The Associated Press

ATLANTA - Russ Ortiz bounced back from another shaky start for his career-high 19th win and the Atlanta Braves rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, who dropped into a tie with Florida for the NL wild card Monday.

Ortiz (19-6) gave up four runs in the top of the first, then pitched five scoreless innings while the Braves mounted a comeback against one of their former pitchers, Kevin Millwood.

Mark DeRosa hit a two-run homer in the bottom half of the first and scored the go-ahead run in the fifth, scoring from third when Andruw Jones hit into a double play with the bases loaded.

Florida and Philadelphia are 12 games behind Atlanta in the NL East.

The game drew only 17,543, the smallest crowd in Turner Field's seven-year history.

Ortiz, who has four more wins than anyone in the NL, was 18-9 with San Francisco in 1999. He'll get three or four more starts this season, needing just one more victory for the first 20-win season of his career.

Mike Lieberthal hit a three-run homer off Ortiz in the first, which wasn't anything new. The Atlanta ace has given up 26 of his 94 runs in the opening inning.

Ortiz was constantly behind in the count, throwing just 51 of 110 pitches for strikes. He walked four to take over the NL lead in that category from Chicago's Kerry Wood with 93 for the season.

Marlins 5, Mets 0

NEW YORK - Alex Gonzalez homered and four Florida pitchers combined on a six-hit shutout. Josh Beckett (8-7) allowed just four hits through six innings, striking out six and walking two.

Relievers Nate Bump, Ugueth Urbina and Braden Looper followed with three scoreless innings.

Florida is now tied with Philadelphia in the NL wild-card race.

Florida scored four runs in the ninth inning off reliever Orber Moreno when pinch-hitter Todd Hollandsworth had an RBI single, Juan Pierre tripled in two runs, and Luis Castillo doubled in Pierre.

Gonzalez led off the third with his 17th homer and fourth against the Mets this season. It was the only hit starter Steve Trachsel (14-9) allowed in the first five innings.

Trachsel struck out a season-high eight, allowing only one run on four hits in seven innings.

Astros 8, Brewers 4

MILWAUKEE - Roy Oswalt returned from the disabled list and Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman each had three RBI in Houston's win.

The victory, Houston's fourth in five games, put the Astros in a first-place tie with the idle Chicago Cubs.

Oswalt (7-5), sidelined since July 30 with a strained right groin, was activated from the 15-day disabled list Monday. The right-hander allowed four earned runs on five hits in five innings to win for the first time since July 18.