- Bengie Molina's sacrifice fly with one out in the bottom of the ninth gave the San Francisco Giants a victory over the Florida Marlins.
Pinch-hitter John Baker hit a three-run homer in the top of the inning to tie it at 5 as Brian Wilson (1-2) suffered his first blown save since May 2.
Matt Lindstrom (1-2) walked Dave Roberts, gave up a single to Randy Winn, who also homered in the game, and intentionally walked Aaron Rowand ahead of Molina.
Rich Aurilia, Fred Lewis and Emmanuel Burriss drove in runs for the Giants, who won for the fourth time in six games. Pablo Sandoval and Rowand both had two hits.
Rockies 4, Dodgers 3
LOS ANGELES -- Brad Hawpe had three RBI, including singles that drove in the tying and go-ahead runs, and the Colorado Rockies capitalized on four errors by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a victory.
Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton (3-5) hit Matt Holliday with an 0-1 pitch to open the ninth. Holliday stole second, continued to third on a throwing error by backup catcher Danny Ardoin and scored when Hawpe lined a single just over the leap of second baseman Jeff Kent with the infield pulled in.
Taylor Buchholz (6-3) pitched a perfect eighth inning for the win and Brian Fuentes did likewise in the ninth for his 24th save in 28 chances, securing the Rockies' fifth straight victory.
The Dodgers committed four errors, the most since they made four on Aug. 13, 2005 against the New York Mets.
