Chase Utley homered in a five-run fifth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 8-5 on Wednesday to move back atop the National League East with its fourth straight victory. Shane Victorino had three hits and three RBIs, including a solo homer, to help 45-year-old Jamie Moyer (10-6) win his third straight decision. Moyer went six innings, allowing three runs - on first-inning homers by Willie Harris and Jesus Flores - and six hits. The Nationals, a majors-worst 38-69, have lost their past eight games. Marlins 7, Mets 5: At Miami, Josh Johnson pitched 6 2-3 innings for his first victory in almost two years for Florida. Jeremy Hermida and Cody Ross both tripled in a five-run fourth inning against Mike Pelfrey (9-7), who lost for the first time in his past eight decisions. Johnson (1-0) allowed eight hits and four runs in his fourth start since returning from reconstructive elbow surgery in August 2007. Cardinals 7, Braves 2: At Atlanta, Chris Carpenter pitched four solid innings in his first start since April 2007 for St. Louis. Albert Pujols drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh for the Cardinals and Joe Mather put the game out of reach with a two-run homer in the eighth. Carpenter spent the past year recovering from ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow. He allowed one run and five hits. He threw 67 pitches, striking out two.Atlanta left the bases loaded three times and stranded 14 runners overall. Rockies 7, Pirates 4: At Pittsburgh, Aaron Cook won his 14th game and Troy Tulowitzki had three hits as Colorado avoided a sweep. Chris Iannetta hit a three-run homer and Garrett Atkins, Matt Holliday and Willy Taveras had two hits each for Colorado, which improved to 10-3 since the All-Star break. Cook (14-6) pitched seven solid innings to tie Arizona's Brandon Webb and Cleveland's Cliff Lee for the major league lead in wins. Cook allowed four runs and nine hits to win his third straight start. Cubs 7, Brewers 2: At Milwaukee, Ryan Dempster pitched seven superb innings, Ryan Theriot tripled to break open a close game and Chicago beat Milwaukee again. Reds 9, Astros 5: At Houston, Adam Dunn homered twice, Ken Griffey Jr. added a three-run shot and Cincinnati snapped an eight-game losing streak against Houston. Diamondbacks 7, Padres 3: At San Diego, Dan Haren pitched seven solid innings and Chad Tracy and Mark Reynolds drove in two runs each as Arizona downed San Diego. Dodgers 4, Giants 0: At Los Angeles, Chad Billingsley pitched a five-hitter for his first career shutout and Matt Kemp extended his hitting streak to 17 games as Los Angeles blanked San Francisco to move above .500 for the first time since May 27.
