Atlanta ? When Tim Hudson took the mound in the first inning, he glanced over at the opposing dugout and spotted Mark Mulder.

“I kind of had a little chuckle,” Hudson said.

Considering all they had been through together, it was a natural reaction. But neither pitcher had much to smile about the rest of the night.

The former Oakland teammates were roughed up in their first starts against each other, but Mulder managed to get the win when Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer that carried the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

“So much for a pitcher’s duel,” Mulder said sarcastically, having surrendered eight hits and five runs — four earned — in seven innings.

That was better than Hudson, who gave up four runs in the first and left after the sixth, saddled with a line that showed nine hits and six runs — twice as many runs as he gave up in his first four starts for the Braves, covering 28 innings.

“Unfortunately, I wasted a great offensive night by my team,” he said.

Hudson (2-1) lost for only the third time in 100 career starts when provided with at least four runs by his teammates. His record in those games dropped to 77-3.

Given a 4-0 lead before he took the mound, Mulder (3-1) couldn’t hold it. Andruw Jones hit a two-out, two-run double in the bottom half of the first, then Brian Jordan tied it with a two-run homer in the third.

Marlins 6, Phillies 4

Philadelphia — A.J. Burnett pitched seven strong innings, Juan Encarnacion drove in three runs, and Florida held on for a victory over Philadelphia.

Encarnacion tripled and homered, Miguel Cabrera went 4-for-5 with three doubles and a homer, and Damion Easley also connected for Florida, which has won eight of 10.

Chase Utley hit a solo shot, and Jim Thome added a two-run double for the Phillies, who have lost five of seven.

Nationals 5, Mets 1

Washington — Livan Hernandez worked his way in and out of trouble for eight innings and hit one of the Nationals’ three solo home runs. Jose Guillen delivered his team-leading sixth homer hours after the Nationals announced they were exercising his $4 million contract option for 2006, and Brian Schneider also hit one out.

Giants 3, Pirates 2

Pittsburgh — Mike Matheny hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning, and San Francisco turned Brett Tomko’s four-hitter into a victory over Pittsburgh. Jason Ellison singled to start a two-run first against Mark Redman (1-2) and had three consecutive hits, giving him eight in a row over four games, until he struck out to start the seventh.

Dodgers 6, Rockies 3

Los Angeles — Hee-Seop Choi hit his first major-league grand slam, and Odalis Perez pitched seven strong innings to lead Los Angeles past Colorado. J.D. Drew added a two-run homer for the Dodgers, who won for just the second time in eight games after starting the season 12-2.

Cubs 3, Astros 2

Houston — Greg Maddux outpitched Roger Clemens in a rare duel between 300-game winners, and Jeromy Burnitz hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning to lead Chicago over Houston.

Maddux (1-1) earned his 306th career win and first since the Cubs’ 2004 season finale against Atlanta. He lasted six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk.

Maddux was lifted in the seventh for a pinch-hitter, and Michael Wuertz, Will Ohman and Roberto Novoa combined to pitch two scoreless innings before LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save.

Brewers 4, Reds 3

Milwaukee — Lyle Overbay homered in his first two at-bats, leading Milwaukee over Cincinnati. Despite playing hurt, Overbay had the first multihomer game of his career. He has 12 stitches on the left side of his jaw and a chipped tooth from an injury he sustained Tuesday night at St. Louis, when he made a catch in foul territory in the first inning. His hand slipped off a rolled-up tarp and his face hit a plastic partition.