Smoltz, Lopez Doom Dodgers

John Smoltz rebounded from one of the worst outings of his career by allowing five hits in eight innings with 10 strikeouts as the Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Javy Lopez had two doubles, a single and drove in two runs, including the go-ahead run in the sixth, as the Braves won their third straight and moved a season-high 36 games over .500.

Smoltz (14-11) walked none and retired his final 10 batters and 15 of the last 16. Mark Wohlers gave up an RBI groundout to Eric Karros in the ninth, but got his 33rd save.

Smoltz allowed 10 hits and eight earned runs in 3-1/3 innings of a 12-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers last Wednesday.

Cardinals 5, Giants 3

San Francisco

Mark McGwire hit his 49th home run and St. Louis rallied past San Francisco.

McGwire, playing for the first time in the Bay Area since he was traded from Oakland to St. Louis on July 31, homered for the 15th time since joining the Cardinals. He hit a solo shot in the eighth to make it 5-3.

With his next homer, McGwire will join Babe Ruth as the only players in baseball history to have back-to-back 50-homer seasons. Ruth achieved the feat twice in 1920-21 and 1927-28.

Expos 5, Pirates 4 (10)

Montreal

Henry Rodriguez hit a two-out RBI single to cap Montreal’s two-run 10th as the Expos edged Pittsburgh.

Montreal has won seven of 11 while the Pirates have lost five of six.

Reds 5, Cubs 2

Cincinnati

Jon Nunnally singled home a run and Chris Stynes hit a three-run homer as Cincinnati scored four times in the second inning and held on for a victory over Chicago.

Nunnally and Stynes, the Reds’ most impressive newcomers over the last month, combined for four of the Reds’ seven hits off Jeremi Gonzalez (11-7), who couldn’t overcome the one bad inning.

Phillies 1, Mets 0

New York

Rico Brogna sent New York a little closer toward elimination from postseason contention, hitting an eighth-inning homer against his former team to lift Philadelphia to victory.

Brogna connected off Dave Mlicki (7-11) for his 19th homer.

Astros 7, Rockies 4

Denver

Bill Spiers hit a three-run homer and Derek Bell added a two-run shot as Houston defeated Colorado.

Mike Hampton (13-9) allowed eight hits in 7-2/3 innings and won for the 10th time in 12 decisions.

Russ Springer got two outs for his third save.

Andres Galarraga went 4 for 4 for Colorado.

Clearing the bases

Expos rookie Vladimir Guerrero left in the second inning after straining his left quadriceps muscle running to first. Guerrero has made three trips to the disabled list this season and missed 52 games… . With 52 steals, Tony Womack is one shy of tying Omar Moreno (1977) for the Pirates record for stolen bases in a season by a rookie… . Pittsburgh’s Shawon Dunston extended his hitting streak to 10 games and is 11 for 24 with four homers and two doubles since coming over in a trade with the Cubs.

… Houston pitcher Mike Hampton is 9-1 at home and 4-8 on the road… . Houston’s Craig Biggio has played in a club-record 362 consecutive games.