Philadelphia ? Once Roy Oswalt stopped trying to overthrow, the Philadelphia Phillies’ hitters had little chance.

Oswalt and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, and Raul Chavez hit a three-run double in the Houston Astros’ 5-0 victory over the free-falling Phillies on Tuesday night.

Oswalt (13-8) allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked two in 72/3 innings to win his fifth straight decision. Mike Gallo got one out in the eighth, and Dan Miceli pitched a perfect ninth for the Astros’ third win in nine games — and their 10th shutout this season.

“Pitching on five days’ rest, I was trying to throw too hard,” Oswalt said. “I was all over the place. After the third inning, I got in a rhythm.”

The Phillies, who came in five games behind San Francisco in the NL wild-card race, were shut out for the fourth time and fell to 1-7 on their current homestand. At 59-60, Philadelphia is under .500 for the first time since May 7.

“I’ve stayed up too many nights trying to analyze this offense,” Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. “They’re playing hard. They’re just not hitting.”

Phillies starter Randy Wolf (5-8) retired eight in a row before running into trouble in the fourth.

Craig Biggio and Carlos Beltran started the inning with consecutive doubles to make it 1-0. After Jeff Bagwell flied out, Lance Berkman walked. Jeff Kent doubled to score Beltran, giving Houston a 2-0 lead.

Morgan Ensberg walked to load the bases and Jose Vizcaino’s grounder to third forced Berkman out at the plate. But Chavez cleared the bases with a liner down the right-field line.

Giants 5, Expos 4

San Francisco — J.T. Snow singled in the winning run with one out in the ninth, leading San Francisco to its sixth straight victory. Barry Bonds homered twice, and Jason Schmidt pitched eight strong innings, but his bullpen blew his chance to become the majors’ first 16-game winner. The Giants maintained their lead in the NL wild-card race. Snow singled to right off Luis Ayala (4-9), and right fielder Juan Rivera tried to throw out pinch-runner Ricky Ledee at the plate, but the ball sailed into the stands behind home plate.

Padres 11, Braves 6

San Diego — Jake Peavy struck out nine in seven innings, and Freddy Guzman had a hit, scored a run and had an RBI in his major-league debut for the Padres. Peavy (9-3) allowed just two hits — a second-inning single by Andruw Jones and a fourth-inning home run by Chipper Jones that extended his streak of games with home runs to five.

Dodgers 6, Marlins 1

Los Angeles — Wilson Alvarez won his fourth straight decision, and Steve Finley and Adrian Beltre each homered and drove in a pair of runs to lead Los Angeles. Alvarez (7-3), facing A.J. Burnett in a matchup of pitchers who have thrown no-hitters, allowed an unearned run and six hits in seven innings while striking out six and walking one. The 34-year-old left-hander, who started the season in the bullpen, is 6-2 with a 3.28 earned-run average in 12 starts.

Pirates 7, D’backs 1

Phoenix — Craig Wilson and Ty Wigginton each hit home runs, leading Pittsburgh to its fourth straight win. Ryan Vogelsong (4-9) scattered six hits over seven innings for the Pirates, who won for the eighth time in 10 games.

Rockies 6, Mets 4

Denver — Jason Jennings overcame a slow start to pitch seven solid innings, and Matt Holliday drove in the go-ahead run with a solo homer in the sixth, lifting Colorado over New York. Jennings added two hits and drove in a run, Aaron Miles drove had three hits and two RBIS, and Vinny Castilla eclipsed the 100-RBI mark to help the Rockies end a seven-game losing streak to the Mets.

Cardinals 7, Reds 2

St. Louis — Tony Womack scored the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded walk from Danny Graves in the eighth inning, and Larry Walker hit the next pitch for a grand slam, leading St. Louis over Cincinnati. The NL Central leaders are 13-2 against the Reds this season and will try to complete a three-game sweep today. St. Louis opened a 15-game lead over second-place Chicago — the Cardinals’ largest advantage since winning the 1968 pennant.

Brewers 3, Cubs 1

Milwaukee — Victor Santos allowed just one run in 61/3 innings to win for the first time since beating Chicago on July 16, and the Brewers defeated the Cubs.