Wednesday’s N.L. results

Phillies 5, Braves 2: At Philadelphia, Kyle Lohse pitched seven strong innings, and the Phillies improved their playoff hopes with a victory over Atlanta.

Astros 7, Reds 6: At Cincinnati, Lance Berkman hit two of Houston’s four home runs and Luke Scott singled in the eighth inning to drive in the winning run as the Astros beat the Reds.

Marlins 7, Cubs 4: At Miami, the Cubs’ grip on the Central lead became shaky when they were shut out over the final 5 2/3 innings and lost for the second night in a row to last-place Florida.

Pirates 5, Diamondbacks 1: At Pittsburgh, Adam LaRoche drove in three runs with a pair of doubles and Matt Morris pitched effectively over seven innings as the Pirates beat Arizona for the second night in a row.

Nationals 9, Mets 6: At New York, with its pitching staff in tatters, free-falling New York blew a five-run lead and lost again to Washington.

Cardinals 7, Brewers 3: At Milwaukee, the Brewers wasted a chance to cut their Central deficit to one game, giving up a first-inning home run to Albert Pujols in a testy loss to St. Louis that saw two more hit batters and a pair of ejections.

Rockies 2, Dodgers 0: At Los Angeles, Josh Fogg allowed five hits over 6 2/3 innings, leading Colorado past Los Angeles for its franchise-record 10th straight victory.

Padres 11, Giants 3: At San Francisco, Jake Peavy won his N.L.-leading 19th game, and San Diego got a much-needed victory over the Giants.

Associated Press