St. Louis ? Extra batting practice paid off in a big way for Craig Wilson.

Wilson went 4-for-4 his first career four-hit game with two RBIs, and rookie Josh Fogg pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 Friday night.

Wilson, who entered batting .234, spent some time with hitting instructor Dave Clark and raised his average 31 points to .265.

“Clarkie told me to do a couple of things and they worked,” Wilson said.

Fogg faced the Cardinals for the second straight outing and fared a lot better in the rematch, allowing only J.D. Drew’s eighth home run leading off the seventh.

Fogg (6-3) lasted just 413 innings last Sunday in Pittsburgh, giving three homers in a 7-3 loss. In his two previous starts, Fogg allowed 11 earned runs in 10 innings.

Wilson entered 3-for-22 (.136) against the Cardinals. He singled in the second, had an RBI single to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the third, singled in the sixth and hit an RBI double in the seventh to make it 3-0.

Braves 7, Reds 0

Cincinnati Greg Maddux stayed sharp through a 64-minute delay, setting the tone with five shutout innings to lift Atlanta. Julio Franco had three hits, and Gary Sheffield returned to the Braves’ lineup with an RBI double as the NL East leaders finished a reinvigorating month.

Astros 4, Cubs 1

Chicago Richard Hidalgo hit two home runs and Carlos Hernandez allowed three hits over seven innings to boost Houston. Sammy Sosa hit his major league-leading 19th homer for Chicago in the eighth inning. Hidalgo finished a 4-for-4 performance with a two-run homer off Juan Cruz in the ninth.

Expos 8, Phillies 7

Philadelphia Troy O’Leary homered and drove in four runs, and Fernando Tatis added a two-run homer to lead Montreal. The Phillies, who finished two games behind Atlanta in the NL East last year, fell a season-worst 11 games under .500 with their sixth loss in seven games.

Brewers 12, Padres 1

San Diego Geoff Jenkins hit his first career grand slam, and Ruben Quevedo pitched seven strong innings to fuel Milwaukee’s blowout. Alex Sanchez matched his career best with four of Milwaukee’s 19 hits.

D-backs 6, Dodgers 3

Los Angeles Randy Johnson, roughed up by Los Angeles five days earlier, went eight innings and Greg Colbrunn’s three-run double highlighted a four-run outburst in the third for Arizona.

Mets 6, Marlins 5 (10)

Miami Rey Ordotied a career high with four RBIs, including his first homer of the season in the 10th inning, to spark New York. Ordonez also doubled home three runs in the second inning.

Rockies 6, Giants 2

San Francisco Rookie Jason Jennings retired his first 16 batters, and Todd Helton hit a three-run homer to spark Colorado. Jennings (7-2) did not allow a hit until Barry Bonds’ single with one out in the seventh.