Milwaukee ? Jerry Royster has a simple explanation for the Milwaukee Brewers’ success since he replaced manager Davey Lopes.

The Brewers won their third straight game under Royster, beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3, Saturday behind Alex Sanchez’s tiebreaking single in the eighth inning.

“The reason for the turnaround is that we were so bad, there was no place else to go,” Royster said. “I can’t be any more serious than that. We went two weeks with really not hitting. … in all honesty, we’re just getting some hits.”

Milwaukee, 3-12 when Lopes was fired Thursday, has won three straight for the first time since a four-game streak last Aug. 16-19.

“We haven’t worried about the past,” said Royster, interim manager while the team searches for a permanent replacement. “We’ve played very good baseball the last three days. We’ve hit, played defense and pitched very well. We’ve also run the bases extremely well. We’ve executed extremely well. That turns into victories.”

After Edgar Renteria tied it 3-all with a two-run double off Jose Cabrera in the seventh, pinch-hitter Matt Stairs led off the bottom half with a single off Dave Veres (1-2).

Eric Young sacrificed pinch-runner Ronnie Belliard to second and San singled off the glove of a diving Eduardo Perez in left. Jose Hernandez added an RBI single in the eighth.

“We’re doing the little things,” Hernandez said. “Moving the runner from first to second or second to third, and giving the next guy a chance to bring the run in. I think that’s the key.”

Luis Vizcaino (2-1) retired the only batter he faced in the seventh inning for the victory and Mike DeJean finished for his third save in four chances.

Milwaukee starter Glendon Rusch allowed one run.

Reds 6, Cubs 1

Chicago Juan Encarnacion drove in four runs as Cincinnati beat Chicago, the Reds’ first victory over Kerry Wood in eight tries.

Braves 3, Marlins 1

Atlanta Greg Maddux pitched six innings, and Chipper Jones hit a three-run homer to pull Atlanta back to .500 with a victory over Florida. Maddux (2-0), who left his last start with a back injury, allowed one run on five hits in six innings.

Giants 13, Astros 9

Houston J.T. Snow tied a career high with four hits and drove in five runs as San Francisco remained unbeaten in 11 games at Astros Field. Barry Bonds doubled twice and walked twice and Reggie Sanders keyed a five-run third inning with a two-run double as San Francisco outhit the Astros 19-10.

Expos 7, Mets 5

Montreal Brad Wilkerson hit a two-run homer and Orlando Cabrera had an RBI double to cap a three-run fifth against Shawn Estes (0-2). Before 11,464, the largest Olympic Stadium crowd since opening night, Montreal took advantage of two errors by New York, which has five in the series and a major league-leading 26.

Pirates 6, Phillies 5

Pittsburgh The Pirates turned sloppy Philadelphia infield defense and Jack Wilson’s three-run double into five unearned runs and a 6-0 lead. Pittsburgh won its fifth straight to improve to 11-5.

Dodgers 4, Padres 1

Los Angeles Odalis Perez came within one out of his first career shutout, and Brian Jordan and Shawn Green homered as Los Angeles beat San Diego for its fourth straight victory.