Howard launched a two-run shot into the second deck in right field off starter Mike Pelfrey in the fourth inning to give Philadelphia a 2-0 lead. After making contact, Howard dropped his bat and stared in admiration for a couple of seconds at the 427-foot drive before trotting around the bases.

At Los Angeles, Tony Gwynn Jr. made a diving catch in left field for the final out, thwarting a ninth-inning rally by his former team as Los Angeles edged San Diego.

Andre Ethier extended his major league record for the longest April hitting streak to 25 games, and Los Angeles got a strong outing from Ted Lilly (2-2).

Juan Uribe and Matt Kemp homered for the Dodgers in their first home game since Commissioner Bud Selig hired former Texas Rangers president Tom Schieffer on Monday to monitor the day-to-day operations of the team.

Lilly allowed a run and five hits over six innings and Jonathan Broxton got the last three outs for his sixth save.

At Cincinnati, John Buck hit a three-run home run in Florida's five-run first inning as the Marlins held on to beat Cincinnati.

Emilio Bonifacio, Hanley Ramirez and Gaby Sanchez each had two hits for the Marlins, who have won four of five and improved to 5-0 on Fridays.

Javier Vazquez (2-2) gave up four runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks in six innings. He also had two hits. Leo Nunez allowed two runs in the ninth before escaping with his eighth save.

Home runs by Jay Bruce and Jeremy Hermida couldn't help the Reds overcome Travis Wood's rocky first inning.

At Washington, Jason Marquis pitched a five-hitter to beat Tim Lincecum, and reserve outfielder Laynce Nix made the most of a rare start by connecting for a two-run homer that carried Washington past San Francisco.

Marquis (3-0) struck out seven and walked none in his fourth major league shutout and first since 2009 with Colorado. Always a dangerous hitter, he helped his own cause with an RBI single and is batting .385.

Lincecum (2-3) had seven strikeouts in seven innings to take over the major league lead, but dropped his second consecutive decision.

At Houston, Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun homered and Shaun Marcum allowed three hits over seven shutout innings to lead Milwaukee past Houston.

Marcum (3-1) allowed four runs and two homers in his last start against Houston, but didn't permit a runner past second base this time out. He struck out six and walked two.

The Brewers jumped on Brett Myers (1-1) early. Braun hit his 10th homer on a 2-1 pitch over leaping center fielder Michael Bourn in the first inning. Two pitches later, Fielder launched a 450-foot homer to right.

It was Fielder's fifth of the season and the ninth longest homer in Minute Maid Park history.

At Atlanta, Nick Punto drove in two runs with an 11th-inning triple after St. Louis rallied in the ninth, lifting the Cardinals past Atlanta.

Braves rookie Cory Gearrin (0-1) dug his own hole, plunking Ryan Theriot in the left leg and walking pinch-hitter Mark Hamilton. The right-hander was one out away from escaping, but Punto drove one into the right-field corner for the first big league hit allowed by Gearrin in 4 2-3 innings since being called up.

Daniel Descalso tied it up with a sacrifice fly in the ninth, his second RBI of the game.

At Denver, Kevin Correia pitched effectively into the seventh inning, and Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones each homered to lead Pittsburgh past Colorado.

Correia (4-2) allowed three hits in 6 2-3 innings, struck out four and walked one in becoming the first Pirates pitcher to win four games in April since Jeff Suppan in 2003.

The victory against a Rockies team that came in tied with Cleveland and Philadelphia for the most wins (16) in the majors sweetened the homecoming for first-year Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle. He spent 15 years with the Colorado organization, including eight seasons as manager, and guided the Rockies to their only World Series appearance in 2007.

At Phoenix, Alfonso Soriano hit a pair of leadoff homers and Carlos Zambrano bounced back from his first loss in 18 starts to lead Chicago over Arizona.

Soriano led off the fifth and seventh innings with homers against Armando Galarraga (3-2), and Geovany Soto hit a solo shot of his own to help Chicago end a four-game losing streak.

Zambrano (3-1) was sharp after his 10-game winning streak ended against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, settling in after giving up a long two-run homer to Justin Upton in the first inning to win his ninth straight road start.