NEW YORK — Oliver Perez pitched two-hit ball for seven innings, David Wright and Carlos Delgado homered and the New York Mets took the first game of a key series against their division rival Florida Marlins, 3-0 Friday night.

Wright followed his game-winning homer on Thursday with a two-run shot in the first off Ricky Nolasco (11-7), helping the Mets win consecutive games for the first time since taking three in a row July 23-25.

Wes Helms’ double in the second and Cody Ross’ two-base hit in the seventh were the Marlins’ only hits off Perez (8-7), 3-0 this season against Florida.



CHICAGO — Henry Blanco singled home the winning run with the bases loaded in the 11th inning, and Chicago stayed dominant at Wrigley Field by beating St. Louis.

Chicago improved to an NL-best 44-16 at home, matching its Wrigley victory total from last year.

Jim Edmonds, who spent eight seasons with St. Louis before he was dealt last offseason, hit a pair of solo homers for the Cubs, connecting in the second and seventh innings off Braden Looper.



CINCINNATI — Carlos Lee hit a two-run double, and Hunter Pence followed with a two-run homer in the 10th inning, lifting Houston over Cincinnati.

Miguel Tejada doubled and Lance Berkman walked with two outs against Francisco Cordero (4-4). Lee followed with a drive to right-center that Corey Patterson almost caught with diving effort, but the ball dribbled from his glove and both runners scored to give Lee 1,001 career RBIs.

Pence then added his second home run in two nights and 16th overall to send the Reds to their fourth consecutive loss and seventh in eight games.



MILWAUKEE — CC Sabathia pitched a five-hitter to remain unbeaten with the Brewers and Milwaukee beat Washington.

It was the ninth straight win for Sabathia, who has not lost in 12 starts since June 5. In seven starts with the Brewers, since being acquired from Cleveland, he is 6-0 with a 1.57 ERA.

Sabathia has thrown four shutouts this season, two with Milwaukee, and nine in his career.



PHOENIX — Chipper Jones returned from the disabled list with a pair of hits, including a home run estimated at 434 feet, powering the Atlanta Braves to an 11-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

Martin Prado went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs, and Casey Kotchman also had three hits for the Braves, who have won three of their last four. Jones, out since July 24 with a strained left hamstring, raised his major league-leading batting average to .371.



DENVER — Glendon Rusch pitched six solid innings against his former team and Ian Stewart homered to lead the Colorado Rockies to a 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

Garrett Atkins was 3-for-4 and drove in three runs and the Rockies rebounded after getting swept in a doubleheader by the Washington Nationals on Thursday.

Rusch (5-3), who started the year in the Padres’ bullpen before being released and signing with the Rockies on May 17, gave up two runs and seven hits. He struck out three in earning his fourth straight win.



PHILADELPHIA — Steve Pearce broke up a scoreless game with a run-scoring double in the 12th inning, and six Pittsburgh pitchers held down the potent Philadelphia Phillies in the Pirates’ 2-0 victory Friday night.

Ryan Doumit started the 12th with a double off Phillies reliever Les Walrond (0-1). One out later, Pearce smacked a ball past third baseman Eric Bruntlett and down the left-field line, allowing Doumit to trot home for a 1-0 lead. A two-out, bases-loaded infield single by Freddy Sanchez gave the Pirates a little extra cushion.



SAN FRANCISCO — Brad Penny finally looked like an ace in his return from the disabled list, Jeff Kent drove in three runs and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 6-2 on Friday night.

Casey Blake and Danny Ardoin each hit a home run for the Dodgers, who won for the fourth time in six games. Angel Berroa also drove in a run.