The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS - Brad Penny allowed four hits in seven sharp innings as the Florida Marlins beat Woody Williams and the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 Tuesday night.

Juan Encarnacion was 3-for-4, and Miguel Cabrera and Alex Gonzalez each drove in a run for the Marlins, who have won eight of 10. Florida is 12-5 since the All-Star break to climb into the thick of the NL wild-card race.

Albert Pujols extended his hitting streak to a career-best 19 games with a one-out double in the fourth for the Cardinals, their first hit. Edgar Renteria grounded into two double plays for St. Louis, which has been shut out in its last two home games.

Pujols is 31-for-75 (.413) during his hitting streak.

Jim Edmonds returned to the Cardinals' lineup after missing nine games with a strained right shoulder and was 0-for-3 with a fielding error in center field that allowed a run to score.

Penny (10-8) tied his career high for wins, striking out five and walking three. His biggest scare came in the fourth when Tino Martinez walked following Pujols' double and Scott Rolen flied out to the wall in left.

Ugueth Urbina pitched two innings to finish the five-hitter, Florida's seventh shutout of the season. St. Louis has been blanked four times.

Penny fared a lot better in his third career start at Busch Stadium than in the first two, when he allowed 14 runs, nine earned, on 20 hits in 9 2/3 innings and went 0-1.

Williams (14-5) tied his season high with nine strikeouts - he also had nine May 10 against the Chicago Cubs - but hurt himself with a wild pitch that allowed a run to score in the fifth and put the Marlins ahead 4-0. In seven innings, he gave up seven hits and four runs, three earned.

Left-hander Dontrelle Willis can tie the Marlins' rookie record with 11 wins, set by Brian Meadows in 1998, when he starts tonight against fellow rookie Dan Haren.

Cubs 3, Padres 0

SAN DIEGO - Mark Prior returned from the disabled list and won his first start in his hometown, combining with four relievers on a three-hitter for Chicago.

The right-hander had been out since July 11 when he hurt his pitching shoulder in a collision with Atlanta second baseman Marcus Giles.

Phillies 7, Rockies 2

DENVER - Bobby Abreu and Ricky Ledee homered, and Brett Myers pitched into the eighth inning to lead Philadelphia.

Myers (11-6) allowed two runs and eight hits, striking out three and walking two for his first win in three starts. The Phillies maintained their two-game lead over Florida in the NL wild-card race.

Brewers 4, Braves 3

MILWAUKEE - Richie Sexson homered twice for Milwaukee, which rallied from one run down for the victory.

Keith Ginter also homered for Milwaukee, which won for just the fifth time in 20 games at home against Atlanta since joining the National League in 1998.

Mets 10, Astros 1

HOUSTON - Vance Wilson's three-run homer keyed a seven-run fifth inning, and Al Leiter had another strong outing for New York. Leiter (11-5) allowed one run, five hits and four walks in six innings and won his third decision in a row.

Tony Clark hit his third home run in two games for the Mets.

Diamondbacks 8, Expos 5

PHOENIX - Shea Hillenbrand homered and drove in four runs as Arizona snapped Montreal's four-game winning streak.

Hillenbrand helped stake Randy Johnson to a 6-1 lead. The Expos chased Johnson (2-4) with a four-run rally in the sixth inning.

The win was the Diamondbacks' second in their last eight games and made them 6-12 since the All-Star break.

Vladimir Guerrero led off the Montreal sixth with a 463-foot homer into the second-desk restaurant in left.

Johnson allowed five runs on eight hits over 5 2-3 innings, with eight strikeouts and three walks. Matt Mantei pitched the ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances.

Luis Gonzalez put Arizona ahead 8-5 with a two-run triple in the sixth. Arizona took advantage of five walks from Montreal starter Claudio Vargas (6-8).

Giants 3, Pirates 0

SAN FRANCISCO - Jason Schmidt won his fourth straight start with seven innings of four-hit ball, and Jose Cruz Jr. had a two-run single as San Francisco beat Pittsburgh.

Schmidt (12-4) made quick work of his former Pittsburgh teammates, retiring 16 of the first 18 hitters he faced while improving to 7-1 since June 19.

J.T. Snow had an RBI single, and newcomer Cody Ransom scored two runs as San Francisco won for the 13th time in its last 14 games at Pacific Bell Park.

Jason Christiansen pitched the eighth, and Tim Worrell loaded the bases in the ninth before getting Jack Wilson to ground into a game-ending double play for his 24th save in 28 chances.

Pittsburgh's Kip Wells (5-5), who had won three straight decisions, allowed six hits and three walks over seven innings.