Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth homered, and Philadelphia stretched its winning streak to five games with an 8-4 victory over Washington on Thursday. The first-place Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the injury-riddled Nationals and took a one-game lead over idle New York in the National League East. Washington has lost nine straight, tying this season's longest streak and the worst skid since the Nationals moved from Montreal in 2005. Rollins was 2-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs. Werth's solo homer and Rollins' RBI groundout helped the Phillies go up 3-0 in the second. Rollins hit a two-run homer in the fourth to give Philadelphia a 5-2 lead. Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell added RBI singles in a three-run sixth that gave the Phillies an 8-2 lead. Washington helped the Phillies by making three errors, two of which led to runs off starter John Lannan (6-11). Cubs 11, Brewers 4: At Milwaukee, Jim Edmonds hit two homers, including a grand slam, and Chicago finished off a four-game sweep of Milwaukee. Just five days ago, the Cubs and Brewers were tied atop the NL Central. After the sweep, the Brewers have lost five straight and are five games behind Chicago, which has won five straight. Rich Harden (1-1) picked up his first NL win, giving up a run and six hits in seven innings with nine strikeouts. Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome homered for the Cubs, who swept four games from the Brewers for the first time since 2003. Edmonds, who missed the previous three games with a sore left knee, led off the third with a homer to give the Cubs the lead. Braves 9, Cardinals 4: At Atlanta, rookie Clint Sammons homered and drove in three runs for Atlanta, which downed St. Louis to snap a five-game losing streak. Sammons, who was called up from the minors on Monday, picked up his first career RBI in the fourth, singling in a run that tied the game at 3. Two innings later, he put the Braves ahead to stay with his first homer, a two-run shot that put the Braves ahead for good. Sammons added another hit in the eighth and scored the Braves' final run. Atlanta's Omar Infante chipped in with three hits and two RBIs, including a homer leading off the second. Other results: Marlins 12, Rockies 2; Diamondbacks 2, Dodgers 1
