SAN FRANCISCO — Edgar Renteria hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning and the San Francisco Giants pulled even in the NL wild-card race with Colorado, beating the Rockies 9-5 Sunday for a three-game sweep.
The Giants moved into a second-place tie in the NL West with Colorado, six games behind Los Angeles. The Rockies lost their season-high fifth in a row.
Renteria homered with two outs to overcome a 5-2 deficit, connecting two pitches after Rafael Betancourt (0-1) relieved Franklin Morales. Renteria hit his eighth career grand slam and second in two years against Betancourt.
Renteria also doubled in a run and matched his career high with five RBIs.
Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki hit back-to-back solo homers in the fifth inning to put the Rockies ahead, but Colorado’s bullpen couldn’t hold a 4-1 lead.
Brandon Medders (3-1) recorded two outs in the seventh for the victory.
Phillies 3, Braves 2
PHILADELPHIA — Carlos Ruiz hit a two-run, go-ahead double in the seventh inning and Joe Blanton pitched seven strong innings to lead the Phillies to a victory over the Braves.
Blanton (9-6) allowed one run on three hits in seven innings, making it 12 straight starts he has allowed three earned runs or less. Due to a lack of run support, though, the right-hander was just 4-3 in his previous 11 appearances. It looked like more of the same Sunday night until the seventh inning when Ruiz broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run double to left.
The ball glanced off the end of the glove of Braves left fielder Garret Anderson before caroming to the wall, scoring Raul Ibanez and Pedro Feliz. Ruiz finished 3-for-3 with two doubles for the NL-East leading Phillies (75-53).
Brewers 4, Pirates 1
MILWAUKEE — Shortstop Craig Counsell helped Milwaukee turn a season-high four double plays and drove in two runs as the Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 21st straight time at home.
The Brewers’ streak is the longest such string in the majors since the Indians beat the Baltimore franchise 27 times in a row at Cleveland Municipal Stadium from 1952-54.
Jeff Suppan (6-8) earned his first win since June 12 with six solid innings on his bobblehead day. He’d been 0-4 with a 6.70 ERA in his last nine starts and spent nearly a month on the disabled list with a strained oblique muscle.
Cardinals 2, Nationals 1
ST. LOUIS — Adam Wainwright earned his major league-leading 16th victory and Albert Pujols had the go-ahead hit in the sixth inning, helping the St. Louis Cardinals complete a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals.
Colby Rasmus had two hits and scored twice for the NL Central leaders, who have won five of six and are 29-4 since July 1 in starts by their top three — Wainwright (16-7), Chris Carpenter and Joel Pineiro.
Pujols had two hits and was 5 for 10 in the series with an RBI in each game, including a game-winning ninth-inning homer on Friday. Elijah Dukes had an RBI single for the Nationals, who have lost 10 of 13.
Dodgers 3, Reds 2, 12 innings
CINCINNATI — Matt Kemp homered for Los Angeles’ first run, then hit a sacrifice fly in the 12th inning that lifted the Dodgers over the Cincinnati Reds.
The NL West leaders took two of three in the series, extending their lead over Colorado. No surprise at the outcome — the Dodgers are 22-4 against the Reds since 2006, their best mark against any NL team, according to STATS.
The Dodgers loaded the bases in the 12th against Francisco Cordero (2-4) and Kemp hit a fly ball to the warning track. Jonathan Broxton escaped a two-on threat in the Reds 12th for his 29th save in 34 chances.
After the game, the Dodgers announced they acquired infielder Ronnie Belliard from Washington for a minor league pitcher and a player to be named.
Mets 4, Cubs 1
CHICAGO — Nelson Figueroa struck out a career-high 10 and had an RBI single to lead the New York Mets over the Chicago Cubs.
Figueroa (2-3) allowed one run on six hits in seven-plus strong innings. Taking over injured Johan Santana’s spot in the rotation, Figueroa won his first start since April 27, 2008.
Angel Pagan had three hits against his former team as New York won just for the second time in nine games. Brian Stokes pitched a perfect eighth and Francisco Rodriguez worked a scoreless ninth for his 28th save in 33 tries.
Diamondbacks 4, Astros 3
PHOENIX — Reliever Chad Qualls dislocated his left kneecap when he was hit by Jason Michaels’ line drive for the final out, and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Houston Astros to complete a three-game sweep.
With a runner on first, Qualls was struck. Shortstop Stephen Drew picked up the ball and threw Michaels out to end the game.
Qualls landed awkwardly and stayed on the ground for several moments. Favoring his left leg, he was helped off the field by trainers.
Dan Haren (13-8) threw seven sharp innings and Justin Upton hit his 22nd home run for Arizona.
Marlins 6, Padres 4
MIAMI — John Baker and Cody Ross each drove in two runs, leading Sean West and the Florida Marlins over the San Diego Padres and ending their three-game losing streak.
West (6-5) won for the fourth time in his last five outings at home. He gave up one earned run in six innings.
Chris Coghlan’s leadoff single started a five-run burst in the fourth inning that made it 5-3. He has 46 hits in August, the most in any month by a National League rookie since Wally Moon had 52 for the St. Louis Cardinals in July 1954.
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