The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS - Rookie Dontrelle Willis pitched eight impressive innings and Ivan Rodriguez homered as the Florida Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-3 Wednesday night.

Willis (11-2), who beat Randy Johnson in his previous outing, shrugged off a shaky start to tie the team record for wins by a rookie, set by Brian Meadows in 1998.

Willis walked Bo Hart on four pitches to start the game and gave up a two-run double to Scott Rolen later in the first but was virtually unhittable after that.

Eduardo Perez homered in the eighth off Willis, who allowed three runs and five hits. He struck out six and walked one for the Marlins, who trail Philadelphia by one game in the wild-card race.

In his last three starts, Willis has allowed only five runs on 12 hits in 21 innings with 19 strikeouts and six walks.

The top five in the Marlins' order were 10-for-16 against rookie starter Dan Haren, who held the bottom four hitless in 11 at-bats.

Florida moved 11 games above .500 for the first time since 1997 with its ninth victory in its last 11 games, and will go for a sweep of the three-game series on today.

Albert Pujols doubled in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 20 games, during which he's batting .405 (32-for-79). It's the Cardinals' longest streak since Placido Polanco also hit in 20 in a row in 2001.

Braves 10, Brewers 2

MILWAUKEE - Greg Maddux won his fifth straight game, and Marcus Giles and Andruw Jones each hit a pair of home runs for Atlanta. Maddux (11-8) is unbeaten in his last seven starts and has held opponents to 14 earned runs in 46 innings in those outings.

Milwaukee reliever Brooks Kieschnick hit a two-run homer off Jung Bong in the bottom of the eighth.

Pirates 2, Giants 0

SAN FRANCISCO - Reggie Sanders' two-run double in the eighth spoiled Sidney Ponson's San Francisco debut. Ponson (0-1), acquired in a trade with Baltimore last week, held Pittsburgh scoreless for the first seven innings, but the Giants couldn't give him a lead against Pittsburgh starter Josh Fogg, who also pitched six shutout innings.

Diamondbacks 3, Expos 2

PHOENIX - Carlos Baerga's tiebreaking pinch-hit single in the eighth inning led Arizona. Baerga looped an opposite-field hit that dropped in front of left fielder Brad Wilkerson, and Alex Cintron scored from second base with the go-ahead run.

Arizona starter Curt Schilling allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in seven innings, striking out seven.

Rockies 5, Phillies 1

DENVER - Chin-hui Tsa allowed two hits in six innings, and Todd Helton hit a three-run homer in Colorado's victory.

Tsao (2-0), the first Taiwanese pitcher in the major leagues, combined with three relievers on a five-hitter. He struck out five and walked two and retired 10 straight during one stretch for his second win at Coors Field.

Astros 11, Mets 1

HOUSTON - Adam Everett hit the first inside-the-park home run at Minute Maid Park, and Jeff Bagwell and Richard Hidalgo each homered and drove in three runs as part of Houston's 15-hit attack. Wade Miller (8-10) allowed one run and six hits in six innings for the Astros.