St. Louis ? After nearly six weeks on the disabled list and no rehab starts, Woody Williams didn’t miss a thing.

Williams allowed an unearned run in six innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1, for a three-game sweep Wednesday night. He didn’t mind that the Cardinals rallied after he left the game.

“It’s amazing,” Williams said. “It’s definitely more than I thought was going to happen. I’m just glad I could keep the team in the game as long as I did. I felt real strong.”

Pinch-hitter Miguel Cairo’s RBI triple off right fielder Sammy Sosa’s glove drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh. The Cubs lost their seventh in a row.

Williams’ outing came a day after another starter, Garrett Stephenson, was activated from the DL and allowed one run in four innings in an 11-2 victory. Manager Tony La Russa said before the game that just having both pitchers come out of their outings healthy was like having a pair of wins.

“Like yesterday, Garrett’s healthy, it’s like we won a doubleheader,” La Russa said. “Same thing today. I just checked with Woody, extensively, and he said he feels great.”

So did Stephenson.

“I’m ready to go Sunday, already,” he said.

Williams, a 15-game winner last year, lasted only two innings in his season debut April 5 at Houston before leaving with a strained muscle in his left side. He returned to the rotation after impressing the team in a 60-pitch simulated game on Sunday in Cincinnati.

“The other day in Cincinnati, that’s how he looked,” La Russa said. “We had good hitters up there to test him and he kept working them over, so I said ‘We’ll see you Wednesday.”‘

Williams said he was better in his start than on Sunday.

“My control and command was better than it was in the simulated game,” he said.

Gene Stechschulte (5-1) struck out one in a perfect seventh and Jason Isringhausen worked the ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances.

The Cardinals have won four in a row and six of seven and climbed to .500 for the first time since April 27, when they were 12-12. But La Russa wouldn’t say the team had turned the corner.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “That would be the dumbest thing our team could think or feel or the manager could say.”

Mets 2, Dodgers 0

Los Angeles Jeff D’Amico tossed a two-hitter to outpitch Kazuhisa Ishii and New York defeated Los Angeles. Ishii (6-1) lost for the first time in eight starts this season. The Japanese sensation allowed one run and four hits in seven innings. The Dodgers were shut out for the second straight day and eighth time this season, most in the majors.

Braves 6, Giants 1

San Francisco Greg Maddux pitched shutout ball into the ninth inning and Vinny Castilla homered and drove in three runs as Atlanta snapped a three-game losing streak. Maddux (4-2) allowed five hits and two walks, and left with the bases loaded and no outs in the ninth.

Diamondbacks 6, Pirates 2

Pittsburgh Luis Gonzalez’s sixth-inning homer struck a woman in a wheelchair located behind a protective railing, one of three Arizona home runs as the Diamondbacks rallied past Pittsburgh. Several fans rushed immediately to assist the woman in the right-field stands before paramedics arrived. She received several stitches in the head but otherwise was not seriously injured.

Astros 6, Phillies 2

Houston Craig Biggio hit three doubles, leading Carlos Hernandez and Houston over Philadelphia for a three-game sweep. The Phillies swept a three-game set from the Astros in Philadelphia last week. Hernandez (4-1) scattered four hits and gave up two runs over seven strong innings. After allowing Pat Burrell’s ninth homer in the fourth, Hernandez retired the last 11 batters he faced in a row.

Reds 7, Brewers 4

Milwaukee Jimmy Haynes beat his former team and Todd Walker tied his career high with four hits as Cincinnati topped Milwaukee for the sixth straight time. Walker went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a triple for the Reds, who will go for their second sweep of the Brewers in 11 days on Thursday. Haynes (3-4), who was 7-18 for Milwaukee last season, scattered seven hits and surrendered two earned runs in 61/3 innings. He also had a sacrifice, a single and a run scored.

Rockies 7, Marlins 2

Denver Bobby Estalella hit two solo home runs and pinch-hitter Terry Shumpert had a tiebreaking shot in the seventh inning, leading Colorado past Florida.