Chicago ? Brandon Backe wanted to be the guy who stopped the Houston Astros’ seven-game losing streak, so he went after the Chicago Cubs with more than just his pitches Wednesday night.

In addition to allowing one run and seven hits in seven-plus innings, he chipped in offensively. Backe had a single, his first major-league stolen base, a sacrifice and scored a run as the Astros ended the drought with a 5-1 victory.

“I used to be a position player, and that’s kind of my mentality,” said Backe, a converted outfielder. “I love all aspects of the game, and I want to do well in all of them.”

The Astros had to just love winning, capturing their third road victory in 24 tries this season.

Houston had managed just 59 runs on the road before Wednesday night, so scoring five – three in the eighth inning – was almost as surprising as it was welcome.

“We got a lot of guys due for a win. Our guys have pitched well, and they deserve a lot more. It sure feels good to look up at the board and see five runs,” Houston manager Phil Garner said.

Morgan Ensberg’s ninth homer and sixth in his last 16 games broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth, and the Astros sealed the long-awaited victory by knocking out Greg Maddux with the three-run eighth.

“We’ve done a poor job of not only scoring runs, but holding those leads. So one run in my eyes, although it helps ease off a little of the pressure, I still wasn’t so relaxed as I was in the ninth with a four-run lead,” Ensberg said.

“It’s not fun when you win one game and you’re so incredibly giddy by the fact that you’ve won one game.”

Backe (4-3) got his first win in six road starts and helped the Astros score first in the third when he singled off Maddux with two outs before stealing second.

Diamondbacks 12, Padres 11

Phoenix – Royce Clayton drove in three runs, two on an eighth-inning single, and Arizona beat San Diego. Clayton and Craig Counsell, who tied it at 9 with an RBI single, got their hits off Dennis Reyes.

Phillies 8, Marlins 5

Miami – Randy Wolf gained a rare win against Florida, as Philadelphia stopped Florida’s longest winning streak of the season at six games. Jimmy Rollins had four hits, and Jim Thome had three in his first multihit game since April 12, also against the Marlins. Wolf (4-4) had been 2-12 against the Marlins, including a pair of losses in April. He allowed five runs and nine hits in 51â3 innings, winning his third straight decision after three consecutive losses.

Cardinals 11, Pirates 5

St. Louis – Mark Mulder won his seventh straight decision, and Yadier Molina had career bests by going 4-for-4 with four RBIs, helping St. Louis beat Pittsburgh to complete a three-game sweep. David Eckstein had a two-run homer and a sacrifice fly for the Cardinals, who have beaten the Pirates 12 straight times dating to last August.

Brewers 11, Rockies 1

Milwaukee – Gary Glover bounced back from the worst outing of his career, and Milwaukee completed a three-game sweep of Colorado paced by Bill Hall’s four RBIs.

Braves 3, Mets 0

Atlanta – Rookie Kyle Davies was impressive in his home debut, and Atlanta shut out New York for the second straight night to complete a three-game sweep. After Tim Hudson pitched eight innings on three days’ rest in a 4-0 victory Tuesday night, Davies’ second major-league start also came on short rest as the Braves adjust to losing pitchers Mike Hampton and John Thomson to the disabled list.

Reds 12, Nationals 3

Cincinnati – Ryan Freel had four hits, including his first home run since Sept. 5, to lead Cincinnati and emergency starter Matt Belisle over Washington for a three-game sweep of the Nationals. Felipe Lopez hit a two-run homer.

Giants 10, Dodgers 2

San Francisco – Pedro Feliz and Moises Alou hit two homers apiece, and Brett Tomko pitched eight innings of five-hit ball in San Francisco’s fourth straight victory. Feliz and Alou both homered in the first inning of the highest-scoring performance of the month for the Giants (23-22), who pulled even with the Dodgers in the NL West standings.