Cincinnati ? Jason Marquis made sure the St. Louis Cardinals wouldn’t need another historic comeback.

The right-hander gave up only three hits while taking a shutout into the ninth inning on Tuesday night, and the St. Louis Cardinals’ depleted bullpen held on for a 4-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

A day after they pulled off the biggest ninth-inning comeback in their history — seven runs for a 10-9 victory — the Cardinals relied on a few well-placed hits and impeccable pitching to win another.

“We’ve got some superstars and some guys who know how to play the game the right way,” said Marquis, who also had a couple of hits.

St. Louis has the NL’s best record at 17-8, getting off to a fast start after getting swept by Boston in the World Series last year. The Cardinals’ lead in the NL Central is up to five games, the biggest so far.

“We’ve been in a lot of tough games that have come our way,” manager Tony La Russa said.

Nothing is going Cincinnati’s way. The Reds have lost a season-high six straight, falling 71/2 games behind the Cardinals, the one team they can’t seem to beat.

“It’s all too familiar,” said reliever Joe Valentine, who gave up a pair of runs in the eighth, his fourth straight subpar appearance. “The last week has been the roughest part of my career, and to go along with the roughest part of our season as a team.”

Marquis (4-1) allowed three singles before turning it over to a bullpen trying to get by while closer Jason Isringhausen recovers from strained muscles in his side.

Diamondbacks 3, Giants 2

Phoenix — Tony Clark hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, and Arizona held on to beat San Francisco and stop the Giants’ six-game winning streak. Javier Lopez (1-0) retired two batters in the eighth for the win, and Brandon Lyon pitched a scoreless ninth for his major-league-leading 11th save in 12 chances.

Arizona starter Brad Halsey allowed five hits in seven innings, including home runs by Lance Niekro in the fifth and Pedro Feliz in the seventh.

Marlins 11, Braves 6

Atlanta — Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Delgado each had four RBIs, and Florida beat Atlanta in a game matching the top two teams in the NL East. The Marlins roughed up Atlanta starter Mike Hampton (3-1), who lost for only the second time in 16 decisions dating to July 4.

Dodgers 4, Nationals 2

Los Angeles — Jeff Weaver pitched six effective innings, slumping Jason Phillips hit a two-out, two-run double in the fifth to drive in the go-ahead runs, and Los Angeles beat Washington for its fourth win in five games. Weaver (3-2), who allowed 13 runs and 18 hits over 101/3 innings in his previous two starts, gave up two runs and seven hits while walking one and striking out seven.

Brewers 4, Cubs 1

Milwaukee — Carlos Lee broke a tie in the sixth inning with his second double of the game to help Milwaukee win its fifth consecutive game. Chris Capuano (2-2) pitched a season-high seven innings for the Brewers, giving up one run on five hits while striking out six. Derrick Turnbow worked the ninth for his fourth save.

Padres 2, Rockies 1

San Diego — Damian Jackson, brought back to the big leagues earlier in the day, hit an RBI double with two outs in the eighth inning to give San Diego a victory over Colorado. Trevor Hoffman pitched a scoreless ninth for his 399th career save and sixth in eight chances this year.

Phillies 10, Mets 3

New York — Pat Burrell hit a three-run homer off Tom Glavine (1-4), and Bobby Abreu had four RBIs. Brett Myers (2-1) struck out 10 and allowed four hits in seven innings for the last-place Phillies, who put Jim Thome and Kenny Lofton on the disabled list earlier in the day. Glavine walked six in 32/3 innings, allowing eight runs.

Pirates 7, Astros 4

Houston — Craig Wilson had four hits, including a tiebreaking single in a three-run eighth inning that led Pittsburgh over Houston. With the score 4-all, singles by Rob Mackowiak and Jason Bay and a walk to Daryle Ward loaded the bases with no outs for Wilson, who singled to left off Chad Qualls (1-3). Bobby Hill followed with a two-run double.