Pirates foil Nen's bid for 300th save

PITTSBURGH -- Brian Giles's two-run double won it in the ninth after San Francisco closer Robb Nen was within one strike of his 300th save three times, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied past the Giants 6-5 Friday night.

The Giants lost their eighth in 11 games and missed a chance to tie Los Angeles for the NL wild card lead.

Nen (4-1), brought in to preserve a 5-4 lead, quickly got Pokey Reese and pinch-hitter Armando Rios, then ran the count to 0-2 on both Jason Kendall and Jack Wilson, only to have both single into left field.

Giles also fell behind in the count 1-2, tomahawked a foul ball on a pitch he nearly missed, then hit a drive into the left-center gap that center fielder Kenny Lofton couldn't run down as both runners scored.

Brian Boehringer (4-3) pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the victory.

Phillies 3, Dodgers 1

PHILADELPHIA -- Pat Burrell doubled home the tying run with two outs in the eighth inning and Philadelphia scored twice more on Tyler Houston's throwing error.

Carlos Silva (3-0) earned the victory by getting two outs in the eighth, and Jose Mesa pitched the ninth for his 31st save in 38 chances.

Paul Quantrill (2-4) got the first two outs of the eighth before allowing a double to Jeremy Giambi and a walk to Bobby Abreu.

Burrell blooped a ground-rule double down the right-field line to tie it at 1, and Travis Lee followed with a grounder to third. Houston made the stop but threw wildly in the dirt to first, scoring two runs.

Brewers 1, Marlins 0

MIAMI -- Jamey Wright pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, and Ronnie Belliard hit an RBI single as Milwaukee snapped a three-game losing streak.

Wright (4-10) gave up two drag bunt singles and struck out four. Luis Vizcaino struck out the side in the eighth, and Mike DeJean finished the three-hitter for his 18th save.

Belliard's two-out RBI single off Julian Tavarez (7-9) in the fourth gave the Brewers the only run they needed.

Expos 3, Astros 1

MONTREAL -- Britt Reames and two Montreal relievers combined on a four-hitter and Brad Wilkerson hit an RBI triple and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning to lead Montreal over Houston.

Reames (1-2), brought up from Triple-A Ottawa on July 27, struck out seven and walked two as he allowed two hits over seven innings in his first start since June 2.

Cubs 6, Rockies 4

CHICAGO -- Moises Alou hit a game-ending, two-run homer in the 12th inning off Victor Santos (0-1) as Chicago overcame a blown ninth-inning lead to beat Colorado.

Kerry Wood struck out 13 batters in seven innings but was denied the victory when Jack Cust hit first career homer to tie the score in the ninth against Antonio Alfonseca.

Joe Borowski (3-4) pitched the 12th for the win.

Sosa hit his NL-leading 33rd homer for the Cubs.

-- From wire reports