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PITTSBURGH — Ryan Zimmerman drove in four runs, Adam Dunn homered and Jason Marquis won his second in a row after previously going winless all season as the Nationals beat the Pirates in a matchup of last-place clubs.
The Nationals outscored the Pirates 17-3 in the final two games of the three-game set for their first road series victory in 18 attempts since they won two of three against the Mets from May 10-12.
Washington did most of its damage against Pirates right-hander Charlie Morton (1-11), who gave up six runs and eight hits over 3 2-3 innings yet still lowered his ERA to 9.66 because four runs were unearned. Morton began the game with a 10.03 ERA that was the third highest in major league history at this stage of a season for a pitcher with at least 10 decisions, according to STATS LLC.
Orioles 8, Rays 7
BALTIMORE — Corey Patterson homered and had three RBIs, and the Baltimore Orioles withstood four home runs by the Rays.
Baltimore took two of three from the Rays, who remained 2 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East. It was only the second time in 14 tries that the Orioles won the finale to take a three-game series.
Tampa Bay scored all its runs on homers by Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Rocco Baldelli.
Brewers 6, Phillies 2
PHILADELPHIA — Prince Fielder hit his 30th home run, Randy Wolf was sharp against his former team and the Brewers beat the Phillies to snap a five-game losing streak.
Fielder’s three-run shot off Kyle Kendrick (9-8) made him the second Brewer in team history with four straight 30-plus home run seasons. He helped the Brewers end their six-game road trip on a high after dropping the first five in Cincinnati and Philadelphia. John Axford tossed two scoreless innings for his 20th save.
Carlos Ruiz had two RBIs for the NL wild-card leading Phillies, who ended a five-game winning streak.
Blue Jays 7, Yankees 3
NEW YORK — Aaron Hill and Vernon Wells each hit two-run homers and the Toronto Blue Jays spoiled Alex Rodriguez’s return to the New York lineup, beating the Yankees to halt their eight-game winning streak.
Rodriguez had been out since Aug. 20 with a strained left calf, but the Yankees sure didn’t seem to miss him. They were riding their longest winning stretch of the season and 11-3 since he went on the disabled list, carrying a 2 1/2-game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East into Sunday.
The three-time AL MVP had a pair of hits and drove in a run, but he also grounded out with a runner aboard in the first, dribbled one back to the pitcher with two on in the third, and struck out looking with a runner on third base to end the game.
Marlins 7, Braves 6
MIAMI — Sent to the plate after a scary scene, pinch-hitter Scott Cousins delivered a game-winning single in the 10th inning for his first big league hit and the Marlins beat the Braves.
The Braves had overcome a 6-0 deficit. They began the day with a one-game lead over Philadelphia in the NL East.
Cousins batted after Emilio Bonifacio lined a foul that struck teammate Logan Morrison in the helmet in the on-deck circle. Morrison collapsed face-down as the crowd gasped, but quickly rose and walked off the field accompanied by a trainer.
Cardinals 4, Reds 2
ST. LOUIS — Matt Holliday hit a go-ahead, three-run homer to back Chris Carpenter’s latest dominant effort against Cincinnati, helping the St. Louis Cardinals take two of three from the NL Central-leading Reds with a 4-2 victory Sunday.
The Cardinals reduced the Reds’ formidable lead to seven games with 28 games to go.
St. Louis had lost eight of nine overall going into the weekend. This was its first series win since Aug. 20-22 against San Francisco.
Homer Bailey (3-3) walked Albert Pujols intentionally in the sixth inning before giving up Holliday’s two-out shot on a 1-2 hanging breaking ball. Holliday fouled off two pitches before hitting his 25th homer, topping last season’s total and giving the Cardinals a 4-2 lead.
