With one weekend sweep in Atlanta, the Philadelphia Phillies emerged as the team to beat in the NL East.
Ryan Howard drove in two runs in the ninth inning with his third double of the game and the streaking Phillies beat Atlanta 6-3 on Sunday to complete the sweep.
The Phillies moved 3 1/2 games ahead of Florida. The Braves are now 6 1/2 off the lead and the Mets, who were swept in a four-game series in San Diego, trail by 7 1/2.
Howard finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs and the first three-double game of his career. The Phillies have won four straight and 12 of 14.
The Phillies boosted their road record to 18-13, best in the National League, and have won 15 of their last 19 overall. Before this stretch, the Phillies (39-26) were only two games above .500.
``We're playing some great ball,'' Howard said. ``I think our best play is still ahead. It's just a feeling. Our pitchers are throwing well right now and we're getting timely hitting.''
The Phillies outscored the Braves 8-1 after the seventh inning in the series.
``We scored runs late in all three of the games,'' Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. ``We outplayed them the back end of all three games.''
In other NL games, it was: Chicago 3, Los Angeles 1; Florida 9, Cincinnati 2; San Diego 8, New York 6; St. Louis 5, Houston 4; Pittsburgh 6, Arizona 4; San Francisco 6, Washington 3; and Milwaukee 3, Colorado 2.
The Braves played without Chipper Jones, who said he has a small tear in his right quadriceps and could miss one or two games at the Chicago Cubs this week. Atlanta, a miserable 7-21 on the road, begins a 10-day, 10-game road trip Tuesday against another first-place team in Chicago.
``We just lost all three games to the division leaders ... and we're heading out on the road where we haven't exactly lit it up,'' Jones said. ``So I don't know about anybody else, I'm worried. I don't want to come back from this road trip and be out of the race.''Cubs 3, Dodgers 1
At Los Angeles, Jason Marquis took a two-hitter into the seventh inning and the Cubs extended Brad Penny's winless streak to seven starts, salvaging a split of the four-game series with the Dodgers.
Marquis (4-3) allowed an unearned run and three hits over 6 1-3 innings, walked one and struck out two in his second-longest outing of the season.
Mark DeRosa was 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs, helping the Cubs finish their road trip 4-3 and avoid their first three-game losing streak. They are the only team in the majors that hasn't lost more than two in a row.
Kerry Wood pitched a perfect ninth for his NL-leading 18th save in 22 attempts.
Penny (5-8) threw 110 pitches over six innings, giving up three runs and six hits.Marlins 9, Reds 2
At Miami, Hanley Ramirez homered twice and Ryan Tucker pitched five effective innings to win his major league debut, leading Florida past Cincinnati.
Ken Griffey Jr. remained one home run shy of becoming the sixth player to reach 600. He went 0-for-1 with two walks before being replaced in the seventh.
Ramirez hit a pair of two-run shots off Aaron Harang (2-9), giving him five homers in his last five games.Padres 8, Mets 6
At San Diego, Pinch-hitter Tony Clark connected for a go-ahead, three-run homer off Billy Wagner with two outs in the eighth inning to give San Diego a four-game sweep of New York.
Wagner relieved Duaner Sanchez with two outs and runners on first and second. The left-hander gave up an RBI single to Jody Gerut that cut New York's lead to 6-5. Clark then hit a full-count fastball over the center-field wall to extend the Padres' season-high winning streak to five games.Cardinals 5, Astros 4
At Houston, Brendan Ryan hit a two-run single in the seventh inning to cap a St. Louis comeback fueled by two Houston errors.
Kyle Lohse (7-2) gave up a three-run homer to Lance Berkman, but otherwise pitched six strong innings to beat the Astros for the third time this season.Pirates 6, Diamondbacks 4
At Pittsburgh, Jason Bay's two-run double completed Pittsburgh's five-run fourth inning and the Pirates shook off Mark Reynolds' two home runs.
The Diamondbacks won the first two games of the four-game series behind staff aces Brandon Webb and Dan Haren, but Doug Davis (2-3) - who has faced the Pirates more than any other starter - wasn't nearly as effective in his fourth start since having surgery to remove his cancerous thyroid gland.Giants 6, Nationals 3
At Washington, Barry Zito earned his second win of the season.
Aaron Rowand's bad-hop single gave San Francisco the go-ahead run and capped a four-run fifth inning. Randy Winn hit a two-run single to tie it, and John Bowker's two-run homer in the seventh sealed the victory.
Lastings Milledge homered and drove in two runs for Washington, which has lost seven of eight.
Zito (2-9) allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings.Brewers 3, Rockies 2
At Denver, Jeff Suppan and three relievers limited Colorado to six hits and Milwaukee snapped a six-game slide at Coors Field.
Suppan (4-4) pitched 5 1-3 methodical innings, allowing four hits and two runs - one earned. He tied a season high with five walks but improved to 6-1 against the Rockies.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
