CHICAGO — Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina and Lance Berkman were part of St. Louis' power show as the Cardinals became the first team in eight years to hit a home run in each of the first five innings and went on to beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 Friday. Matt Carpenter and Allen Craig also connected off Travis Wood (4-6), whose five homers allowed matched the Cubs record. Carpenter put St. Louis ahead 7-6 when he homered on the first pitch of the fourth, and Craig homered in the fifth. The previous team to homer in each of the first five innings was Houston against Colorado on Oct. 2, 2004. Lance Lynn (13-4) allowed six runs and eight hits in five innings. Jason Motte got three outs for his 23rd save as St. Louis won for the seventh time in eight games. Rookie Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer for the Cubs, his sixth in 25 games since he was brought up from Triple-A. Braves 6, Phillies 1: Brian McCann hit a three-run homer off Cole Hamels, and Ben Sheets extended his impressive comeback to lead Atlanta past Philadelphia. Hamels (11-5), making his first start since signing a six-year, $144 million contract Wednesday, set a career high with six walks in his shortest start of the season. He allowed five runs, three earned, on four hits with seven strikeouts in five innings. The loss ended Philadelphia's four-game winning streak and cost the Phillies a chance to move out of last place in the NL East. Sheets (3-0) won his third straight start, allowing one run, six hits and one walk with four strikeouts in six innings. He didn't allow a run while winning his first two starts in his comeback with Atlanta. Pirates 6, Astros 5: Drew Sutton scored on a wild pitch by Xavier Cedeno in the ninth inning to propel Pittsburgh over hapless Houston. The Astros (34-67), who own baseball's worst record, tied the club mark with their 11th straight loss — matching a run in 1995. They have lost 24 of 26 overall. Padres 7, Marlins 2: Miami natives Yasmani Grandal and Yonder Alonso powered San Diego over the host Marlins. Brewers 6, Nationals 0: Corey Hart and Aramis Ramirez homered to back another fine pitching performance by Mike Fiers, and Milwaukee snapped a seven-game losing streak with a victory over Washington. Reds 3, Rockies 0: Bronson Arroyo pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Ryan Ludwick scored twice, and Cincinnati beat Colorado for its eighth straight victory. Diamondbacks 11, Mets 5: Josh Collmenter pitched six innings and drove in a run during Arizona's six-run second and the Diamondbacks beat the reeling New York Mets 11-5. Dodgers 5, Giants 3 (10): Hanley Ramirez smacked his first home run since joining the Dodgers earlier this week, a two-run blast in the 10th inning to lead Los Angeles to a 5-3 win over the Giants at San Francisco. — Agencies
