Chicago ? Dontrelle Willis used his arm and hip Saturday to tie for the major-league lead with his 18th win.

Willis beat Greg Maddux, driving in the tiebreaking run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the Florida Marlins’ 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Willis (18-8) allowed one run and six hits in 71â3 innings, struck out six, walked one and hit one batter.

“He gives us a pretty good outing every time he goes out there,” Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. “He’s an 18-game winner. He’s going to be a 20-game winner, there’s no doubt in my mind. He just makes the hitters hit the ball and doesn’t mess around too much.”

Willis matched Chris Carpenter of St. Louis with 18 wins and tied the Marlins’ season record, set by Carl Pavano last year.

“It’s a great feeling,” Willis said. “It’s definitely a team effort. You have to have lot of things go your way. Today I was hit, and that ended up being the winning run. I’ve been very fortunate to stay healthy and stay strong.”

He drove in the go-ahead run when he was hit on the right hip on an 0-1 pitch in the fifth.

“I tried to dodge it, but it was on me so quick, and I have a big backside,” Willis said.

Maddux (10-11) pitched a five-hitter for his second complete game of the season, striking out two, walking one and hitting two batters. He has about five starts left as he tries to extend his major-league record of 17 consecutive seasons with 15 or more wins.

“It’s one of those games when you look back and you pitched just good enough to lose,” Maddux said. “He pitched a good game. We knew going into the game we needed to hold them close and we might get him later.”

It was just the third time in his 20-year major-league career that Maddux hit a batter with the bases loaded, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He also plunked Mark Carreon of the New York Mets on Aug. 10, 1990, and F.P. Santangelo of Montreal on Sept. 8, 1998.

“It’s OK to be wild, but when you’re wild in tight, you run the risk of hitting the guy,” Maddux said.

Chicago’s Nomar Garciaparra was back at third base and did not have a fielding chance. He played the position Friday for the first time since high school and made a throwing error as the replacement for injured regular Aramis Ramirez.

Florida won its third straight. The Marlins moved a half game behind Philadelphia in the NL wild-card race.

Guillermo Mota relieved Willis with a runner on second and one out in the eighth, then retired Derrek Lee and Michael Barrett on flyouts. Todd Jones finished for his 31st save in 33 chances, his 21st in a row.

Florida pitcher Dontrelle Willis acts as cheerleader during the Marlins' game against Chicago. Willis earned his 18th win when the Marlins defeated the Cubs, 2-1, Saturday in Chicago.

Chicago has lost six of seven.

Cardinals 6, Nationals 0

Washington – Jason Marquis was the latest opponent to take advantage of Washington’s majors-worst offense, snapping a seven-start losing streak by throwing his first career shutout.

Marquis (10-13) gave up two hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out three. He wasn’t supposed to start until today, but was pushed up in the rotation to fill in for Mark Mulder, who had a stiff neck.

The Cardinals scored four runs in four innings off Matt White (0-1), who was called up from Triple-A New Orleans to make his first career start in the majors. David Eckstein drove in one of those runs, then added a two-run homer in the seventh off Mike Stanton.

Diamondbacks 2, Phillies 0

Phoenix – Alex Cintron hit a two-run, pinch homer, and Brandon Webb threw seven scoreless innings to help Arizona snap a season-high six-game losing streak with a victory over Philadelphia.

Dodgers 8, Astros 3

Los Angeles – Jeff Kent became the first player to hit 300 home runs as a second baseman, Jose Cruz Jr. had three RBIs, and Los Angeles scored five runs in the first inning against All-Star Roy Oswalt.

Reds 4, Pirates 2, 10 innings

Pittsburgh – Jose Mesa hit Edwin Encarnacion with a pitch to force in the go-ahead run, and Cincinnati rallied to beat Pittsburgh.

Rockies 4, Padres 2

San Diego – Todd Helton hit his third career grand slam, and Colorado beat San Diego for its fourth consecutive victory. Helton’s home run in the fifth inning sliced down the left-field line and just made it into the second deck of the Western Metal Supply Company building that borders the left-field foul pole.

Braves 8, Brewers 4

Milwaukee – John Smoltz allowed three hits in seven strong innings for his first win this month, leading Atlanta over Milwaukee. Chipper Jones hit a tying two-run single in the fifth and scored the go-ahead run on Jeff Francoeur’s single. Jones and Francoeur each had three hits.

Giants 2, Mets 1

San Francisco – Jason Schmidt avenged an embarrassing loss to New York in June, outpitching Tom Glavine to help San Francisco end the Mets’ five-game winning streak.