foot homerMILWAUKEE — Prince Fielder had no idea about his future exactly one year ago at the trade deadline. This year, he's a key reason why the Milwaukee Brewers are on top of the NL Central. Fielder hit a 475-foot home run, Yovani Gallardo tossed seven effective innings and the surging Brewers beat the Houston Astros 6-2 Saturday for their fifth consecutive victory. Corey Hart began a four-hit night with a leadoff homer in the first for Milwaukee, which stayed 1 1-2 games ahead of St Louis. Fielder and Jonathan Lucroy had three hits apiece. Fielder's drive in the seventh was the second-longest in Miller Park's 10-year history and a punctuation mark for a Brewers offense that had struggled over the last 10 days. Gallardo (12-7) allowed an unearned run and four hits, retiring 15 of 16 at one point. He also struck out seven and walked none while improving to 6-0 with a 3.50 ERA in his last six starts against Houston dating to 2009. Strong starting pitching has been the key to Milwaukee's recent run. Since Gallardo had an ugly outing in Colorado the first game after the All-Star break, the Brewers' starting rotation has allowed three runs or less in 15 straight starts. Cardinals 13, Cubs 5: Albert Pujols and David Freese each homered and Ryan Theriot added four hits and three RBIs to help the St. Louis Cardinals overcome a five-run deficit in a victory over the Chicago Cubs. It was the 432nd homer of Pujols' career and came one day after he reached 2,000 hits. The home run places him alone in 40th place on the career list. Nationals 3, Mets 0: Jayson Werth hit a three-run home run, and Yunesky Maya, filling in for traded starter Jason Marquis, earned his first career win for the Washington Nationals in a victory over the New York Mets. Phillies 7, Pirates 4: Ryan Howard had four hits, including a homer and two doubles, and three RBIs to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Braves 5, Marlins 1: Tim Hudson allowed one run in seven innings, Dan Uggla hit a three-run homer and the Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins. Reds 7, Giants 2: The Cincinnati Reds took care of business early to help Mike Leach get a big win, scoring five first-inning runs on their way to a win over the San Francisco Giants before a sellout crowd.
