WASHINGTON — With Stephen Strasburg suddenly scratched, reliever Miguel Batista was pressed into making his first start in nearly two years.

The 39-year-old journeyman allowed three singles in five scoreless innings, and two throwing errors hurt Atlanta starter Tommy Hanson as the last-place Nationals beat the NL East-leading Braves 3-0 on Tuesday night.

Batista (1-2) hadn't started a major league game since Aug. 25, 2008, for Seattle. Strasburg, who was supposed to be making the 10th appearance of his much-hyped career, had problems warming up.

Batista struck out six and walked one. The relievers completed the shutout with Matt Capps throwing a perfect ninth for his 25th save.

Hanson (8-7) went six innings, giving up three runs — one earned — and six hits. He had eight strikeouts without a walk.

PHILLIES 9, DIAMONDBACKS 5: At Philadelphia, Ryan Howard hit a tiebreaking two-run homer, and Jayson Werth and Cody Ransom also connected for Philadelphia in its season-high sixth straight win. The two-time NL champion Phillies moved within 3 1/2 games of East-leading Atlanta, cutting the deficit in half over the last five days. They have won nine straight at home, their longest since winning 16 straight at Veterans Stadium in 1991. David Herndon (1-2) allowed two runs — one earned — in one inning to record his first major league victory. Mark Reynolds hit his 24th homer for the Diamondbacks. It may have been a costly win for Philadelphia. Center fielder Shane Victorino left in the seventh with a left oblique strain. He'll be examined by a team physician on Wednesday. Raul Ibanez hit a two-out RBI single off Jordan Norberto (0-1) to tie it at 5 in the sixth and Howard followed with an opposite-field drive to left-center.

METS 8, CARDINALS 2: At New York, Shut out four times during a 2-9 road trip, New York came home and ended Adam Wainwright's career-best scoreless streak at 26 innings. Wainwright (14-6) allowed a season-worst six runs. Jeff Francoeur hit a three-run homer and Jose Reyes added a two-run shot, while Jonathon Niese (7-4) and the Mets handed the NL Central leaders their fourth loss in five games. Carlos Beltran doubled to set up a run in the second, walked and scored on Francoeur's homer in the fourth, then hit an RBI single off Wainwright in the fifth that made it 6-1. Albert Pujols went 0 for 5, stranding five runners.

ASTROS 6, CUBS 1: At Houston, Brett Myers pitched a complete game and Lance Berkman hit his first grand slam for Houston since 2008. It is the 10th career complete game for Myers (8-6) and his first since May. He allowed four hits and struck out a career high-tying 12 batters. Berkman's fifth career grand slam came in Houston's six-run seventh inning with the team leading 2-0. Myers extended his club record for consecutive starts of at least six innings to begin a season to 21. He didn't allow a run until rookie Tyler Colvin hit a solo homer to in the ninth. It was his 16th homer of the season. Andrew Cashner (1-4) took the loss.

REDS 12, BREWERS 4: At Milwaukee, Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto and Scott Rolen all had four hits apiece for Cincinnati, which moved into a tie for first in the NL Central. The top four hitters in Cincinnati's lineup — Phillips, Orlando Cabrera, Votto and Rolen — finished 15 for 22 with seven RBIs as the Reds matched a season high with 19 hits. Rolen, who returned Monday after missing nine games with a hamstring injury, snapped an 0-for-16 slump with hits in his first four plate appearances. Rickie Weeks homered for the third time in as many days for Milwaukee, which saw its season-best five-game winning streak snapped. The Reds trail St. Louis by percentage points in the standings. Rookie reliever Logan Ondrusek (2-0) earned the win with 2 1/3 hitless innings. Yovani Gallardo (9-5) hit a two-run homer in his only at-bat, but left when Phillips drove in a run on a two-out single in the third that made it 6-3.

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PIRATES 4, ROCKIES 2: At Denver, Zach Duke threw six solid innings to help Pittsburgh snap a four-game losing streak. Colorado lost reliever Huston Street to a freak injury before the game. The Rockies returned home from a 2-9 road trip and lost their seventh straight game. Street bruised the right side of his abdomen when he was hit by a line drive as he warmed up in right field during batting practice. Street was taken off the field by ambulance, examined at a local hospital and sent home to rest. His availability will be on a day-to-day basis. Duke (5-9) gave up three hits and struck out four. Octavio Dotel finished the ninth for his 21st save. Duke gave up homers to Brad Hawpe and Clint Barmes in the fifth. Jorge De La Rosa (3-3) went seven innings and allowed three runs — two earned.

DODGERS 2, PADRES 0: At San Diego, Pinch-hitter Andre Ethier delivered a two-run single with two outs in the seventh off Jon Garland to give Los Angeles the win over the NL West-leading San Diego. Ethier didn't start in right field due to a stomach bug but manager Joe Torre had him bat for Chad Billingsley with the bases loaded and the score tied 0-0. The Dodgers came into the game in third place, six games behind the Padres. LA has won five of six against the Padres this year and four straight at Petco Park. The Dodgers improved to 25-8 against the West, the best intra-division record in baseball.

It was Los Angeles' 11th shutout. The Padres have been blanked five times. Each team had five hits. Billingsley (9-5) held the Padres to three singles in six scoreless innings. Jonathan Broxton pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save.

GIANTS 6, MARLINS 4: At San Francisco, Juan Uribe hit a tie-breaking home run leading off the eighth inning and Edgar Renteria added a two-run shot for San Francisco. Buster Posey extended his major league-leading hit streak to 20 games, two shy of the Giants' franchise rookie record held by Willie McCovey, as San Francisco won for the 16th time in 20 games. Uribe, starting in place of Pablo Sandoval at third base, homered off Brian Sanches (0-2) to break a 3-3 tie. Renteria followed three batters later with his second homer of the season. Dan Uggla homered twice for Florida, which lost for just the fifth time in 15 games. Sergio Romo (4-3) pitched one scoreless inning for the win while Brian Wilson worked the ninth for his 30th save. Josh Johnson had not allowed more than two runs in his previous 13 starts.

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