Washington ? Ryan Drese redeemed himself for a poor outing.

Drese pitched eight strong innings, and Wil Cordero hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly for his first RBI of the season, leading and the Washington Nationals over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1, Tuesday night for their 15th victory in 17 home games.

Drese (2-1), who allowed five runs and eight hits over three innings at Pittsburgh on June 21, won a pitchers’ duel against Josh Fogg (4-4), winless in five starts since defeating Florida on June 1.

“Outstanding,” Nationals manager Frank Robinson said. “That was one of the finer performances we’ve had this year.”

Claimed off waivers from Texas on June 10, Drese gave up one run and five hits in eight innings with four strikeouts and no walks. He recorded 15 outs on grounders.

“We didn’t change the game plan that much,” Drese said. “I was trying to stay on top of the ball and keep it down.”

Washington has the best home record in the major leagues at 27-10 and is 15-6 overall in one-run games since May 8. The Nationals’ 19 one-run victories lead the NL.

Chad Cordero pitched a perfect ninth for his major-league-leading 26th save, his 23rd straight. He tied the franchise record for consecutive saves set by the Montreal Expos’ Mel Rojas in 1996.

Rockies 6, Astros 5

Denver – Roger Clemens left with a lead. For the third time this season, the Houston Astros failed to hold it. After Clemens allowed just four hits in seven innings, Garrett Atkins hit a grand slam in the eighth off Russ Springer for Colorado.

Houston’s Craig Biggio was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning against Jason Jennings, tying Don Baylor’s post-1900 major-league record of 267 times getting hit. Biggio has been hit 11 times this season – his 10th time in double digits in 12 seasons.

Morgan Ensberg had a grand slam and five RBIs to back Clemens, who leads the major leagues with a 1.50 ERA but is just 6-3. Clemens allowed a fourth-inning homer to Preston Wilson – the first run off the Rocket on the road in 49 1-3 innings since Sept. 14 at St. Louis.

Mets 8, Phillies 3

New York – Mike Piazza drove in three runs with a single and his ninth home run of the season, and Carlos Beltran had a double and triple, leading New York past Philadelphia. The Mets won for fourth time in the last five games and drew back to .500 at 38-38 as they started a stretch of 10 straight games against division opponents.

Cubs 2, Brewers 0

Chicago – Carlos Zambrano allowed just three hits in eight innings, and NL batting leader Derrek Lee hit his 23rd homer to lead Chicago over Milwaukee. Jerry Hairston also drove in a run with a single, and the Cubs won their third straight.

Cardinals 2, Reds 1

St. Louis – Mark Mulder ended a string of poor starts, and Reggie Sanders backed him with a two-run homer, helping St. Louis beat Cincinnati. The Cardinals have won three of four, giving them an NL-best record of 48-28. They sent the Reds to their 15th loss in 17 road games. Joe Randa had a first-inning RBI single for the Reds, who have lost three straight under interim manager Jerry Narron.

Giants 11, Diamondbacks 3

Phoenix – Jason Schmidt outpitched Arizona’s Brad Halsey for the second time in six days, and San Francisco snapped its four-game losing streak. Moises Alou drove in three runs with a single and sacrifice fly, Mike Matheny drove in two with a double and single, and Jason Ellison, Omar Vizquel and Pedro Feliz had run-scoring singles.

Padres 8, Dodgers 3

Los Angeles – Brian Lawrence pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning, and batterymate Robert Fick drove in three runs, leading San Diego over Los Angeles. Lawrence (5-6) was charged with two runs and five hits in 7 1â3 innings. He struck out three and walked three, improving to 10-5 against the Dodgers.

Braves 9, Marlins 1

Miami – Marcus Giles homered, and Atlanta spoiled Dontrelle Willis’ bid to become the first 13-game winner in the major leagues, beating Florida for its fifth straight victory. Jorge Sosa (4-1) held Florida to four hits – including Carlos Delgado’s 15th homer – in six innings.