The Phillies moved a half-game ahead of Atlanta, which lost 5-0 in Pittsburgh. The two-time defending NL champions hadn’t been in first place since May 30. They are seeking their fourth straight division title.

Ryan Howard , Raul Ibanez and Shane Victorino hit solo homers for the Phillies, who were seven games behind the Braves on July 22.

After the Marlins rallied to tie it at 7 in the eighth, the Phillies answered with two outs in the bottom half. Victorino blooped a single to center off Jose Veras (2-2). He stole second and scored on Polanco’s liner to right.

Ryan Madson (5-2) got the last four outs to earn the win.

Mike Stanton homered for the third straight game for Florida.

Brewers 4  Cardinals 2: In Milwaukee, Trevor Hoffman added another milestone to his illustrious career, earning his 600th save by closing out Milwaukee’s win.

Four people were ejected by plate umpire Bob Davidson, including a fan, on a night that ended with Hoffman being carried off the field by his teammates.

The 42-year-old reliever, baseball’s career saves leader, lost his job as the Brewers’ closer in May after a string of bad outings. But he’s pitched better of late and has been getting ninth-inning work as the team tried to get him to No. 600.

Rockies 4  Reds 3: In Denver, Carlos Gonzalez hit a three-run homer and Jhoulys Chacin pitched six strong innings in Colorado’s fifth consecutive win.

Gonzalez’s homer in the first inning was his 32nd of the season and gave him 100 RBIs. He’s in prime position to challenge for the NL Triple Crown, leading in average (.340), taking over the top spot in RBIs and vaulting into a third-place tie with Joey Votto and Mark Reynolds in homers.

Cincinnati dropped its third straight, but still maintained a six-game lead over St. Louis, which lost to Milwaukee 4-2.

Padres 2  Dodgers 1: In San Diego, Mat Latos bounced back from stomach flu to strike out 10 for the third time in four starts for NL West-leading San Diego.

Latos held Los Angeles to four hits over seven innings. He set a major league record with his 15th straight start of five or more innings with two or fewer runs allowed. He had been tied with Greg Maddux (1993-94) and Mike Scott (1986) with 14.

Latos (14-5), who was scratched from his start Monday night due to stomach flu, lowered his major league-leading ERA from 2.25 to 2.21.

Giants 6  Diamondbacks 3: In Phoenix, Tim Lincecum struck out 11 and San Francisco hit three homers.

The Giants have won four straight and six of seven.

Lincecum (13-9) allowed one runner, Miguel Montero’s single, through six innings before the Diamondbacks broke through in the seventh. He left after 6 2-3 innings, giving up three runs and five hits with no walks in 6 2-3 innings.

Aubrey Huff , Freddy Sanchez and Pat Burrell homered off Barry Enright (6-3).

Jeremy Affeldt induced a game-ending double play for a one-pitch save. It was his fourth of the season.

Pirates 5  Braves 0: In Pittsburgh, James McDonald pitched seven innings, Ronny Cedeno’s triple keyed a five-run seventh and last-place Pittsburgh beat Atlanta for the second straight day.

The Braves have scored only 12 runs while losing five of six, a slump that followed a five-game winning streak. The Pirates had lost seven of nine and were on pace to lose 109 games before winning the first two games of the three-game series.

Mets 4  Nationals 1: In Washington,  Dillon Gee took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his major league debut to lead New York.

The 24-year-old right-hander did a masterful job over seven innings. Willie Harris led off the sixth with a home run to right field, the only run the rookie would allow.

In a rare matchup of pitchers making big league debuts, Gee (1-0) outpitched Yunesky Maya , a 28-year-old Cuban defector. 

Astros 7 Cubs 3: In Chicago, Michael Bourn had three hits and three RBIs and Brett Wallace hit his first career home run for Houston. Bourn scored twice for the Astros, who won for the 12th time in 16 games.

Astros starter Nelson Figueroa (5-2) pitched five innings to earn the victory. He allowed three runs and six hits. Figueroa was backed by four scoreless innings from the Houston bullpen, which allowed only one hit.