St. Louis ? Jason Isringhausen pitched carefully to Sammy Sosa and walked him in the eighth inning. Aramis Ramirez made the St. Louis Cardinals closer pay.

Ramirez hit a two-out, two-run double off Isringhausen, sending the Chicago Cubs to a 5-4 victory Tuesday night.

“He’s an RBI guy,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. “He’s had two 100-RBI years, and he’s getting better.

“He uses the center of the field. He does what’s necessary.”

The Cubs have won nine of 10 to cut the Cardinals’ NL Central lead to one game. The Cardinals have won 15 of 21, but lost their last two. They face the Cubs twice more in this series.

Jim Edmonds flied out to left for the final out of the game in his first pinch-hitting appearance of the season. He was removed from the lineup because of a groin injury, and manager Tony La Russa said Edmonds might not play today.

“I’m not sure about tomorrow,” La Russa said. “It’s been bothering him a little bit the last few days.”

Cardinals players wore black wristbands inscribed with the number 57 on the second anniversary of the death of pitcher Darryl Kile. He died in Chicago while the Cardinals were on a road trip there.

Moises Alou and Derrek Lee homered for the Cubs, who won for only the eighth time in 35 games at Busch Stadium since 2000.

Tony Womack’s RBI single in the seventh gave the Cardinals the lead after Lee’s homer in the top of the seventh tied it.

But the Cubs rallied against Isringhausen (3-2). It was his fourth blown save in 19 chances.

Mark Grudzielanek singled off Jason Marquis to start the eighth and advanced on a sacrifice. Isringhausen got Alou to ground out and walked Sosa on a full count before Ramirez doubled to the gap in right-center.

Mets 7, Reds 4

New York — Mike Piazza hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning, and New York won its season-high fifth straight. In his first game since hitting his 500th homer, Cincinnati’s Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-5 with a single. He was mostly cheered by the Shea Stadium crowd of 19,301, who showed up possibly hoping to see home run No. 501.

Expos 5, Phillies 2

Montreal — Livan Hernandez doubled twice and gained his first win in five weeks, leading Montreal over Philadelphia. Brad Wilkerson, who fell a triple short of his second cycle in two seasons, and Brian Schneider each had three hits for Montreal, which won its third in a row.

Padres 2, D’backs 1,

10 innings

San Diego — Khalil Greene scored from second base when Scott Hairston botched a potential double-play ball with one out in the 10th inning, giving San Diego a win over Arizona. With Greene on second and Sean Burroughs at first, Hairston tried to glove Mark Loretta’s chopper to second and tag Burroughs to start a double play, but the ball popped loose and rolled into shallow left, allowing Greene to score.

Marlins 4, Braves 3

Miami — Pinch-hitter Lenny Harris walked and scored on a wild pitch in the seventh inning, giving Florida a victory over Atlanta to stop a three-game losing streak. Florida had just two hits and trailed 3-0 after five innings, but Miguel Cabrera got the rally started with an RBI double in the sixth.

Brewers 6, Rockies 2

Milwaukee — Javier Lopez broke a seventh-inning tie when he hit consecutive batters with the bases loaded, helping Milwaukee beat Colorado in Larry Walker’s return to the Rockies. Walker doubled in his season debut after missing the Rockies’ first 68 games because of a strained left groin. Brady Clark added a two-run double in the five-run seventh, giving Doug Davis (7-5) his third straight victory.

Astros 5, Pirates 4

Houston — Roy Oswalt pitched eight solid innings, Morgan Ensberg hit a tiebreaking triple in the seventh, and Houston came from behind for the second consecutive night to defeat Pittsburgh. Oswalt (5-6) allowed three runs, nine hits and did not walk a batter, sending Pittsburgh to its 10th straight road loss and fifth in a row overall.

Giants 11, Dodgers 5

San Francisco — Edgardo Alfonzo drove in a career-high six runs, and San Francisco moved a half-game ahead of Los Angeles in the NL West. Alfonzo hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the seventh inning and a three-run double in the eighth.