Phillies 14, Padres 2

Philadelphia – Ryan Howard homered and drove in four runs as Philadelphia snapped a four-game losing streak with a rout of the Padres on Sunday.

Howard, the reigning National League MVP, ended a season-high 11-game homerless drought and finished with three hits and three runs scored.

Jayson Werth went 5-for-5 with four RBIs, and Chris Coste hit a three-run homer for the Phillies, who moved within three games of the NL wild card-leading Padres.

Cardinals 4, Braves 1

St. Louis – Adam Wainwright allowed a run in seven sharp innings, Juan Encarnacion homered, and St. Louis handed Atlanta its fifth loss in six games.

Rockies 10, Nationals 5

Denver – Matt Holliday homered, doubled and drove in three runs, and Colorado finished off a sweep of Washington to move back within 31â2 games of San Diego in the NL wild-card race. Elmer Dessens (2-1) gave up a run and three hits in six innings for his first Colorado win. It was his first win as a starter since April 25, 2004, with Arizona against San Diego.

Giants 5, Brewers 4

San Francisco – Pedro Feliz scored from first base on Rich Aurilia’s single to right field in the eighth inning, and San Francisco finished off a three-game sweep of slumping Milwaukee.

Diamondbacks 5, Cubs 4

Phoenix – Chris Young homered in the first and second innings and drove in four runs as the Diamondbacks took a three-game series between NL division leaders. The Diamondbacks extended their lead to three games over San Diego in the NL West.

Reds 9, Marlins 3

Cincinnati – Catcher Ryan Jorgensen’s first grand slam helped 29-year-old Tom Shearn win his long-awaited major-league debut, and Cincinnati won its sixth straight.

The rookie pitcher and his minor-league catcher kept the Reds on their best surge of the season.

Astros 5, Pirates 4

Houston – Ty Wigginton hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, and Houston rallied to avoid a sweep. Houston trailed 4-1 before scoring twice in the sixth. Luke Scott then hit a one-out double in the eighth, and Wigginton hit the first pitch he saw from reliever Shawn Chacon (4-4) to left field, his 19th homer of the year.

Dodgers 6, Mets 2

New York – David Wells pitched five effective innings in his Dodgers debut, and Los Angeles salvaged the finale of the three-game series.