ST. LOUIS (AP) - Allen Craig hit a pair of home runs and Carlos Beltran extended his RBI streak to a major league-high nine games, helping Kyle Lohse and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 9-3 on Monday night.
Matt Holliday homered and drove in two runs for the Cardinals, who punished a pitching staff that entered with a major league-worst 5.37 ERA.
Tyler Colvin and Wilin Rosario homered for the Rockies, who have dropped five of seven. Rosario homered for the third straight game, but Colorado pitchers totaled four wild pitches, eight walks and an error that allowed a run. Tyler Chatwood (1-1) got the loss.
Kyle Lohse (8-2) allowed two runs and nine hits in 7 1-3 innings for St. Louis.
REDS 8, DODGERS 2
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rookies Devin Mesoraco and Todd Frazier had three RBIs apiece, leading Cincinnati to the victory.
Homer Bailey (6-6) allowed two runs and five hits in eight innings for NL Central-leading Cincinnati, which played without injured sluggers Joey Votto and Scott Rolen. He struck out seven and walked one.
Chad Billingsley (4-8) lost his fourth straight start, giving up three runs and six hits in six innings with eight strikeouts and no walks.
Mesoraco hit a two-run double with two out in the sixth, giving the Reds a 3-2 lead. He also had an RBI single in the eighth.
BREWERS 6, MARLINS 5
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Pinch-hitter Norichika Aoki drove in the go-ahead run with a safety squeeze in the eighth inning, lifting Milwaukee to the victory.
Rickie Weeks sparked the winning rally with a leadoff double. He moved up on Martin Maldonado's single to right and scored when Aoki greeted Randy Choate with a bunt single that gave Milwaukee a 6-5 lead.
Kameron Loe, Francisco Rodriguez (1-4) and John Axford combined for three innings of one-hit ball for Milwaukee. Rodriguez worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, and Axford finished for his 14th save.
Justin Ruggiano hit a two-run homer and finished with a career-high four RBIs for Miami, which committed three errors that led to two unearned runs. Ryan Webb (3-2) got the loss.
CUBS 4, BRAVES 1
ATLANTA (AP) - Jeff Samardzija had a career-high 11 strikeouts, Luis Valbuena hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the seventh and the Cubs earned their fourth consecutive win.
Anthony Rizzo connected for Chicago, which has won six of seven overall. Rizzo, one of the Cubs' top prospects, has two homers in six games since he was recalled last Tuesday.
Samardzija (6-7) yielded one run and four hits in seven innings, rebounding from a rough June. Jeff Russell pitched the ninth for his second save.
Atlanta right-hander Tommy Hanson (9-5) gave up four runs and seven hits in seven innings for his first loss since May 28. He went 4-0 with a 3.13 ERA in June.
PADRES 6, DIAMONDBACKS 2
PHOENIX (AP) - Clayton Richard came within one out of a complete game, and Alexi Amarista hit one of three San Diego home runs.
Cameron Maybin hit a 485-foot drive and Yasmani Grandal also connected as the Padres picked up their third straight win.
Grandal has three career hits, all of them home runs. The last player whose first three hits were homers was Keith McDonald for St. Louis in 2000 - those turned out to be the only three hits he got in the majors.
Richard (6-8) was pulled after 8 2-3 innings after allowing consecutive singles to Ryan Roberts and Gerardo Parra. Joe Thatcher struck out pinch-hitter Jason Kubel for his first career save.
Trevor Cahill (6-7) allowed two earned runs in six innings for Arizona.
PIRATES 11, ASTROS 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Garrett Jones and Neil Walker hit back-to-back homers off the right-field foul pole to ignite Pittsburgh's offense.
James McDonald (8-3) pitched seven effective innings for the Pirates, who won for the fifth time in six games.
Limited to one hit over the first three innings by Jordan Lyles, the first five Pirates to bat in the fourth had hits, highlighted by Jones' two-run homer and Walker's solo shot.
Jones finished with four hits and four RBIs, and Andrew McCutchen also went 4 for 5 for the Pirates, whose 16-5 home record since May 12 is the best in the majors.
Scott Moore homered and J.D. Martinez had two hits for Houston, which has lost five consecutive games and seven in a row on the road. Lyles (2-5) yielded seven runs and nine hits in four-plus innings.