Sunday’s games
Expos 2, Pirates 1: At San Juan, Puerto Rico, Scott Downs pitched seven sharp innings to give Montreal its first win by a left-handed starter in three years, leading the Expos over Pittsburgh in their final game this season in Puerto Rico.
Braves 6, Phillies 4: At Philadelphia, Julio Franco hit a three-run home run, J.D. Drew homered among his four hits and Atlanta beat the Phillies.
Reds 9, Brewers 6: At Milwaukee, Jason LaRue hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth inning and Wily Mo Pena followed with his second of the game, leading Cincinnati to a comeback victory over the Brewers.
Marlins 5, Mets 2: At Miami, Jeff Conine snapped a slump with a grand slam for Florida, helping Dontrelle Willis beat New York for the fifth time in as many tries.
Padres 4, Rockies 2: At San Diego, Ryan Klesko hit a rare home run and All-Star Mark Loretta also connected for the Padres, who beat Colorado to snap a four-game losing streak.
Giants 9, Diamondbacks 2: At San Francisco, Jason Schmidt won his 11th consecutive decision, the longest streak by a Giants pitcher in 42 years, and San Francisco defeated Arizona.
Dodgers 7, Astros 4: At Los Angeles, Paul Lo Duca hit his first career grand slam, and Jose Lima pitched six strong innings in the Dodgers’ victory over Houston. Jose Hernandez hit a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth for the Dodgers, who head into the All-Star break leading the West Division by a half-game over San Francisco. Lima (8-3) allowed two runs and five hits and struck out four to improve to 4-1 in his last six starts — all at Dodger Stadium.
Cubs 8, Cardinals 4: At St. Louis, Kerry Wood won his first start in two months and Sammy Sosa homered and drove in five runs, helping Chicago beat the Cardinals. The Cubs salvaged the final game of a six-game trip in which they managed a total of five runs in the first five games, and kept the league’s best team from completing a perfect homestand. The Cardinals, who lead the Cubs in the Central Division by seven games, outscored their opponents 45-13 in the first eight games before Chris Carpenter got rocked in the final game before the All-Star break. Jim Edmonds homered in his fifth straight game for the Cardinals.