NEW YORK (AP) - Johan Santana pitched a four-hitter for his first shutout since 2010 and the New York Mets backed him with three home runs in a 9-0 win over the San Diego Padres 9-0 on Saturday.
Mike Nickeas hit New York's first grand slam of the season, and Scott Hairston and Vinny Rottino also homered for the Mets, who got it done without a contribution from David Wright once again. Wright went 0 for 3 with a walk, dropping his batting average to .390. He was hitting .405 after Thursday's game.
Santana's last shutout was Aug. 12, 2010, a 4-0 win over the Colorado Rockies that came less than a month before shoulder surgery cost him the rest of the year and all of 2011. Santana (2-2) had gone without a decision in his last three starts, all Mets losses, and had six no-decisions in his first nine.
The Padres, who have dropped five of six, lost outfielder Cameron Maybin to a right wrist injury. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning. Clayton Richard (2-6) took the loss.
NATIONALS 8, BRAVES 4
ATLANTA (AP) - Bryce Harper homered and Danny Espinosa added a three-run shot to help Washington strengthen its hold on first place in the NL East by beating the reeling Atlanta Braves.
Stephen Strasburg (5-1) was not sharp but still won. He set a season high with four walks while giving up four runs and six hits in five innings. He had six strikeouts.
The Braves' season-worst losing streak reached six games as they fell three games behind the Nationals.
Before the game, the Braves placed Chipper Jones on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a bruised left leg.
Dan Uggla's two-run, tying homer in the fifth was the big hit for the short-handed Braves. Kris Medlen (1-1) took the loss.
MARLINS 5, GIANTS 3
MIAMI (AP) - Mark Buehrle pitched into the eighth inning and the Miami Marlins moved within a victory of tying the team record for the most in a month with a win over the San Francisco Giants.
Giancarlo Stanton hit two doubles and scored twice while Logan Morrison drove in two runs for the Marlins. Miami is a major league best 18-7 in May. The Marlins went 19-10 in August 1997.
Buehrle (5-4) allowed two runs and eight hits while throwing 69 of 100 pitches for strikes. Randy Choate recorded his first save since Sept. 23, 2009, when he was with Tampa Bay.
Madison Bumgarner (5-4) took the loss allowing five runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
PHILLIES 4, CARDINALS 0
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Kyle Kendrick threw a seven-hitter for his first career shutout, winning his first game of the season and putting the Philadelphia Phillies on the verge of their first four-game sweep in St. Louis since 1913.
Shane Victorino's RBI double in the fourth was the only support Kendrick (1-4) needed and John Mayberry added a two-run double in a three-run sixth. Hunter Pence and Brian Schneider added two hits apiece for the Phillies, who have won four in a row.
Jaime Garcia (3-3) allowed four runs on six hits in six innings for the Cardinals, who swept a three-game series against the Padres before hitting the wall against the team they upset in the NL Division Series last fall.
According to STATS LLC, the Phillies haven't swept a four-game series at St. Louis since Aug. 3-6, 1913. Their last three-game sweep in St. Louis is much more recent, from Aug. 1-3, 2006.
REDS 10, ROCKIES 3
CINCINNATI (AP) - Chris Heisey gave Cincinnati the lead with his first home run of the season, and four relievers made it stand up as the Reds overcame a poor start by Mike Leake to beat the Colorado Rockies.
Devin Mesoraco and Ryan Ludwick also homered as the Reds picked up their seventh win in eight games.
Rookie J.J. Hoover (1-0), the first Cincinnati reliever, pitched 1 1-3 shutout innings for his first career win. Sam LeCure followed with two innings before Logan Ondrusek and Sean Marshall each added one after Leake, 1-0 with a 1.29 earned-run average over his previous two starts, lasted just 3 2-3 innings. He allowed nine hits and three runs.
Colorado's Jeremy Guthrie (2-3) allowed a season-high 10 hits and tied his season worst by giving up six runs in five innings.
PIRATES 3, CUBS 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Matt Hague was hit by a pitch from Rafael Dolis with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates sent the Chicago Cubs to their 11th straight loss.
Hague took a 96 mph fastball from Dolis (2-4) in the left side, scoring Jose Tabata and eliciting an incredulous look to the sky by the Cubs reliever.
Dolis also walked Josh Harrison and Neil Walker earlier in the ninth after Tabata had singled to lead off the inning.
The punchless Cubs offense continued to struggle, managing six hits against Kevin Correia and three relievers. Closer Joel Hanrahan (2-0) had two strikeouts in a perfect ninth.
Alfonso Soriano homered and Starlin Castro had an RBI triple for the Cubs, who have scored eight runs in their past six games. The Cubs are enduring their longest losing streak in 15 years. This is the 11th time in their 137-year history that they have lost at least 11 games in a row.
DIAMONDBACKS 8, BREWERS 5
PHOENIX (AP) - John McDonald hit a three-homer and Milwaukee's Zack Greinke had his worst outing of the season in the Arizona Diamondbacks' victory over the Brewers.
Greinke (5-2), who had allowed one run total in his previous three starts, gave up seven runs and a season-high 10 hits in 2 1-3 innings. Rookie left-hander Wade Miley (6-1), allowed five runs - three earned - and eight hits in six innings for the victory.
Arizona won at home for only the third time in 13 games.
Gerardo Parra went 4-for-4 with a double, a walk and two runs for the Diamondbacks. His four hits tied a career best. Parra also made a terrific catch running toward the wall in center on Norichika Aoki's deep fly ball in the ninth.
DODGERS 6, ASTROS 3
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A.J. Ellis hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers the victory over the Houston Astros.
The Dodgers' 11th victory in 15 games improved the best record in the majors to 31-15 and extended their NL West lead over San Francisco to a season-high 7 1-2 games - the largest margin in any division.
Wesley Wright (0-1) opened the ninth by hitting Andre Ethier with an 0-2 pitch. Scott Van Slyke batted for reliever Kenley Jansen (4-0) and advanced Ethier with a sacrifice bunt. Wilton Lopez intentionally walked James Loney, and Ellis drove a 1-1 pitch into the left-field pavilion for his fifth homer.
Jansen pitched 1 1-3 innings for the victory. The right-hander came in with two outs in the eighth, trying to protect a 3-2 lead for Chad Billingsley after Ronald Belisario issued a pair of two-out walks.