SAN DIEGO — Shane Victorino had two of Philadelphia's three hits, including a go-ahead triple off Jon Garland in the seventh inning that helped the Phillies to their second straight win against the NL West-leading San Diego Padres, 3-1 on Saturday.
The Phillies, 13-2 against NL West teams, protected their wild-card lead, which was a half-game over San Francisco entering the day. San Diego, which has lost three straight games for only the second time this season, led the Giants by six.
Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 23 chances. On Friday night, Lidge balked in the tying run with two outs in the ninth, but the Phillies won 3-2 in 12 innings.
Jayson Werth scored on both of Victorino's hits. Victorino, the center fielder, also threw out Nick Hundley at the plate to end the fifth.
It was Philadelphia's 10th win in its last 11 games at Petco Park. The Phillies are 17-4 at the downtown ballpark since it opened in 2004.
Joe Blanton (6-6) held the Padres to one run and six hits in six innings. Blanton and three relievers retired the final 11 San Diego batters.
Garland (13-9) didn't allow a hit until the fifth. Garland, who had won his previous three starts, yielded three runs and three hits.
CUBS 3, REDS 2: At Cincinnati, Kosuke Fukudome hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Bronson Arroyo, and Chicago finally ended years of futility against the right-hander by beating Cincinnati. Fukudome's homer in the fifth inning sent Arroyo (14-8) to his first loss against the Cubs since 2007. Arroyo had won his last five decisions against Chicago, including his two starts this season. Randy Wells (6-12) got a victory on his 28th birthday — his first win since July 23. Wells limited the NL's top offense to five hits and a pair of runs in six innings, including Joey Votto's solo homer. Chicago's bullpen allowed only one hit, with Carlos Marmol pitching the ninth for his 24th save in 29 tries. It was only Chicago's fourth win in 15 games against Cincinnati this season. Despite the loss, the Reds remained in first place in the NL Central for the 14th straight day. They've gone 10-4 since getting swept by second-place St. Louis.
BRAVES 12, MARLINS 3: At Atlanta, Tim Hudson struck out a career-high 13 and Martin Prado equaled his career best with five RBIs, powering Atlanta to a rout of Florida. Matt Diaz and Eric Hinske also homered for the Braves, who scored six runs in the second and snapped a four-game losing streak, their longest since April. They maintained a two-game lead in the NL East over Philadelphia. Hudson (15-5), who has come back from major elbow surgery with perhaps the best season of his career, surpassed 1,500 strikeouts for his career. This was just the 11th time in 337 starts that the sinkerballer has put up double-digit Ks. The Braves blew this one open early, sending 11 hitters to the plate in the second against Ricky Nolasco (14-9), who skipped his previous turn in the rotation because of a torn meniscus in his right knee.
NATIONALS 14, CARDINALS 5: At Washington, Adam Dunn broke out of a prolonged slump with a homer and five RBIs, leading Washington to a victory over St. Louis. Dunn was in an 8-for-66 skid over 20 games when he doubled home two runs for a 4-3 Nationals lead in a four-run third inning. With the score tied at 5 in the fifth, Dunn hit a three-run shot, his 32nd of the season and first since Aug. 11. Livan Hernandez (9-9) allowed five runs in 6 1-3 innings to win for the first time in five starts. Roger Bernadina homered and Michael Morse had a career-high four hits for the Nationals, who had lost five of six. The 14 runs were the most scored at home by the Nationals since relocating to Washington from Montreal before the 2005 season. Kyle Lohse (2-6) lasted five innings, yielding eight runs and 11 hits.
ASTROS 4, METS 1: At New York, Carlos Lee homered off Johan Santana, Brett Myers set a team record and Houston won for the first time at Citi Field. Lee also hit an RBI single in the first inning, when the Astros, who have won six of seven, got to Santana (10-9) for two quick runs. The New York Mets ace has an ERA of 8.04 in the first inning this season. Myers (10-7) gave up six hits and a walk in seven innings. He faced exactly four batters in every inning and never allowed a runner past second. Myers has pitched at least six innings in all of his 27 starts this season. Larry Dierker had the previous Astros record of 26 in 1969-70. Brandon Lyon worked a perfect ninth for his ninth straight save.
ROCKIES 5, DODGERS 3: At Denver, Jhoulys Chacin pitched seven solid innings, Todd Helton and Carlos Gonzalez homered and Colorado beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gonzalez also tripled and scored two runs for the Rockies, who kept pace with Philadelphia in the NL wild-card race. Colorado is four games back of the Phillies. Rod Barajas homered for the Dodgers, who had won the first four games of their six-game road trip. Chacin (7-9) allowed one run and four hits while winning his second consecutive start. He walked four and struck out seven. Chad Billingsley (10-8) gave up three runs and five hits while walking five in six innings. Helton's shot was the first homer off Billingsley since May 31 against Arizona, a span of 92 innings.
DIAMONDBACKS 11, GIANTS 3: At San Francisco, Miguel Montero hit a three-run double to highlight a six-run first inning as the Diamondbacks went on to crush Barry Zito and the Giants. Mark Reynolds added a three-run home run and Daniel Hudson pitched four-hit ball over seven innings as the Diamondbacks won their third straight. Pablo Sandoval homered for the Giants. Hudson (4-1) gave up two runs, walked two and struck out six. He's gone at least seven innings in each of his six starts since the Diamondbacks acquired him from the White Sox.
BREWERS 8, PIRATES 7, 11 INNINGS: At Milwaukee, Lorenzo Cain hit a game-ending, RBI single in the 11th inning. Ryan Braun led off the 11th with a single off Wil Ledezma (0-1) and advanced to second when second baseman Neil Walker bobbled Prince Fielder's sharp grounder for an error. Casey McGehee flied out to left before the Brewers rookie center fielder hit a line drive to left. Kameron Loe (3-3) picked up the win after pitching a scoreless 11th. Pittsburgh has dropped 12 in a row on the road.