Dodgers 7, Brewers 1: Casey Blake hit a two-run homer and six pitchers combined on a two-hitter as the Dodgers swept a three-game series in Milwaukee on Thursday to pull themselves back into the NL wild-card race. Los Angeles is five games behind the Giants, who lead the wild-card standings.
"To play as well as we have — if this doesn't give us confidence, I don't know what the heck is going to do it," Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said.
The Dodgers came into Milwaukee with a 3-14 mark on the road in the second half.
Diamondbacks 11, Padres 5: Ian Kennedy (8-9) struck out a career-high 12 in a combined four-hitter, and Stephen Drew hit a three-run home run and an RBI double to lead last-place Arizona past beat NL West-leading San Diego.
The host Padres trailed 11-0 going into the eighth before being spared their worst loss of the season. Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam off reliever Sam Demel, and a run scored on catcher Miguel Montero's error during a rundown.
Drew was 7-for-14 in the three-game series, with three homers, four doubles, six RBI and four runs scored.
San Diego's lead in the NL West dipped to six games over the idle Giants.
Astros 5, Phillies 1: Wandy Rodriguez (10-12) pitched seven sharp innings, Carlos Lee homered and Houston completed its first four-game sweep in Philadelphia in 11 years. The Astros are the only NL team with a winning record (30-16) against Philadelphia since 2004.
The two-time NL champion Phillies fell three games behind idle Atlanta in the NL East and trail San Francisco by a half-game in the wild-card standings.
Marlins 11, Mets 4: Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run homer and had three hits, and visiting Florida scored seven times in the sixth inning to rout New York.
American League
Tigers 7, Blue Jays 1: Jhonny Peralta and Gerald Laird each homered for visiting Detroit, and Max Scherzer (10-9) became a 10-game winner for the first time. Toronto's Jose Bautista hit his major-league-leading 41st home run, a leadoff drive into the second deck in left in the seventh. It was the 100th homer of Bautista's career.
Indians 3, Athletics 2: Matt LaPorta hit a go-ahead, two-run homer to help Justin Masterson (5-12) win for only the second time in 10 starts as host Cleveland broke a five-game losing streak.
