Pittsburgh ? Even with a five-run lead in the first inning against the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates, Chris Carpenter took nothing for granted.

Carpenter allowed just four this and three runs in eight innings, becoming the majors’ first 18-game winner as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pirates, 8-3, Wednesday night.

“If you go out there relaxed, you’re going to give up runs,” Carpenter said. “You have to go out and continue to compete and make pitches.”

The Cardinals used five singles to jump to the early lead and knock Pittsburgh starter Kip Wells (7-13) out of the game in the first inning. That was more than enough for Carpenter (18-4), even though he was not sharp early.

“If you think you’re going to breeze through the game because you have a five-run lead, it’s not going to happen,” he said. “Early on, my command with my fastball wasn’t very good. Fortunately, as the game went on I got better. My breaking ball was pretty good, and that’s what got me through for the most part.”

Carpenter improved to 10-0 in his last 13 starts, all St. Louis victories, and 10-0 on the road this season.

“He’s been throwing the ball unbelievably,” said shortstop David Eckstein, who had three hits and drove in two runs for the Cardinals.

St. Louis manager Tony La Russa tied Sparky Anderson for third place on baseball’s managerial wins list with his 2,194th career victory. Only Connie Mack (3,731) and John McGraw (2,763) have won more games.

“One of the great things about this is that it brings attention to a great, great man in Sparky,” La Russa said. “To be honest, I’ve never been in a situation that hasn’t been ideal for generating wins.”

Phillies 7, Giants 4

San Francisco – Bobby Abreu had three hits and drove in two runs, and Philadelphia maintained its lead in the NL wild-card race with a victory over San Francisco.

Robinson Tejeda, moved from the rotation to the bullpen until Philadelphia next needs its fifth starter in early September, pitched two scoreless innings for the victory.

Padres 7, Astros 4

San Diego – Trevor Hoffman earned his 425th save to take sole possession of second place on the career list, and San Diego beat Houston to climb back to .500. Hoffman broke a tie with John Franco for second place, pitching the ninth for his 32nd save in 34 chances this year.

Mets 18, Diamondbacks 4

Phoenix – David Wright and Mike Jacobs both hit two homers, and Jacobs and Jose Reyes each had four RBIs as New York pounded Arizona. The Mets, who beat the Diamondbacks, 14-1, Tuesday, set season highs for hits (20) and runs in their third straight victory and seventh in nine games. The Mets set a team record with 13 extra-base hits.

Rockies 2, Dodgers 1

Los Angeles – Aaron Miles and Matt Holliday hit run-scoring doubles in the eighth to snap a scoreless tie, and Colorado beat Los Angeles for its 15th road victory of the season. Pinch hitter Cory Sullivan hit a one-out double before Miles sliced a pitch from Steve Schmoll (4-3) down the left-field line to put the Rockies ahead.

Nationals 5, Reds 3

Washington – John Patterson scattered 10 hits over 81â3 innings, working out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh, to lead Washington over Cincinnati. Patterson wasn’t dominant, giving up three runs, and allowing leadoff singles in every inning from the fourth through the seventh. He gave up Rich Aurilia’s RBI double in the fourth and Javier Valentin’s two-run homer in the ninth, but the right-hander truly excelled when he needed to in improving to 8-4.

Braves 3, Cubs 1

Chicago – Rafael Furcal hit a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning to capitalize on Mark Prior’s error, and Atlanta rallied to beat Chicago. Prior (9-5) gave up just one hit in the first six innings, Andruw Jones’ single to center in the fourth, before his throwing error gave the Braves an extra chance.

Brewers 6, Marlins 4

Milwaukee – Rookie Rickie Weeks drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the sixth inning, and Milwaukee took advantage of four Florida errors. Weeks broke a 4-all tie with a single off Marlins starter A.J. Burnett that scored Damian Miller from second.