Beltre's slam lifts Dodgers
Adrian Beltre hit a grand slam to become the first player to reach 40 home runs this year, and Alex Cora homered and had five RBIs to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 10-2 rout of the Expos in Montreal.
Los Angeles scored eight runs in the fifth, its biggest inning of the season. Beltre connected off Rocky Biddle (4-7) for his fourth career slam, his second this season, and Cora hit a three-run drive against Francis Beltran.
Cora also had an RBI single in the second and a run-scoring grounder in the ninth, tying his career high for RBIs. Los Angeles, which increased its lead to five games over San Francisco in the West, has won six of its last nine road games and 17 of 23.
Marlins 9, Giants 1 -- Alex Gonzalez hit a three-run homer to cap a seven-run first inning, and Mike Lowell drove in five runs to help host Florida win for the eighth time in 11 games. Florida's A.J. Burnett (4-6) allowed just two hits -- both singles by Edgardo Alfonzo -- and one run in seven innings. Throwing at up to 100 miles per hour, he walked four and hit a batter. The Giants' only run scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch.
Cubs 13, Brewers 4 -- In Chicago, Moises Alou homered twice and had a career-high six RBIs, and Derrek Lee hit a grand slam, sending Milwaukee to its seventh straight loss. Alou hit a three-run homer in the first inning, a two-run homer in the fourth, and a sacrifice fly in the seventh as Chicago won for the sixth time in seven games and opened a one-game lead over San Francisco in the wild-card race.
Padres 3, Mets 1 -- David Wells (8-7) continued his road dominance, taking a shutout into the ninth inning and pitching San Diego past New York. The only hits against the 41-year-old lefthander until the ninth were a pair of first-inning singles to Jeff Keppinger and Gerald Williams. The Mets knocked Wells (8-7) out of the game with two outs on a double by Williams and Richard Hidalgo's RBI single.
Reds 4, Cardinals 3 -- Pitching while appealing a 10-day suspension, St. Louis's Julian Tavarez (5-4) allowed the winning run to score in the 10th inning in Cincinnati. Joe Valentine (1-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings for his first major league win.
Braves 6, Rockies 5 -- Rafael Furcal went 4 for 4, including a two-run triple in Atlanta's four-run sixth inning, and Eli Marrero drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the seventh to lead host Atlanta over Colorado.
Astros 4, Phillies 2 -- Lance Berkman and Mike Lamb hit RBI singles in the eighth inning and Houston used a rare relief appearance by Roy Oswalt to defeat visiting Philadelphia.
Pirates 3, Diamondbacks 1 -- Oliver Perez (9-6) pitched eight sharp innings, Daryle Ward homered, and host Pittsburgh snapped a five-game losing streak by beating Arizona.
