For the first time since May there's a new team on top in the NL West.
Ismael Valdes pitched eight strong innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers moved past San Francisco with a 5-1 win Sunday over the Philadelphia Phillies.The Giants lost 9-6 at Pittsburgh to fall out of first place for the first time in 106 days. They had led the division since May 10.
"It's a long year and we've worked very hard to get to where we are," Dodgers manager Bill Russell said. "There are still 32 games to play and it's certainly better to be in first place than anywhere else."
Valdes (9-10) allowed only four hits, struck out three and didn't walk a batter. In his last nine starts, Valdes is 6-2 with 1.52 ERA and has walked only five in 65 1-3 innings.
Todd Zeile's two-run homer sparked a three-run sixth inning as the Dodgers won their fourth straight and 10th in a row against the Phillies.
Rookie Tony Barron's homer in the fifth was Philadelphia's only run.
Eric Young led off the game with his seventh homer this season and first since the Dodgers got him from Colorado in an Aug. 18 trade. It was the Dodgers' first three-game sweep in Philadelphia since August 1990.
Pirates 9, Giants 6
At Pittsburgh, Jermaine Allensworth's high-hop single broke a tie in a four-run eighth inning and Pittsburgh swept San Francisco to drop the Giants into second place for the first time in 106 days.
San Francisco's fourth loss in five games and the Dodgers' 5-1 victory in Philadelphia pushed the Giants out of the NL West lead they had held since May 10. The Giants have been in first place all but 23 days.
The three-game sweep matches the Giants' longest losing streak this season. The Pirates, who began the day three games back of Houston in the NL Central, have won six of seven and nine of 12.
Jose Vizcaino was 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs for San Francisco.
Jason Christiansen (2-0) got two outs in the eighth for the win.
Doug Henry (4-5) took the loss.
Reds 6, Braves 4
At Atlanta, Eduardo Perez hit a two-out, two-run double in the 10th for Cincinnati.
Five Atlanta pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts.
Cincinnati, avoiding a sweep in the three-game series one day after manager Jack McKeon berated his players for a 10-3 loss, took advantage of three errors to score four unearned runs.
Barry Larkin began the 10th with a pinch-hit single, but the inning should have ended when Chris Stynes hit a sharp grounder down the third-base line with two outs. Chipper Jones backhanded the ball but his throw to first was high, putting runners on first and third.
Perez followed with a double into the left-field corner against Chad Fox (0-1), ending the Braves' four-game winning streak.
Jeff Shaw (4-2) picked up the win and Stan Belinda worked the 10th for his first save.
John Smoltz had a season-high 12 strikeouts for Atlanta, but didn't figure in the decision.
Padres 3, Mets 2
At New York, Pete Smith drove in three runs with his second career triple and shut down New York's offense.
The Mets, who lost for the 10th time in 15 games, intentionally walked Archi Cianfrocco in the second inning, loading the bases for Smith, a .112 hitter (28-for-249) with three doubles, one triple and 11 RBIs coming in.
Smith sliced a drive down the right-field line, and Butch Huskey failed to come up with it on an awkward dive. The ball rolled into the right-field corner as the slow-footed Smith made it to third.
After Brian McRae's leadoff single in the first, Smith (5-4) didn't allow another hit until Huskey's leadoff homer in the seventh.
Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 30th save in 36 chances.
Brian Bohanon (3-3) was the loser.
Cubs 12, Expos 3
At Chicago, Ryne Sandberg hit two home runs and rookie Jeremi Gonzalez got his 10th victory.
Sandberg hit a two-run homer in the first and added a solo shot in the fourth for his 25th career two-homer game and second this year. He also homered twice on Aug. 2 against Los Angeles, the same day he announced he would retire at season's end.
Sammy Sosa hit his 29th home run and 200th of his career, a three-run shot in the eighth.
Gonzalez (10-6) became the first Cubs rookie to reach double digits in wins since Mike Harkey went 12-6 in 1990.
Carlos Perez (11-10) took the loss, allowing seven runs and seven hits over 2 1-3 innings, his second shortest outing this year.
Astros 3, Rockies 1
At Houston, Mike Hampton pitched a four-hitter and Derek Bell homered for Houston.
The victory kept the Astros three games ahead of second-place Pittsburgh in the NL Central.
Hampton (11-8) set a new career high for wins. The left-hander struck out seven, walked four and won for the eighth time in nine decisions.
Bell, 18-for-31 (.581) in his last seven games, also got an RBI with a bases-loaded walk.
Colorado starter Jamey Wright (6-10) took the loss.
Marlins 7, Cardinals 1
At Miami, Craig Counsell hit a grand slam for his first major-league homer and Kirt Ojala earned his first career victory, helping the Florida beat St. Louis.
Counsell's homer capped a six-run first inning against Todd Stottlemyre (12-9).
Ojala (1-0), making his second career start filling in for injured left-hander Al Leiter, allowed five hits and one run. He struck out eight and departed after the first two batters reached in the seventh.
The Marlins climbed 22 games above .500 for the first time and closed to within four games of first-place Atlanta in the NL East.
American League
Red Sox 3, Angels 2
At Anaheim, Calif., rookie Nomar Garciaparra tied an AL record and Tim Wakefield pitched into the ninth inning as Boston beat Anaheim to snap a three-game losing streak.
Garciaparra singled twice to extend his hitting streak to 26 games, tying the league's rookie record set by Guy Curtright of the Chicago White Sox in 1943.
Wakefield (9-14) allowed four hits, walked three and struck out four. The knuckleballer was relieved by Tom Gordon after issuing a leadoff walk to Tim Salmon in the ninth.
Gordon got three outs - all on fly balls to the warning track - for his second save.
Garciaparra, 46-of-122 (.377) during his streak, singled, stole second and scored against Ken Hill (6-11) in both the third and fifth innings. His hitting streak is the longest by a Red Sox player since Wade Boggs hit safely in 28 straight in 1985.
Orioles 5, Twins 1
At Baltimore, Scott Kamieniecki pitched seven strong innings as Baltimore completed a three-game sweep and Baltimore moved 39 games over .500 (83-44) for the first time since August 1979.
Geronimo Berroa had a two-run shot and Brady Anderson and Rafael Palmeiro hit solo homers off LaTroy Hawkins (4-9) as the Orioles won their fifth straight. Baltimore, which leads second-place New York by seven games in the AL East, has won 22 of 28.
Minnesota went 1-10 on its 11-game road trip and has lost 13 of 14 overall.
Baltimore won the series from the Twins 10-1, their best single-season record against Minnesota in franchise history.
Kamieniecki (9-5) allowed one run, four hits and a walk. He struck out eight, matching his career high, and improved to 3-0 in five starts since July 25.
Armando Benitez struck out four in two innings for his ninth save.
Mariners 5, Yankees 3
At Seattle, Dan Wilson's two-run homer in the seventh inning snapped a tie and Ken Cloude and two relievers combined on a six-hitter.
Jay Buhner also homered for Seattle, which won two of three games in the series. Including the 1995 playoffs, the Mariners are 17-4 at the Kingdome against New York.
Chad Curtis homered and threw a runner out for the Yankees, 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
The three-game series drew 169,024, setting a Mariners record for a three-game set.
With the score tied 3-3, David Wells (14-7) walked Andy Sheets to open the seventh and Mike Blowers sacrificed. Wilson then hit a 1-2 pitch over the wall in left for his 12th homer.
Bobby Ayala (9-4) limited the Yankees to two hits over two-plus innings and Mike Timlin got two groundouts for his 10th save, and first since coming to the Mariners in a July trade with Toronto.
Blue Jays 11, Royals 8
At Kansas City, Mo., Jose Cruz Jr. hit a two-run homer in the 13th, his second shot of the game.
Jacob Brumfield singled to open the 13th off Larry Casian (0-2) and Carlos Garcia sacrificed. Cruz, who had the first four-hit game of his career, then hit his 20th homer. It was the third two-homer game for Cruz, who came to Toronto last month in a trade with Seattle.
Joe Carter doubled and Carlos Delgado followed with an RBI single to make it 11-8.
Tim Crabtree (3-3) got the final six outs and Toronto had a season-high 21 hits to hand the Royals their fifth straight loss.
Chili Davis hit a three-run homer, and Larry Sutton hit his first major-league home run for Kansas City.
Athletics 4, Indians 1
At Oakland, Jimmy Haynes pitched shutout innings and combined with four relievers on a five-hitter.
Haynes (2-3) won for the second time in three starts, allowing two hits in his 91-pitch outing. T.J. Mathews, Oakland's fourth reliever, got four outs for his first save.
Matt Stairs and Mark Bellhorn homered for Oakland.
David Justice homered for the third time in three games for the Indians, who lost for the third time in 11 games.
Cleveland's lead over Milwaukee in the AL Central dropped to four games.
John Smiley (2-3) took the loss.
Brewers 6, Tigers 0
At Milwaukee, Jose Mercedes pitched a four-hitter for his first major league shutout.
Jeromy Burnitz, Mark Loretta and Jeff Cirillo each hit solo homers as Phil Garner became the winningest manager in Brewers history. Garner has 423 wins, one more than Tom Trebelhorn (422-397, 1986-1991).
Mercedes (6-7) struck out five and walked one for his second complete game this season.
Willie Blair (13-6) allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings.