Thursday’s N.L. games

Pirates 3, Cardinals 2 (10): At St. Louis, Scott Rolen’s second error of the game allowed the go-ahead run to score in the 10th inning, and Pittsburgh beat St. Louis. Reggie Sanders tied it at 2 in the ninth with a two-out homer off Pittsburgh closer Jose Mesa. Oliver Perez had 10 strikeouts and allowed only an unearned run in seven innings for the Pirates.

Cubs 9, Brewers 6: At Milwaukee, Greg Maddux overcame a shaky start to earn his 301st win, and Sammy Sosa hit one of Chicago’s three homers to help the Cubs beat Milwaukee. Maddux (12-8) allowed four runs in the first inning but settled down and retired 13 of his final 14 batters and left after seven innings with an 8-5 lead.

Astros 12, Phillies 10: At Philadelphia, Eric Bruntlett, Craig Biggio and Lance Berkman homered during a seven-run rally in the seventh inning and Houston turned a game-changing triple play to send Philadelphia to its seventh straight loss. The Phillies led 7-2 in the fifth when Todd Pratt grounded into a bases-loaded triple play, the first turned by Houston in 13 years. Chad Qualls (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless sixth, and Brad Lidge got his 15th save.

Mets 10-4, Rockies 3-2: At Denver, David Wright hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the ninth inning and New York completed a doubleheader sweep with a victory over Colorado. New York won the opener behind Kris Benson’s pitching and Mike Cameron’s four RBIs, then tied the second game on Eric Valent’s leadoff homer in the eighth inning against Tim Harikkala. After the teams labored through the first game in 3 hours, 26 minutes, Jeff Fassero and Al Leiter had things going at a brisk pace in the nightcap – until the lights went out. The game was delayed 13 minutes in the fourth inning after most of the lights around Coors Field went dark.

Braves 6, Dodgers 5: At Los Angeles, Johnny Estrada homered, drove in three runs and started Atlanta’s go-ahead rally in the ninth, and Atlanta beat Eric Gagne and Los Angeles. The Dodgers had scored twice in the eighth to tie it 5-5. But Gagne gave up the run in the ninth to lose for the second time in as many nights. Atlanta’s John Smoltz pitched the ninth for his 32nd save in 34 chances. It was the 142nd save of his career, breaking Gene Garber’s franchise record. Both Shawn Green and Adrian Beltre hit a pair of solo homers for the Dodgers, including one apiece to even it at 5.