Halladay stars as Phillies whip Padres 3-1

Roy Halladay tied his career high with 14 strikeouts and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 on Sunday, coming within one out of their third shutout during a four-game sweep. Halladay (3-1) took a two-hitter into the ninth before allowing three singles, including Will Venable’s RBI base hit with two outs. Antonio Bastardo came on with runners on first and third and got pinch-hitter Nick Hundley to fly out to left on his first pitch, for his first save. Shane Victorino hit an inside-the-park home run leading off the seventh inning when his drive into the gap in right-center came off Venable’s glove as his arm hit the ground while trying to make a diving catch. The ball rolled into center as Victorino rounded the bases and came in with a headfirst slide. The Phillies have won a season-high five straight. Braves 9 Giants 6, 10 innings: In San Francisco, Nate McLouth hit a two-run single off Brian Wilson with two outs in the 10th inning, and the Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 9-6 Sunday for a three-game sweep. Jason Heyward hit a three-run homer and double, then singled in the 10th as the Braves posted their first sweep of any kind in San Francisco since 1998. Heyward and Chipper Jones started the inning with singles against Wilson (0-1) before Dan Uggla walked to load the bases. Wilson got two quick outs and nearly escaped the jam before McLouth’s grounder up the middle provided the go-ahead runs. Brian McCann added an RBI single off Dan Runzler . Eric O’Flaherty (1-1) pitched two innings for the win, and Johnny Venters earned his first save of the season. Dodgers 7 Cubs 3: In Chicago, Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 21 games with an RBI single in a five-run first inning and Los Angeles won its fourth in five games. Hiroki Kuroda (3-2) gave up three hits and two runs in the first, then scattered six hits the rest of his 6 2-3 innings. Overall he allowed three runs — two earned — struck out seven and walked none. Brewers 4 Astros 1: In Milwaukee, Randy Wolf allowed four hits over eight sharp innings and the Brewers, under the watchful eye of a wayward hawk, beat Houston. Rickie Weeks homered in his return after missing one game with a sprained left pinkie finger and Brandon Boggs also connected. Prince Fielder tripled for his NL-leading 21st RBI in the third inning while the bird settled in the outfield. The roof at Miller Park was closed, but that didn’t stop a small hawk from grabbing everyone’s attention. The hawk attacked another bird in center field in the top of the third, then landed in shallow right field to watch the bottom of the half with Astros right fielder Hunter Pence giving it plenty of distance. Nationals 6 Pirates 3: In Pittsburgh, Mike Morse had a three-run homer among his three-hits and Adam LaRoche also homered for Washington. Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth threw out Andrew McCutchen at home plate to end the game. Danny Espinosa had three hits with a run and Jason Marquis (2-0) also had two hits to raise his season average to .400 for Washington, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Neil Walker had three hits and an RBI for the Pirates, who have lost four of five. Marlins 6 Rockies 3: In Miami, Mike Stanton hit a tiebreaking three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning and Florida made the most of its three hits to beat Colorado. Omar Infante had a bases-loaded triple, Florida’s only hit off Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez . After Colorado scored twice in the top of the eighth, Infante singled in the bottom half against Matt Belisle (2-1). With two out, Gaby Sanchez walked and Stanton pulled a 1-0 pitch into the left-field seats. Josh Johnson held the Rockies hitless until Dexter Fowler and Jonathan Herrera hit back to back doubles with two out in the sixth. He allowed three hits and one run in seven innings, hiking his ERA from 1.00 to 1.06, still the best in the majors. Mets 8 Diamondbacks 4: In New York, David Wright homered twice and Jason Pridie hit the first home run of his career in the Mets’ win in over Arizona Diamondbacks. The victory gave the Mets a four-game winning streak, their first since Sept. 13-16. Jonathon Niese (1-3) pitched seven innings for his first win of the year. Armando Galarraga (3-1) was gone after three innings for Arizona. Cardinals 3 Reds 0: In St. Louis, Jake Westbrook threw six innings of three-hit ball in his first career start on three days’ rest and Yadier Molina hit a three-run homer in the sixth off a tiring Edinson Volquez (2-1) in the St. Louis Cardinals’ victory. The outing was the longest of the season for Westbrook (2-2), who entered with a 9.82 ERA and was strafed for seven runs in three innings Wednesday against the Nationals. The early hook after 68 pitches perhaps allowed Westbrook to rebound and help the Cardinals take two of three, break a tie with Cincinnati for first place in the NL Central and go to 11-0-1 in home series against the Reds since 2006. Albert Pujols was removed for precautionary reasons after seven innings with mild tightness in right hamstring.