The Los Angeles Dodgers closed within two games of Arizona in the National League West by beating the Diamondbacks 4-2 on Saturday. New Dodger acquisitions Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake hit their first home runs as National Leaguers to complement a strong pitching effort by Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda allowed just one run in 7 1-3 innings, striking out six and walking none - a marked contrast to recent form that saw him give up 20 earned runs in 18-1/3 innings. Ramirez, playing his second game since the Dodgers obtained him from Boston on Thursday, drove the first pitch he saw deep into the seats in left-center in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. Phillies 2, Cardinals 1: In St. Louis, pitcher Joe Blanton won his first game since joining Philadelphia, steering the in-form Phillies past St. Louis. The former Oakland pitcher gave up only four hits and struck out five in seven innings. The NL East-leading Philadelphia needed just two solo homers to get the victory. The Phillies have homered in 11 straight games, and have won six of seven. Greg Dobbs, who leads the majors with 20 pinch hits, hit his fourth homer of the season on the first pitch of the third inning. In the fourth, Ryan Howard hit his 31st for his major league leading 96th RBI. Marlins 5, Rockies 3: In Miami, pitcher Ricky Nolasco struck out a career-high 13 batters to guide Florida over Colorado. Nolasco allowed just four hits over eight innings and did not walk a batter to earn his first win in five appearances. Jeff Baker finished with three RBIs. His two-run homer in the second inning put Florida ahead, and he drove in another run in the third. Brewers 4, Braves 2: In Atlanta, Milwaukee equaled a club record of nine straight road wins by beating Atlanta. Cubs 5, Pirates 1: In Chicago, the home team won its sixth game in seven by beating Pittsburgh. Reed Johnson had three hits and Geovany Soto drove in two runs for the NL Central-leading Cubs. Astros 5, Mets 4, 10 innings: In Houston, Lance Berkman sprinted to home plate on a lined sacrifice fly to give Houston a dramatic win over New York. Giants 2, Padres 0: In San Diego, Barry Zito pitched a season-high eight innings to shut down San Diego and steer San Francisco to a narrow victory. Nationals 10, Reds 6: In Washington, infielder Pete Orr picked up his first RBIs in more than 15 months as Washington beat Cincinnati.
