ATLANTA — Andy Pettitte won a pitching duel with Russ Ortiz and the Houston Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Sunday, scoring the tie-breaking run when backup Orlando Palmeiro walked with the bases loaded.
Pettitte (3-1) allowed just two hits and a run in six innings. He improved to 4-0 in his career against the Braves, who lost for the fourth time in five games.
Each team had only three hits.
Ortiz (3-4) was the hard-luck loser, giving up only two hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Palmeiro, filling in for Craig Biggio, drew a bases-loaded walk off Kevin Gryboski in the seventh.
Octavio Dotel pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save.
DODGERS 9, PIRATES 7 (14): At Pittsburgh, Olmedo Saenz hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the 14th and Los Angeles overcame a wild eighth inning in which their bullpen walked in four runs to rally past Pittsburgh.
The Dodgers improved the NL's best record to 20-10 by winning their fourth in a row and seventh in nine games.
The Pirates were swept for a second straight series — they dropped three in Houston last week — and have lost nine of 11.
Brian Falkenborg (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings in only his third Dodgers appearance for his first career victory.
METS 6, BREWERS 5 (11): At New York, Kaz Matsui hit a game-winning double in the 11th inning after not starting for the first time this season.
Matsui, who had started 1,143 consecutive games in Japan and his first 30 with the Mets, entered as a pinch runner in the eighth inning. He scored on Ty Wigginton's pinch-hit two-run single, as New York rallied from a 5-3 deficit to tie it.
In the 11th, Matsui drove a ball over the head of center fielder Scott Podsednik to score Todd Zeile with the winning run and help the Mets avert a weekend sweep.
Ben Ford (1-1) was the loser.
Dan Wheeler (1-0), the sixth Mets pitcher, worked a perfect 11th for the win.
CARDINALS 5, EXPOS 2: At Montreal, Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds homered, and Chris Carpenter pitched eight impressive innings for St. Louis.
Carpenter (3-1) scattered four hits and struck out four. Jason Isringhausen pitched the ninth for his fifth save in six chances.
The Cardinals improved to an NL-best 10-5 away from home.
Pujols hit a towering two-run shot — his ninth of the season — off Claudio Vargas (2-2) in the fourth to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. Edmonds hit a three-run homer in the seventh.
Brad Wilkerson homered for Montreal.
GIANTS 7, REDS 6 (10): At Cincinnati, Barry Bonds led off the 10th inning with an intentional walk, advanced on Edgardo Alfonzo's double and came home on Deivi Cruz's sacrifice fly, helping San Francisco complete its road trip 2-4.
Bonds was 0-for-4, extending his slump to 0-for-15, when he led off the 10th against Danny Graves (1-3). Bonds doesn't have a hit in his last six games but has walked 15 times, nine of them intentional.
Jim Brower (1-2) got Ryan Freel to ground out with the bases loaded in the ninth, keeping it tied.
MARLINS 7, PADRES 4: At Miami, Miguel Cabrera hit his league-leading 11th home run, and Josh Beckett pitched six strong innings for Florida.
Cabrera homered for the second straight day, a three-run shot in the second inning. Beckett (3-2) allowed one run and five hits in his second win in three starts.
Armando Benitez got one out for his 13th save in 14 chances.
Alex Gonzalez also homered for Florida, and leadoff man Juan Pierre went 3-for-4.
Padres starter Adam Eaton (1-3) lasted just 1 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season. Winless in his last five starts, he allowed six runs on six hits.
CUBS 5, ROCKIES 4 (13): At Chicago, Corey Patterson hit a bases-loaded single with two outs in the 13th inning off Jeff Fassero (0-2) to give the Chicago Cubs a victory over Colorado.
Glendon Rusch (1-0) got the win with two scoreless innings.
Aramis Ramirez hit a two-out homer in the bottom of the 10th off Rockies closer Shawn Chacon to tie it. The Rockies had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the 10th when Todd Helton homered on Joe Borowski's first pitch.
PHILLIES 7, DIAMONDBACKS 1: At Phoenix, Brett Myers earned his first win of the season by pitching seven strong innings and Philadelphia completed a three-game sweep of Arizona.
Marlon Byrd hit a leadoff homer and scored three times in the Phillies' fourth straight win, moving Philadelphia (15-14) above .500 for the first time this season. Jimmy Rollins was 4-for-5 with an RBI.