hit home run leading off the ninth inning gave the Florida Marlins a 3-2 win over the faltering Chicago Cubs in the National League on Friday. The result kept Florida within two games of the lead in the tight NL East division, while Chicago only maintained its outright lead in the NL Central thanks to Milwaukee's defeat. Cubs starter Ryan Dempster walked a season-high six batters in six innings. Mets 7, Cardinals 2: In New York, starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey won his seventh consecutive decision to steer New York past St. Louis. Pelfrey allowed only one run in seven innings, striking out five and walking none. Carlos Delgado homered for New York, which won for the 10th time in 11 home games to retain a two-game buffer atop the NL East. The Cardinals slid to their fifth straight loss, drifting four games behind Chicago in the Central. Diamondbacks 10, Giants 2: In San Francisco, five runs in the second inning put Arizona on course for a rout of San Francisco, maintaining its lead in the NL West. Mark Reynolds hit a three-run homer, while Conor Jackson and Chad Tracy also connected as Arizona gave pitcher Dan Haren plenty of early offense to defend. Haren matched his season high with nine strikeouts and didn't walk a batter in eight innings. Braves 8, Phillies 2: In Philadelphia, Jair Jurrjens pitched eight scoreless innings to steer Atlanta past Philadelphia. Jurrjens allowed just three hits and one walk, striking out six. He leads all rookies in wins, and lowered his ERA to 3.02. Brian McCann led off the fourth with a homer for a 1-0 Braves lead. He connected for a grand slam - his 20th homer of the season - during a seven-run ninth inning that broke open a tight pitchers' duel. Astros 3, Brewers 1: In Milwaukee, Houston snapped Milwaukee's eight-game winning streak. The defeat ended the Brewers' shot at winning nine straight for the first time since 2003, and prevented them claiming a share of the NL Central lead. Their run of 20 consecutive games with a homer also came to an end. Houston pitcher Wandy Rodriguez allowed just one run over six innings, helping end the Astros' four-game losing streak. Rockies 7, Reds 2: In Cincinatti, Colorado took its good home form on the road, notching its seventh win in eight games by downing Cincinatti. Dodgers 3, Nationals 2: In Los Angeles, Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley took a three-hitter into the eighth inning as Los Angeles edged Washington. Padres 6, Pirates 5: In Pittsburgh, San Diego beat Pittsburgh, which traded two of its top players shortly after the game started. Defeat ended Pittsburgh's four
