Los Angeles ? The Chicago Cubs still are a power-hitting team, as the Los Angeles Dodgers found out.

Jerry Hairston, Michael Barrett and Aramis Ramirez homered for the Cubs on Monday night in a 5-3 victory that extended their winning streak to four games and put them over .500 (25-24) for the first time in a month.

Home runs accounted for a major-league-high 45.6 percent of Chicago’s runs last season, when the Cubs led the NL with a franchise-record 235 homers. They no longer have Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou, who combined for 74 homers, but again they lead the league with 65.

“You really don’t know until you get into the season, but somebody always emerges,” manager Dusty Baker said. “This year, Derrek Lee has emerged. He has double figures, Aramis and Corey (Patterson) have double figures, and we’ve made up some of that ground with Jeromy Burnitz and Michael Barrett. That’s how you account for it.”

Greg Maddux (3-3) got his 308th victory, allowing two runs – one earned – and five hits in six innings. The right-hander won for the first time in four starts since beating the New York Mets, 7-0, on May 10 in Chicago.

It was the third consecutive start without a walk for the four-time Cy Young winner, who is averaging fewer than two walks per nine innings in his career and set an NL record in 2001 by pitching 721â3 consecutive innings without allowing one.

“It’s not about walking guys, it’s about making pitches good enough to get guys out,” Maddux said. “Tonight I made some good ones and got away with some bad ones.”

Ryan Dempster, the fourth Chicago pitcher, finished the six-hitter for his fifth save in six chances, allowing a solo homer to Olmedo Saenz, who drove in all three Los Angeles runs.

All three Cubs homers came off Wilson Alvarez (1-3), who allowed five runs and nine hits over five innings in his second spot start in place of injured Odalis Perez. In his previous outing, Alvarez gave up six runs in three innings – including two homers – in a 10-2 loss at San Francisco.

Nationals 3, Braves 2

Washington – Marlon Byrd had two RBI doubles, Tomo Ohka (4-3) allowed just one unearned run and two hits over seven innings, and the Nationals were helped by a reversed umpire’s call that turned Brian Jordan’s apparent game-tying homer in the seventh inning into a foul ball.

With the scored tied at 1 and one out, Jordan drove a 1-1 pitch into the left-field corner. Byrd drifted back for the ball and was in foul territory when he jumped for it.

TV replays appeared to show the ball hit the black base of the foul pole, just beyond Byrd’s glove and the wall. Third-base umpire Jerry Layne ruled it a homer, but Washington manager Frank Robinson jogged to the outfield to argue the call, and crew chief Ed Montague eventually changed it.

Kyle Davies (2-1) suffered his first loss.

Reds 9, Astros 0

Houston – Joe Randa homered and had three RBIs, and Aaron Harang struck out 10 to spoil a solid effort by Roger Clemens. Clemens (3-3) made his first start since May 24, when he left after five scoreless innings because of a strained right groin. He allowed two runs in eight innings, giving up four hits and a walk while striking out seven. The Reds scored seven runs off three relievers in the ninth, highlighted by Ryan Freel’s three-run homer and Jason LaRue’s two-run single, both off Russ Springer.

The Astros were shut out for a league-leading ninth time this season. Harang (4-2) allowed five hits in seven innings. He walked one and tied his career high for strikeouts.

Pirates 3, Marlins 2, (10)

Pittsburgh – Freddy Sanchez’s opposite-field single in the 10th inning drove in the winning run, and the Pirates won a one-run game at home for the first time this season. Pittsburgh was 0-7 at home and 3-11 overall in one-run games before Jack Wilson doubled with two outs against Todd Jones (0-1) – Florida’s sixth pitcher – moved up on a wild pitch and scored on Sanchez’s single to right. Rick White (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory as the Pirates won for only the eighth time in 21 home games and beat Florida for the seventh straight time at PNC Park. The Marlins are 1-9 in Pittsburgh since the 2002 season.

Cardinals 5, Rockies 4

Denver – Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer in the seventh to lift St. Louis.

Pujols put a 1-2 pitch from Jay Witasick (0-2) barely over the left-field wall for a 4-3 lead. The homer halted Witasick’s 10-game streak without allowing an earned run and marked the major-league-high 11th blown save of the season for Colorado’s beleaguered relievers.

Abraham Nunez added an RBI double in the eighth for St. Louis, and after the Rockies cut the lead back to one, Jason Isringhausen pitched the ninth for his 15th save and his 20th straight dating to last season.

Padres 2, Brewers 1

San Diego – Pinch-hitter Miguel Ojeda doubled in the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning, and San Diego claimed its 21st victory in May. The Padres extended their lead in the NL West to a season-high three games over idle Arizona. The Padres won their fifth straight game overall and tied the franchise record with their 10th straight victory at home.