SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Stephen Strasburg outpitched Tim Lincecum, Danny Espinosa hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the third inning and the Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 on Wednesday.
One hitter Strasburg (14-5) didn't have to face: All-Star game MVP Melky Cabrera, who was suspended 50 games earlier in the day for a positive testosterone test.
Jayson Werth drove in three runs and Kurt Suzuki added a sacrifice fly for the NL East-leading Nationals, who won their fourth straight series and now head home for key series against divisional opponents New York and Atlanta.
Strasburg struck out seven and walked four in six innings to win his third straight start, while Lincecum's latest shaky outing was over after just four innings.
Brandon Crawford hit a two-run single for the Giants, who began the day in a first-place tie atop the NL West with rival Los Angeles. The Dodgers were playing a night game at Pittsburgh.
Lincecum (6-13) lost his second straight start after winning three of the previous four.
MARLINS 9, PHILLIES 2
MIAMI (AP) - Greg Dobbs drove in Miami's first run in 31 innings then hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth off Roy Halladay to help the Marlins beat Philadelphia.
Mark Buehrle (10-11) achieved the 10-win milestone on his sixth try, extending his streak reaching double digits wins to 12 straight years. The lefty allowed two runs in seven innings.
Miami ended a franchise-record scoring drought after 30 innings, including three consecutive shutout losses, when Dobbs hit an RBI single in the fourth. His homer put Miami ahead 3-2.
Ty Wigginton hit his 10th homer and drove in both runs for the Phillies. Halladay (6-7) allowed three runs in seven innings in only the 12th game between pitchers with perfect games.
CUBS 7, ASTROS 2
CHICAGO (AP) - David DeJesus homered twice and tied a career best with four hits, and Justin Germano cruised through six innings to lead Chicago over Houston.
Starlin Castro hit a two-run homer among his three hits for Chicago.
Germano (2-2) allowed two runs over 6 1-3 innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Bud Norris (5-10) failed to win for the 13th consecutive start. He gave up six runs over 3 1-3 innings. He exited early after being hit in the foot with a line drive and was diagnosed with a left foot contusion.
Scott Moore homered four Houston, which fell to 12-48 on the road.
ROCKIES 7, BREWERS 6
DENVER (AP) - Tyler Colvin hit a two-run double down the first base line in the ninth inning, rallying Colorado to a win over Milwaukee.
Wilin Rosario got it started a one-out pinch single to center off Jim Henderson (0-2) and Eric Young Jr., who homered earlier in the game, also singled to put runners at the corners.
Colvin followed with his double, giving the Rockies their first home sweep since May 28-31.
Will Harris (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings to pick up his first major league win. Chris Nelson had two hits and drove in three runs and Carlos Gonzalez had two hits for the Rockies.
Nyjer Morgan had two hits and three RBIs for the Brewers, who have lost five of six.
DODGERS 9, PIRATES 3
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Clayton Kershaw won his fourth consecutive start and Matt Kemp drove in three runs for Los Angeles, which moved into first place in the NL West.
Kemp had a two-run double and scored during the Dodgers' three-run fourth against Wandy Rodriguez (7-12). Shane Victorino singled and scored in that inning, part of his 3-for-5, two-run game.
Kershaw (11-6) had one of his two singles in the fourth. He allowed three runs and six hits in eight innings. Kershaw had eight strikeouts and no walks.
The Dodgers have won four straight and six of their last seven games, claiming sole possession of the division lead for the first time since July 13.
The Pirates have lost three straight and six of seven and might have lost their second baseman. Neil Walker left the game in the first inning with a dislocated finger on his right hand.
Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen hit his career-high 24th home run.
REDS 6, METS 1
CINCINNATI (AP) - Scott Rolen and Todd Frazier hit back-to-back home runs, and Mike Leake pitched his second complete game of the season to help Cincinnati extend its winning streak to five.
Jay Bruce homered for the third consecutive game, helping the first-place Reds improve to 21-8 since All-Star first baseman Joey Votto was forced out of the lineup with a left knee injury.
Leake (5-7) faced three batters over the minimum and added an RBI single. He allowed four hits, no walks and struck out four.
R.A. Dickey tied his season high for hits and home runs allowed while slipping to 2-3 over his last five starts. The Reds touched Dickey (15-4) for 10 hits, including three homers, and two walks in six innings. The knuckleballer had nine strikeouts.
Zack Cozart led off Cincinnati's first with a double. Drew Stubbs sacrificed Cozart to third, and he scored on Brandon Phillips' soft single to center.
The Reds extended their streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 28, the team's longest since a 32-inning streak in June 1963, before the Mets pushed across the tying run in the fourth.
Rolen, who missed seven games with lower back problems, broke the tie with his sixth homer, a 357-foot drive into the seats in left. Two pitches later, Frazier hit his 15th, a 474-foot blast to center.
Frazier's homer is the 10th longest in the 10-year history of Great American Ball Park, according to the Reds.
BRAVES 6, PADRES 1
ATLANTA (AP) - Dan Uggla's three-run homer in the third inning gave Atlanta the lead and Paul Maholm threw seven strong innings.
The Braves remained 4 1/2 games behind NL East-leading Washington.
Uggla is hitting only .215 but has homers in two straight games, giving him 15. Jason Heyward had a two-run double in Atlanta's three-run fourth inning.
Edinson Volquez gave up six runs and seven hits and two walks in only 3 2-3 innings.
Following a six-game stretch where he was 3-0 with a 1.55 ERA, Volquez (7-9) has allowed four or more runs in four straight starts. He has not completed the fourth inning in his past three starts.
Maholm (11-7) gave up five hits and one run in seven innings in his first home win since his July 30 trade from the Cubs.
CARDINALS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 2
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Adam Wainwright allowed two runs over six innings and St. Louis got home runs from David Freese and Allen Craig.
Rafael Furcal's two-run triple in the sixth gave the Cards a three-run lead.
The Cardinals are 5-0 against the Diamondbacks this year and have won seven straight dating to last year.
Wainwright (11-10) was 0-3 in April before starting to regain his form. He's 4-0 with a 2.04 ERA in his past five starts.
Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt hit a homer estimated at 456 feet, longest by an opposing player at 7-year-old Busch Stadium, in the fourth.
Joe Saunders (6-9) allowed five runs in six innings, the first time the lefty gave up more than three runs in 11 road starts. He entered with a 2.49 road ERA, fourth-best in the league.
The Diamondbacks (58-59) have lost eight of 11 and dropped below .500 for the first time since they were 49-50 on July 26.
Jason Motte finished for his 27th save in 31 chances.