Chicago ? Don’t blame Carlos Beltran if the Houston Astros miss the playoffs.

The All-Star center fielder had another big day at Wrigley Field, hitting two home runs to lead Houston over Kerry Wood and the Chicago Cubs, 15-7, Friday. Beltran finished with four hits, and he has homered in five consecutive games.

In two series at Wrigley Field since coming over from Kansas City in June, Beltran is 11-for-21 with seven homers and 11 RBIs in five games.

“I think that’s a coincidence,” he said. But, he added: “Every time I come here, I feel good.”

Beltran had plenty of help Friday as the Astros chased Wood early and snapped Chicago’s five-game winning streak in a game that featured more trouble between Houston pitcher Roy Oswalt and Cubs catcher Michael Barrett.

Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman hit back-to-back solo shots off Wood, and Jeff Kent added a home run to help Houston win for the ninth time in 12 games. The Astros moved within six games of Chicago in the NL wild-card race.

“The last 10 days we’ve been playing good baseball,” Beltran said. “We’ve been doing things right and that’s real important for us to keep moving up.”

Beltran hit a solo homer in the first inning off Wood and a three-run shot in the ninth to punctuate a six-run inning against Kyle Farnsworth. In between, the Astros had plenty of offense, finishing with 17 hits off five Cubs pitchers.

“When bats get hot like theirs were today, like ours had been, it doesn’t matter who you throw out there,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said.

Tempers flared again between Barrett and Oswalt, five days after Oswalt was ejected for hitting Barrett with a pitch following a Cubs homer.

Houston's carlos Beltran, right, celebrates with teammates Jeff Bagwell, left, and Jason Lane after hitting a three-run home run. Beltran homered twice in the Astros' 15-7 victory Friday in Chicago.

Both benches emptied after Barrett jawed with Oswalt when the pitcher came up to bat in the second — an exchange that continued after Oswalt grounded out. There was no further trouble, even after Oswalt was later hit by a pitch, prompting a warning to both sides from plate umpire C.B. Bucknor.

Barrett said he had been waiting for the chance to “speak my piece” to Oswalt, citing not only last Sunday’s beaning but similar previous incidents involving the pitcher.

“I felt like he was wrong and I wanted him to know that,” Barrett said. “To hit someone intentionally, especially the way he did it, I think it’s wrong.”

Oswalt (15-9) allowed six runs in eight innings for the win on a hot, muggy day, retiring 13 batters in a row from the fourth inning until yielding a single and a two-run homer to Nomar Garciaparra with two outs in the eighth.

Braves 5, Giants 3

Atlanta — Barry Bonds hit a three-run shot for his 694th homer, but Chipitstheir fifth straight victory. Jaret Wright set a career high with his 13th win. Wright (13-6) also drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning bunt. Wright, who was 12-10 with Cleveland in 1998, had not won in double figures again before emerging as a surprising strength in the Braves’ rotation.

Marlins 3, Rockies 0

Miami — Ismael Valdez allowed just four hits before leaving in the seventh inning because of an Achilles’ injury, and Luis Castillo hit an RBI single to lead Florida over Colorado. After dropping two of three against the Giants in a matchup of NL wild-card contenders, the Marlins rebounded to win for the fourth time in six games.

Mets 9, Dodgers 2

New York — Gerald Williams singled twice in a six-run first inning and New York beat Los Angeles to end a five-game losing streak. Tom Glavine hit an RBI single during the early burst and coasted to his 260th career win.

D’backs 4, Reds 3 11 innings

Cincinnati — Alex Cintron hit an RBI single with one out in the 11th inning, lifting Arizona over Cincinnati. Andy Green tripled off the right-field wall with one out against Joe Valentine (1-3).

Phillies 6, Brewers 1

Philadelphia — Vicente Padilla pitched seven shutout innings for his first win in more than three months, and Philadelphia sent Milwaukee to its ninth straight loss. The Phillies snapped a seven-game home losing streak. They scored all their runs with two outs in the fifth inning, keyed by two-run singles from Bobby Abreu and David Bell.

Cardinals 8, Pirates 5

Pittsburgh — Jim Edmonds hit a pair of two-run homers and matched a career high with five RBIs, leading St. Louis over Pittsburgh. Edmonds hit a two-run homer in the first inning and added another two-run shot in the third off Ryan Vogelsong (4-11) as St. Louis beat the Pirates for the fifth consecutive time.

Expos 10, Padres 3

Montreal — Brad Wilkerson homered and had three RBIs, and Tony Batista hit a two-run homer, leading Montreal. Scott Downs (2-4) allowed eight hits and three runs in seven innings.