Phillies see off Cardinals

The Philadelphia Phillies' win over the St Louis Cardinals, saw them post a 9-2 result in National League action.

Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez and Jimmy Rollins all hit two-run home runs for the dominant Phillies.

Joe Blanton also struck out six in eight innings for the NL East leaders, with Mark DeRosa smashing the only home run for St Louis.

The Chicago Cubs took top spot from the Cardinals in the NL Central with a 5-2 success over the Cincinnati Reds.

Kosuke Fukudome drove in two runs for the Cubs while Rich Harden pitched six innings of one-run ball, striking out eight.

Dan Uggla hit a home run and Hanley Ramirez had three RBI as the Florida Marlins saw off the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-6.

Russell Martin smashed a home run in the sixth inning for the Dodgers, but it was to no avail.

Max Scherzer pitched seven scoreless innings for the Arizona Diamondbacks, striking out eight, in their 9-0 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Mark Reynolds and Gerardo Parra also hit two-run homers to inflict a second straight defeat on the Pirates.

Casey Kotchman blasted a three-run homer for the Atlanta Braves in their 10-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Aaron Cook tossed seven innings of two-run ball, striking out two, as the Colorado Rockies inflicted a 4-2 loss on the San Francisco Giants.

Austin Kearns was the hero for Washington, driving in the telling run in the 10th inning as the Nationals beat the San Diego Padres 3-2.

Livan Hernandez struck out seven in seven innings as the New York Mets despatched the Houston Astros 8-3.