St. Louis ? The Washington Nationals had the right pitcher on the mound to end their five-game losing streak.

Livan Hernandez wrapped up the first five-victory month of his career to become the NL’s second eight-game winner, and Brad Wilkerson tied a franchise record with three doubles, helping the Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2, Sunday.

“Livan did a great job keeping us off-balance,” Jim Edmonds said, “like he always does.”

Jamey Carroll’s RBI single capped a three-run fifth for the Nationals (25-25), who avoided getting swept for the second straight series.

Edmonds homered for the third straight game, and Abraham Nunez had an RBI single in the first inning for the Cardinals, who finished a 5-1 homestand in front of a sellout crowd of 47,012. The actual attendance was 50,111, the largest of the season.

“We were looking at 6-0 and that would have been a lot better,” Edmonds said.

Hernandez (8-2) was 5-0 in May with a 2.76 ERA to join Dontrelle Willis as the NL’s only eight-game winners. He’s also 6-0 with a 2.84 ERA in seven starts against teams outside the NL East, and he’s 7-0 in his last eight starts overall.

“The only thing I can say is it’s not easy,” Hernandez said. “To win five or six in a row is something else because you see all the teams now, everybody is competitive and teams are good.

“So, I’ll take it.”

Hernandez gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings. Chad Cordero worked the ninth for his 11th save in 13 chances.

“We had a real, real, real, real, real gutty performance from Livan,” manager Frank Robinson said. “He hung tight and was able to keep the score down.”

Marlins 6, Mets 3

Miami – Carlos Delgado hit a three-run homer, and Josh Beckett allowed four hits in seven innings.

The Marlins scored five runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by Delgado’s ninth homer, to salvage the final game of the four-game set and snap a four-game losing streak.

Heath Bell (0-2) replaced Tom Glavine to start the seventh with the Mets leading 2-1, but he was pulled after giving up consecutive singles to Luis Castillo and Miguel Cabrera. Delgado hit a 3-0 pitch from Dae-Sung Koo over the right field wall for a 4-2 lead.

Beckett (7-3) gave up both runs and struck out five.

Reds 11, Pirates 2

Cincinnati – Ken Griffey Jr. and Jason LaRue homered during Cincinnati’s six-run second inning, and the Reds earned a split of the four-game series.

Griffey drove in a season-high five runs, and LaRue went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored as the Reds matched their largest winning margin of the season. The Pirates have lost six of eight.

Pittsburgh starter Kip Wells (3-4) lost for the first time in eight starts.

Braves 7, Phillies 2

Atlanta – Ryan Langerhans hit a two-run triple in the Braves’ three-run fifth inning, and Kelly Johnson made two strong defensive plays in his major-league debut as Atlanta averted a three-game sweep.

Tim Hudson (6-3) needed 99 pitches to last seven innings. He gave up six hits and walked five batters while allowing two runs.

Astros 2, Brewers 1

Milwaukee – Andy Pettitte pitched six shutout innings, and Houston won a road series for the first time this year.

Pettitte (3-5) missed his last start because of tightness in his left elbow, but snapped a personal three-game losing streak.

Cubs 11, Rockies 6

Chicago – Aramis Ramirez had three hits, including a homer, and four RBIs, and Derrek Lee went 3-for-4 to lead Chicago over Colorado.

Jeromy Burnitz added a three-run homer in a five-run, sixth-inning rally that put the Cubs ahead for good. He also drove in a run with a groundout.

Padres 9, Giants 6

San Francisco – Damian Jackson hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the ninth inning, and San Diego completed its first three-game sweep at SBC Park.

Chris Hammond (5-0) pitched two innings for the win after the Padres couldn’t hold a three-run lead for starter Adam Eaton, who was denied his career-best sixth straight win.

Dodgers 6, D-backs 3

Phoenix – Jeff Weaver earned his first win in four starts, and Los Angeles Dodgers won a series for the first time in three weeks.

Cesar Izturis was 3-for-5 with a triple, and Jayson Werth doubled twice, scored and drove in a run.

Chris Snyder hit a two-run homer off Weaver (5-4), who pitched six innings.