Chicago ? Greg Maddux must like July 17.

Maddux pitched a six-hitter for his first complete game in exactly one year and his first shutout in precisely three years, earning his 297th win and leading the Chicago Cubs over the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-0, Saturday.

Maddux took advantage of unseasonably cool weather and a 15 mph wind.

“As far as a day to pitch on, this was as easy it gets,” he said. “It was cool, the wind was blowing in and all the mistakes were hit at guys.”

Maddux (8-7) got his 35th shutout, his first since a six-hitter against Tampa Bay on July 17, 2001. The 38-year-old right-hander pitched his 104th complete game, his first since an eight-hitter against the New York Mets last year — also on July 17. Maddux retired eight of his first nine batters and struck out the side in the eighth.

“He said ordinarily he doesn’t go that far, but he said he felt great,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. “Some days, your limits are higher than others, and today was a high-limit day for him.”

Maddux got seven straight groundouts starting in the fifth inning.

“There was a lot of balls down the middle, but they were hit right at people,” Maddux said. “A few of the double plays today were mistake pitches. Sometimes the ball bounces your way.”

Sammy Sosa hit his 556th homer, and Moises Alou also homered for the Cubs.

Chicago starter Greg Maddux, left, puts a tag on Milwaukee's Lyle Overbay not realizing that the ball still was on the ground after a slow roller. Overbay was safe on the play, but Maddux tossed a shutout in the Cubs' 5-0 victory Saturday at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Ben Sheets (9-6), who entered with 16 scoreless innings and wins in three straight starts, gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts.

“All day was bad location,” Sheets said. “I got away with plenty of mistakes. You can’t throw 10, 20 mistakes and get away with it. Two of them were hit hard. The wind probably kept two more in.”

Sosa hit his 17th homer of the season in the first, a drive against a wind blowing in at 15 mph. Alou added his 20th in the fourth.

Phillies 8, Mets 2

New York — Jim Thome hit his major-league-leading 30th homer in the ninth inning to blow open a close game.

With Philadelphia leading 4-2, Thome homered off Jose Parra with one out, his third hit of the game. Jimmy Rollins added a two-run double in second.

Randy Wolf (4-5) allowed one run and six hits in 51/3 innings to win for just the second time in 10 starts.

Tom Glavine (7-8) allowed four runs — two earned — in 61/3 innings and has lost five straight starts for the first time in his career. He is winless since beating Kansas City on June 13.

Reds 7, Cardinals 5

Cincinnati — Adam Dunn hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning to help cool off the Cardinals. After Julian Tavarez (2-3) hit Ryan Freel with one out, Steve Kline walked Barry Larkin, then surrendered Dunn’s 26th home run of the season. Todd Jones (8-2) allowed one run and three hits in 11/3 innings, and Danny Graves pitched the ninth for his major-league-leading 34th save.

Padres 7, Astros 4

Houston — Mark Loretta hit a two-run homer to spark a five-run fifth inning and David Wells won his third straight decision. The Astros (44-46) have dropped four straight and eight of 10, falling two games below .500 for the first time since they were 0-2 on April 6. Wells (5-5) gave up three runs and seven hits in 51/3 innings, and Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 24th save in 27 chances. Roy Oswalt (8-8) gave up seven runs and eight hits in 42/3 innings.

Braves 6, Expos 2

Atlanta — Marcus Giles hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Russ Ortiz continued his domination of the Expos. Ortiz (11-6) won his fifth straight start and improved to 4-0 this season against the Expos. He allowed only one hit — an RBI single by Carl Everett in the first — and pitched around five walks in 72/3 innings. Chad Bentz (0-3) gave up Giles’ first home run since May 2 — he missed 52 games with a broken collarbone and returned after the All-Star break.

Pirates 4, Marlins 2

Pittsburgh — Tike Redman’s tying single sparked Pittsburgh’s three-run rally in the eighth inning, and the Pirates extended their longest home winning streak in 26 years by beating Florida. The Pirates are only 20-22 at home but have won nine straight there — their longest home winning streak since they made a frantic but futile run at the NL East title in 1978 by winning 24 in a row from mid-August until late September. Salomon Torres (5-3) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory, and Jose Mesa finished up for his second save in two nights and 24th of the season.

Dodgers 7, D’backs 0

Phoenix — Pinch-hitter Robin Ventura hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning, lifting Los Angeles. Jason Grabowski had an RBI single earlier in the inning off Mike Koplove, who hit two batters, walked one and gave up three runs while getting one out. Koplove left after allowing an RBI double to Adrian Beltre. Brian Bruney (2-3) relieved and got an out before allowing the homer to Ventura. Eric Gagne struck out the side in the ninth around a single for his 25th save in 26 chances.

Giants 4, Rockies 0

Denver — Jason Schmidt allowed four hits in eight innings for his 12th straight win, pitching San Francisco past Colorado in the 26th shutout in Coors Field history. The Giants managed just three hits, but Barry Bonds had a two-run double in the eighth after being walked twice. That was more than enough for Schmidt (12-2), who struck out eight and walked two in combining with Jim Brower and Scott Eyre on a four-hitter.

Late Friday Game

Rockies 7, Giants 1

Denver — Todd Greene hit two long homers and drove in four runs, and Shawn Estes scattered seven hits over eight innings after a nearly 21/2 hour rain delay.