Dodgers 4, Pirates 3

Pittsburgh – James Loney’s line-drive single scored the go-ahead run in the 12th inning after Pittsburgh reliever Craig Hansen walked the bases full, and Los Angeles inched closer to winning the NL West.

The Dodgers withstood two Pittsburgh comebacks for their 15th victory in 18 games and have a 31â2-game lead over Arizona. The Dodgers’ magic number for winning the division is seven, in any combination of Los Angeles wins and Arizona losses.

Los Angeles, taking three of four in a ballpark where it loses infrequently, hadn’t scored since the seventh until Hansen (1-4) – the seventh of eight Pittsburgh pitchers – walked Russell Martin, Manny Ramirez intentionally and Casey Blake. Loney, a left-handed batter, then drove a single into left off T.J. Beam.

Mets 7, Nationals 2

Washington – Johan Santana took a shutout into the seventh inning, Brian Schneider went deep twice for his first multihomer game in 51â2 years, and the Mets beat the Nationals. Santana (14-7) improved to 7-0 with a 2.26 ERA over his last 14 starts.

Cubs 7, Brewers 6, 12 innings

Chicago – Geovany Soto hit a tying three-run homer with two out in the ninth inning, Derrek Lee singled in the winning run in the 12th, and the Cubs beat Milwaukee to move closer to the NL Central title.

The Cubs’ magic number for winning their second straight division championship was reduced to two as they sent the Brewers to a crushing defeat.

Phillies 4, Braves 3

Atlanta – Pat Burrell hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning, and Philadelphia completed an unprecedented sweep of the nine-game season series in Atlanta. The Phillies remained a half-game ahead of the Mets in the NL East with their season-best seventh straight victory.

Philadelphia is the first team to sweep a season series longer than four games in Atlanta.

Marlins 8, Astros 1

Miami – John Baker drove in four runs and scored two, leading Florida over Houston for its eighth straight victory. The Marlins, who are on their longest winning streak since they won nine consecutive in 2006, are tied with the Astros in the NL wild-card race, five games behind the leading New York Mets.

Cardinals 5, Reds 4

Cincinnati – Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer, and Kyle Lohse won his first start since coming off a suspension as the Cardinals snapped a season-high seven-game losing streak.

Diamondbacks 3, Giants 2

Phoenix – Adam Dunn’s two-out single in the eighth inning drove in the deciding run, and Arizona gave Tim Lincecum his first loss in two months.

Conor Jackson singled with two outs and stole second to set up Dunn’s game-winning hit as the Diamondbacks swept four games from the Giants.

Lincecum (17-4) was 6-0 in 10 starts since losing to Milwaukee 7-4 on July 20. He allowed three runs and six hits in his second straight complete game and second of his career.