Ramirez hit two three-run homers and a solo shot. It was the fourth three-homer game of his career.
Derrek Lee hit a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh and Geovany Soto tied it with a solo shot in the sixth for the Cubs, who trailed 7-1 in the fifth inning.
Chris Johnson homered and drove in two runs for the Astros. Brandon Lyon (5-4) got the loss.
Andrew Cashner (1-3) pitched two innings to earn his first major league victory and Sean Marshall followed with a perfect eighth. Carlos Marmol finished as the Cubs bullpen retired the final 12 batters in order to end the game.
Piniella is calling it quits after 18 years in the majors as a player and another 22 as a manager.
Giants 7 Dodgers 5: At Los Angeles, Andres Torres hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the ninth inning, rallying San Francisco to the victory in a heated game featuring three ejections.
The Dodgers lost their sixth straight to remain winless since the All-Star break.
Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly, who took over after the separate ejections of manager Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer, went to the mound for a chat with All-Star closer Jonathan Broxton (3-2) before Torres came up with the bases loaded. Mattingly took a few steps back toward the dugout before turning around and saying something to Broxton.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy came out to protest to plate umpire Adrian Johnson that Mattingly’s about-face constituted a second trip to the mound. The umpires huddled and agreed, and Broxton had to leave the game.
George Sherrill served up Torres’ hit on an 0-1 pitch, giving the Giants a 6-5 lead.
Santiago Casilla (3-2) got the win and Jeremy Affeldt picked up his third save.
Braves 4 Padres 1: At Atlanta, Matt Diaz homered for the third straight game, Jair Jurrjens pitched seven strong innings and Atlanta got the win in a matchup of first-place teams.
Diaz drove in three runs with a two-run homer in the fourth and a run-scoring single in the seventh.
Jason Heyward had three hits, including two doubles, and drove in a run for the East-leading Braves (55-38), who passed the West-leading Padres (54-38) for the best record in the National League.
Chris Denorfia hit a second-inning homer for the Padres, but Jurrjens (3-3) gave up only two hits over his last five innings.
Padres second baseman David Eckstein left the game with a right calf strain.
Billy Wagner pitched a perfect ninth for his 22nd save.
San Diego’s Wade LeBlanc (4-8) gave up two runs and five hits in six innings.
Pirates 11 Brewers 9: At Pittsburgh, Pedro Alvarez hit a grand slam in Pittsburgh’s nine-run first and a solo drive in the second for his first career multihomer game.
Fellow rookie Neil Walker had a career-high five hits for the Pirates, who got 3 2-3 scoreless innings from four relievers after the Brewers got within one.
Jim Edmonds and Ryan Braun went deep for the Brewers. Edmonds finished with four hits.
Sloppy Milwaukee committed three errors over a six-pitch span in Pittsburgh’s big first and the nine runs allowed in the opening frame set a Brewers record. Dave Bush (4-8) got the loss.
Cardinals 7 Phillies 1: At St. Louis, Chris Carpenter worked eight dominant innings and St. Louis got homers from Randy Winn and Matt Holliday in their seventh consecutive victory.
Diamondbacks 3 Mets 2: At Phoenix, Barry Enright pitched eight effective innings and Arizona gave interim manager Kirk Gibson his first winning streak.
Enright (2-2) retired 14 straight hitters after escaping a tight spot in the first inning and struck out a career-high eight. He also had his first career RBI and Justin Upton hit his 16th homer off R.A. Dickey (6-4), giving Arizona consecutive wins for the first time since Gibson became manager on July 2.
Reds 8 Nationals 7: At Cincinnati, Mike Leake pitched five solid innings before a long rain delay, and Cincinnati blew most of a seven-run lead after the break before holding on for the victory.
The Reds led 5-1 in the middle of the fifth, when rain forced a 2-hour, 40-minute delay. The lead went to 8-1 before the Nationals rallied against the bullpen.
Leake became the first Reds rookie to open a season 7-1 since Wayne Simpson in 1970. The 22-year-old gave up five hits.
Joey Votto hit a three-run homer off Luis Atilano (6-7), who got the worst of a matchup between rookie starters. Leake also had an RBI single.
Rockies 10 Marlins 0: At Miami, Melvin Mora drove in five runs and Jeff Francis pitched seven crisp innings to lead Colorado to the victory.
Batting in the No. 3 spot for only the second time this season, Mora hit a bases-clearing double to highlight a six-run third inning. He also hit a two-run homer off Nate Robertson (6-8) in the fifth and finished with three hits, matching a season high.
Francis (3-3) allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked none while lowering his ERA from 5.14 to 4.63.
