Chicago ? Jose Hernandez spent six seasons with the Chicago Cubs and he knows what it means when the wind is whipping the flags and blowing out with great force at Wrigley Field.

Hit a fly ball and you’ve got a great chance at a home run. But at the same time, don’t overdo it or you’ll get your mechanics out of whack.

“We took advantage of the wind today and scored a lot of runs,” Hernandez said after hitting two homers to pace the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-4 win Thursday, ending a nine-game road losing streak.

The wind Thursday was blowing to right at 28 mph and gusting up to 39 mph.

“If you hit it well enough, you are going to hit it out of this park. You can’t change your swing. That’s just how you mess it up,” Hernandez added.

“You can’t start thinking about that stuff.”

Richie Sexson and Hernandez hit two-run homers in the sixth off Jason Bere (1-5) and Hernandez added a two-run shot off Ron Mahay in the ninth as Milwaukee won for just the third time in 16 games.

“We’ve been struggling all year to try to win some games. Today we had a different attitude and we got one,” Hernandez said.

“Our wins are so hard to come by,” manager Jerry Royster said. “We had a six-run lead and we had our closer warming up because our games aren’t over until they are over.”

Sammy Sosa’s major league-leading 15th homer the 465th of his career to tie him with Dave Winfield for 21st place all-time and a two-run double by Fred McGriff gave the Cubs a 3-0 cushion.

But Bere, winless since April 12, couldn’t hold it and his own fielding difficulties helped Milwaukee’s comeback. Ben Sheets (3-3) beat the Cubs for the fourth time in four career starts against them, giving up six hits and leaving after six innings with back spasms that surfaced when he hit a grounder to end the top of the seventh.

Expos 6, Rockies 5, (12)

Montreal Jose Vidro hit an RBI single in the 12th inning as Montreal ended its season-high six-game losing streak with a win over Colorado Rockies before the smallest Olympic Stadium crowd of the season. With the Montreal Canadiens playing host to Carolina in an NHL playoff game at the Molson Centre, just 3,183 were on hand the Expos’ smallest crowd since 3,037 attended an 8-3 win over Colorado last Sept. 20. Vidro hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, but Montreal closer Matt Herges blew a two-run lead in the ninth.

Giants 4, Mets 3

New York Barry Bonds hit career home run No. 578, Pedro Feliz hit his first since last Sept. 7 and the Giants rallied from a three-run deficit to roll to their seventh straight win. At 22-11, the Giants are off to their best start since 1973. They are on their longest winning streak since taking nine in a row last July 25 to Aug. 3.

Bonds hit a solo homer, starting San Francisco’s comeback in the fourth against Pedro Astacio (5-2). The next time up, Astacio’s first pitch sailed over Bonds’ head, prompting plate umpire Dan Iassogna to warn both teams. Then, in the eighth, Bonds took a called third strike for the second time in the game, had words with Iassogna for the second time and was ejected for the first time this season.

Braves 6, Dodgers 2

Atlanta Gary Sheffield homered for the second time in three days against his former team, a three-run shot that carried Atlanta over Los Angeles. Damian Moss earned his first major league win even though he didn’t pitch nearly as well as his previous start, when he went seven no-hit innings against St. Louis. Sheffield homered for the second time in the three-game series after going more than a month without driving a pitch out of the park

Phillies 3, Astros 1

Philadelphia Randy Wolf allowed two hits in seven innings and Tomas Perez hit a two-run pinch double in the seventh to lead Philadelphia to its sixth straight win. The Phillies swept Houston at home for the first time since July 1985.

Wolf retired the first 13 batters until Richard Hidalgo singled with one out in the fifth inning. Hidalgo was then forced out at second as the front end of a double play.

Wolf (2-1) allowed one run, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. The only run game on Jeff Bagwell’s solo homer with two outs in the seventh. Jose Mesa pitched the ninth for his 11th save.

Marlins 1, Padres 0

Miami Three Cuban defectors helped pitch a five-hitter, including rookie Hansel Izquierdo, who went five innings for his first career victory as Florida beat San Diego. Izquierdo was followed to the mound by countryman Michael Tejera, Braden Looper and Cuban Vladimir Nunez, who pitched the ninth for his seventh save in eight chances.

The Marlins extended their season-high winning streak to four games. They began the night tied with the New York Mets for the lead in the NL East, the latest a Florida team has been in first place.