WASHINGTON (AP) - Jordan Zimmermann became the National League's first eight-game winner, and the Washington Nationals followed a calamitous road trip with a winning start to a homestand, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 Friday night.
Zimmermann (8-2) allowed two runs and six hits with no walks over seven innings - actually raising his ERA to 1.71 - on an unseasonably chilly and windy night in the nation's capital. There was at least a bit of heat from the Nationals' bats, which have been going through such a cold spell that manager Davey Johnson said before the game he wouldn't shave again until his lineup started hitting.
As it turned out, the Nationals scored their most runs in a week, and they got four or more in the same inning for the first time in almost a month.
Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick (4-3) had his shortest outing of the season.
REDS 7, CUBS 4
CINCINNATI (AP) - Joey Votto extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a homer, and Ryan Hanigan and Brandon Phillips also homered, powering the Reds to their fourth straight win.
The Reds have won 12 of their past 15 games, surging to a season-high 12 games over .500. They've dominated the Cubs, winning 15 of their past 17 in the series.
Chicago is last in the NL Central, having lost a season-high five straight. The Cubs (18-29) slid a season-low 11 games under .500.
Votto and Hanigan homered in the fourth inning off Scott Feldman (4-4). Phillips connected off Hector Rondon in the eighth.
Bronson Arroyo (5-4) gave up three runs in six innings, including Feldman's first career homer.
BREWERS 2, PIRATES 1
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Marco Estrada gave up one run over seven innings and Alex Gonzalez had a two-run double, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a victory over the Pirates.
Estrada (4-2) retired the first 14 Pittsburgh batters he faced before a two-out bloop single to left field by Neil Walker in the fifth inning gave the Pirates their first base runner.
Estrada struck out eight and didn't walk a batter. He fanned eight of 12 Pittsburgh batters at one point and improved his career record to 5-0 against the Pirates, including eight starts.
Four Brewers relievers combined to record the final six outs. Francisco Rodriguez retired the final batter to record his first save of the season and 295th of his career.
METS 5, BRAVES 5, Suspended
NEW YORK (AP) - Evan Gattis had a two-run, pinch-hit single in the top of the eighth, then the Mets rallied to tie it in a downpour in the bottom half before the Atlanta Braves and New York were suspended by rain with the score 5-5 Friday night.
The teams will resume play with none out in the top of the ninth inning on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. The regularly scheduled game is set to start 7:15 p.m.
With rain starting to fall heavily, Gattis put Atlanta up 5-3 with a bases-loaded single off Greg Burke. The Mets tied it in a wet and wild bottom half, taking advantage of center fielder B.J. Upton's error on Daniel Murphy's RBI single and scoring on a wild pitch by Anthony Varvaro.
The game was suspended after a 75-minute delay.
ROCKIES 5, GIANTS 0
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Michael Cuddyer homered and hit a two-run double after coming off the disabled list, Tyler Chatwood beat San Francisco for the second time in seven days and the Rockies blanked the Giants.
Carlos Gonzalez also hit a solo homer and D.J. LeMahieu added an RBI single as the Rockies beat two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum (3-4) for the second time in a week.
The Rockies, swept in a three-game series at AT&T Park last month, won their fourth in a row in the rivalry for the first time since 2006.
Chatwood (3-0) allowed four hits in six scoreless innings.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, PADRES 2
PHOENIX (AP) - Brandon McCarthy pitched seven effective innings for his second straight win and Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run double to cap Arizona's five-run seventh inning, lifting the Diamondbacks to a victory over the Padres.
Arizona managed two hits over the first six innings against Eric Stults (4-4) before breaking it open in the seventh.
Martin Prado had a run-scoring double, pinch-hitter Wil Nieves followed with another and A.J. Pollock added an RBI single for his third hit. Goldschmidt capped it with a double off Anthony Bass to put Arizona up 5-1.
McCarthy (2-3) allowed a run and five hits and Heath Bell worked around two runners in the ninth for his seven save.
Everth Cabrera led off the eighth inning with a homer off David Hernandez for the Padres, who have lost three straight.
CARDINALS 7, DODGERS 0
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Lance Lynn pitched two-hit ball over six innings, and David Freese and Allen Craig each homered and drove in three runs, helping the Cardinals beat the Dodgers for their third win in a row.
The last-place Dodgers' fifth loss in seven games came a few hours after team president Stan Kasten said manager Don Mattingly was not in immediate danger of being fired.
Lynn (7-1) struck out nine and walked one for the NL Central leaders. The only hits he gave up were a single to Carl Crawford to open the game and a double to Juan Uribe in the third.
Chris Capuano (1-3) allowed six runs - five earned - and six hits in five-plus innings. The left-hander struck out four and walked three.