The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS - Kerry Wood struck out 11 in seven shutout innings for Chicago, but the St. Louis Cardinals rallied against five Cubs relievers for a 4-2 victory Wednesday night.

Tino Martinez hit a tying, two-run single and St. Louis took the lead on Kyle Farnsworth's wild pitch in a four-run eighth. The Cardinals evened the series between NL Central contenders at a game apiece.

St. Louis trails first-place Houston by one game; Chicago is 1 1/2 back.

The Cubs fell to 5-24 at Busch Stadium since the 2000 season. Sammy Sosa drove in both runs for Chicago.

Wood blanked the Cardinals on four hits and was pulled after 125 pitches.

Wood reversed a shaky six-start stretch in which he'd allowed 26 earned runs in 32 innings and lost four of five decisions. He had five strikeouts in a row in the third and fourth and battled out of jams in the first and third, stranding five runners in those innings, and increased his major league-leading strikeout total to 219 in 175 innings.

Woody Williams failed in his sixth attempt at winning his 15th game, which would have matched his career best. He gave up a run on five hits in seven innings.

Padres 10, Diamondbacks 2

PHOENIX - Phil Nevin hit a grand slam and Ryan Klesko had a three-run homer to lead San Diego over Curt Schilling and Arizona. Sean Burroughs had his first four-hit game for the Padres, who had 16 hits and won their second straight against the Diamondbacks, who remained 1 1/2 games out in the NL wild-card race.

Giants 6, Rockies 4

DENVER - Sidney Ponson took a two-hit shutout into the eighth inning and San Francisco handed Colorado its fifth straight loss. Jeffrey Hammonds hit a two-run homer for the Giants, who won for the seventh time in eight tries following a six-game losing streak. Rich Aurilia also had two RBI.

Braves 4, Mets 1

ATLANTA - Greg Maddux earned his 286th win, and Chipper Jones drove in all four Atlanta runs.

Maddux (13-10) allowed three hits - one a homer to Mike Piazza - in six innings to win his second straight start. With at least five starts left this season, he appears on track to win at least 15 games for a record 16th straight season. Only Maddux and Cy Young have done it in 15 consecutive seasons.

Astros 6, Dodgers 1

HOUSTON - Jeff Bagwell became the 13th player in major-league history to hit 30 or more homers in eight consecutive seasons, leading Houston to its third straight win. The Astros increased their NL Central lead to one game.

Expos 9, Phillies 6

MONTREAL - Pinch hitter Joe Vitiello singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as Montreal moved one game out of the NL wild-card lead. Vladimir Guerrero hit his 19th homer and went 3-for-4 with two RBI for the Expos, falling a triple short of the cycle. Rocky Biddle got four outs for his 31st save in 37 chances this year.

Pirates 4, Marlins 0

PITTSBURGH - Kip Wells and two relievers shut out Florida, and Jason Bay had two key hits in his Pittsburgh debut. Wells (6-7) limited the Marlins to two singles in six innings, and Florida managed only three hits total.