Chicago ? The Chicago Cubs needed a big effort from Greg Maddux, and he certainly delivered.

Maddux struck out 10 in his best outing of the season, and Corey Patterson hit two solo homers to lead Chicago over the New York Mets, 7-0, Tuesday night.

The Cubs won for only the second time in 10 games and homered in four straight innings, with Jason Dubois adding a solo shot and Jeromy Burnitz hitting a two-run drive.

“It’s nice to win,” Maddux said. “It’s still early. Obviously we have a lot of time to get our act together and play the way we’re capable of playing. I don’t think it was life or death or anything before the game started, by any means. We just needed a win, and we got a win. It doesn’t matter if it’s one run or 10 runs.”

Maddux (2-1) handcuffed the Mets with an array of off-speed stuff, improving to 34-16 lifetime against New York. Cubs manager Dusty Baker was booed when he pulled him with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, but the fans gave Maddux a standing ovation.

It was Maddux’s first double-digit strikeout game since he fanned 11 with Atlanta on June 15, 2003, against Seattle.

“I don’t watch them when I let them go,” Maddux said, referring to his pitches. “It felt good. It was nice to get some outs when you don’t expect to get outs, that happened a couple of times tonight.”

Maddux didn’t need much help. The right-hander gave up three hits and three walks in 62/3 innings, throwing 100 pitches.

Diamondbacks 3, Nationals 2

Phoenix — Troy Glaus brought Arizona from behind with a three-run homer in the sixth inning, and the Diamondbacks snapped their 10-game losing streak against the Washington franchise.

Pirates 5, Giants 2

San Francisco — Jason Bay hit a three-run homer, and Jose Castillo and Humberto Cota also connected to lead Pittsburgh past San Francisco. Dave Williams (3-3) pitched six strong innings to win his second straight.

Brewers 8, Phillies 5

Milwaukee — Brady Clark ignited a four-run sixth inning with his third hit of the game, and Milwaukee rallied past Philadelphia. Clark had three singles. His first one led to a three-run rally in the first, his second drove in a run an inning later, and his third drove in Damian Miller in the sixth.

Chicago's Greg Maddux delivers against New York. Maddux struck out 10 in 62/3 innings, and the Cubs blanked the Mets, 7-0, Tuesday night in Chicago.

Marlins 6, Astros 2

Miami — Mike Lowell snapped a slump and broke a tie with a two-run double, and Florida scored five times in the eighth inning to beat Houston.

Dodgers 9, Cardinals 8

St. Louis — Hee-Seop Choi hit a go-ahead, three-run homer after he withstood a collision that forced Scott Rolen from the game because of a sprained left shoulder in Los Angeles’ victory over St. Louis. Jeff Kent also homered, and Cesar Izturis had two hits and two RBIs, helping the Dodgers end a six-game losing streak at Busch Stadium, counting the first round of the postseason last year.

Braves 9, Rockies 5

Denver — Johnny Estrada’s two-run double sparked a six-run first inning for Atlanta, which snapped Colorado’s two-game winning streak. Estrada, Ryan Langerhans, Raul Mondesi and pitcher John Thomson all had two-out RBIs in the first to help Atlanta build the big lead en route to its sixth victory in seven games. Marcus Giles had four hits and an RBI, and Andruw Jones had three hits.

Reds 5, Padres 1

Cincinnati — Sean Casey drove in three runs with a pair of doubles, and Cincinnati’s besieged bullpen ended a long stretch of miserable performances by preserving a victory over San Diego.