Sosa hits three homers vs. Brewers
Three's a charm
CHICAGO -- Sammy Sosa hit three homers and drove in six runs, helping Kevin Tapani (9-10) win for the first time in almost 11 weeks, as the Chicago Cubs routed the Milwaukee Brewers 16-3 Wednesday.
Sosa hit a solo, two-run and three-run homer for his second three-homer game this month. He also went deep three times against Colorado on Aug. 9.
Sosa, who has 14 homers in August, has 49, one short of his NL-leading total of last season. He was taken out of the game after his last at-bat, a solo home run in the sixth.
Braves 6, Padres 3
ATLANTA -- Greg Maddux earned his 17th victory to help Atlanta avoid its longest home losing streak in 11 years.
Chipper Jones, Brian Jordan and B.J. Surhoff homered for the Braves, who snapped a six-game losing streak at Turner Field. Atlanta hadn't dropped seven straight at home since April 12-28, 1990.
Diamondbacks 6, Pirates 0
PITTSBURGH -- Albie Lopez pitched his first NL shutout and Mark Grace hit a three-run homer during Arizona's four-run first inning as the Diamondbacks won for the 10th time in 11 games.
Lopez (3-3) made his third consecutive strong start, pitching a four-hitter for his fourth career shutout and his first since April 13, when he beat Baltimore 2-0 for Tampa Bay.
Expos 7, Giants 1
MONTREAL -- Javier Vazquez pitched eight strong innings and Geoff Blum's three-run homer capped a six-run third to lead Montreal past San Francisco.
Vazquez (13-11), who hadn't allowed a run since Aug. 7, extended his career-best scoreless innings streak to 23 innings before allowing Jeff Kent's RBI double with one out in the fourth.
Reds 3, Cardinals 1
CINCINNATI -- Left-hander Lance Davis (6-2) singled home a run and shut down streaking St. Louis for seven innings to lead Cincinnati.
The loss dropped St. Louis back into third place in the NL Central, a game behind the second-place Cubs.
The Cardinals brought an 11-game winning streak to Cinergy Field, where their charge toward the top of the division has met an unexpected snag. The Reds have won two of the first three games in their series, which concludes Thursday.
Phillies 2, Astros 1
PHILADELPHIA -- Robert Person (11-6) allowed two hits in eight innings and Scott Rolen drove in both Philadelphia runs as the Phillies snapped a season-high five-game losing streak.
Houston had its five-game winning streak snapped and is two games ahead of second-place Chicago in the NL Central.
Jose Mesa pitched the ninth for his 32nd save in 34 opportunities. Philadelphia remained one game behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East.
Mets 2, Rockies 1
NEW YORK -- Kevin Appier and two relievers combined on a two-hitter and Desi Relaford hit a two-run homer to lead New York over Colorado.
Appier (7-10) gave up a leadoff homer to Todd Helton in the second inning but nothing else, striking out seven and walking three. He had been 1-2 in eight starts since July 1.
Marlins 8, Dodgers 6
MIAMI -- Kevin Millar and Mike Lowell drove in three runs apiece as Florida snapped an eight-game losing streak.
Millar had an RBI single in the fifth, putting Florida ahead 4-3. He added his 14th in the seventh to help the Marlins win for the first time since beating Houston 13-5 on Aug. 11.