MIAMI — Andrew Miller limited the Arizona Diamondbacks to five hits in seven innings Thursday night, and the Florida Marlins won 4-0 to complete a three-game sweep in a showdown of first-place teams.
The series was the most impressive yet by the Marlins. The team with baseball’s lowest payroll built its improbable NL East lead with the help of a weak early schedule, but there was nothing fluky about the way they dispatched NL West leader Arizona.
The 23-year-old Miller (4-3) had a career-high nine strikeouts, walked one and allowed only one runner to reach second base. Acquired in the trade that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit, Miller had an ERA of 9.12 on May 1, but it’s now down to 5.33, and he has won four of his past five decisions.
Logan Kensing and Justin Miller pitched one inning each to complete the seven-hitter.
The Diamondbacks arrived in Miami with the best record in the big leagues, but they totaled only 17 hits in the three games and were outscored 10-3. The shutout was the first against them this season.
The Marlins, last in the majors in fielding, committed no errors in the series and repeatedly came through with clutch hits.
Wes Helms drove in two runs with a pinch-hit double to chase Dan Haren, and Jorge Cantu also drove in two runs. Haren (5-3) allowed eight hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings.
Phillies 7, Astros 5
HOUSTON — Brad Lidge earned a save against his former team, and Philadelphia got home runs from Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell to beat Houston.
Howard also had an RBI double and Lidge improved to 12-for-12 in save chances this season by getting Lance Berkman to pop up for the final out with a runner on.
Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz also had RBIs for the Phillies, who have won three in a row.
Ty Wigginton had two RBIs for the Astros, who lost for the third time in their last 13 home games. Roy Oswalt was hit hard again, giving up five runs and 11 hits.
Burrell, pinch-hitting for Greg Dobbs, broke a 5-all tie with a leadoff homer in the eighth off Wesley Wright (3-2). Chase Utley added an RBI single later in the inning.
Chad Durbin (1-1) worked a scoreless seventh for the win.
Braves 4, Mets 2
ATLANTA — Chipper Jones’ single drove in the go-ahead run during a three-run seventh inning against Johan Santana, and Atlanta beat New York 4-2 behind Tim Hudson to complete its first four-game sweep of the Mets in five years.
Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado homered on consecutive pitches from Hudson in the second inning. But Santana (5-3) couldn’t hold the 2-0 lead while giving up a career-high 12 hits and four runs, three earned, in seven innings.
The left-hander did not walk a batter but had only one strikeout, a season low, while losing for the first time since April 12. The struggling Mets fell to 22-23 with their seventh loss in 10 games, a frustrating stretch that has led to speculation about manager Willie Randolph being fired.
New York dropped below .500 for the first time since April 13.
Hudson (7-3) gave up seven hits and two runs in eight innings. He had four strikeouts and no walks.
Will Ohman got the final out for his second career save and first this season. Atlanta outscored the Mets 27-9 in the series for its 11th sweep of New York at Turner Field, the team’s home since 1997. The Braves also improved to 7-2 this season against their NL East rivals, including 6-0 in Atlanta.
Padres 8, Reds 2
SAN DIEGO — Khalil Greene hit two solo home runs, and Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff each had a two-run shot to back Randy Wolf in San Diego’s win over Cincinnati.
Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 598th home run in the first inning for the Reds. The two-run drive was Griffey’s first in 90 at-bats, the second-longest homerless drought of his career. Griffey is attempting to become the sixth player to reach 600 homers.
Gonzalez’s home run, his 13th, put San Diego ahead 3-2 in the fifth against Aaron Harang (2-6). Greene hit the first of his two homers leading off the sixth.
After giving up Griffey’s homer, Wolf (3-4) did not allow a baserunner past first. He yielded two runs and four hits in seven innings. The left-hander struck out nine and walked one. He also added an RBI single.
The win was much-needed for the Padres, who have the worst record in the majors and won for just the sixth time in 18 games. San Diego lost two more key players when it placed pitcher Chris Young (broken nose) and catcher Josh Bard (sprained ankle) on the disabled list before the game.
Pirates 8, Brewers 4
PITTSBURGH — Jason Bay and Xavier Nady homered, and Pittsburgh took advantage of Milwaukee’s inability to drive in runners to avoid a series sweep.
The Brewers, losers of nine in a row on the road before the series started Tuesday, were denied their first three-game sweep in Pittsburgh since PNC Park opened in 2001. They are 22-43 there, the worst record of any opposing team.
A night after Brewers ace Ben Sheets allowed 11 hits but still pitched a complete game to defeat Pittsburgh 4-1, the Brewers got 14 hits but left a season-high 14 on base. They were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, failing repeatedly to get to Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny (4-4), who won despite giving up eight hits and walking four in five-plus innings.
Gorzelanny helped himself get the victory, driving in a run with his first hit in 23 at-bats, dating to last season, with a single during the Pirates’ four-run fourth against starter Dave Bush (1-5).
Nate McLouth had his first four-hit game and scored twice for Pittsburgh.
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