The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - Reggie Sanders hit a three-run homer during a three-hit night and the Pittsburgh Pirates stalled the Philadelphia Phillies' pursuit of the NL wild card, winning 8-4 Friday.

Jose Hernandez stopped an 0-for-26 September skid with a two-run, pinch-hit single, and Abraham Nunez added a solo shot to support Kip Wells' fourth straight strong start.

The Pirates won for only the fourth time in 11 games.

Jim Thome became only the fifth player in Phillies history and the first since Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt in 1983 to hit 40 homers in a season, but the Phillies dropped their third in five games.

Thome's drive into the right-field seats off Mark Corey in the eighth came with the Pirates leading 8-2.

Sanders also scored three runs for the Pirates, who have won five of seven against the wild card-contending Marlins and Phillies since Aug. 26.

Wells (8-8) gave up Mike Lieberthal's double and Tomas Perez's run-scoring single in the second, then limited the Phillies to only two more hits after that.

The right-hander has won three of his last four starts, yielding five earned runs in 27 2/3 innings - a 1.63 ERA. Before that, he went 0-3 in his previous four starts.

Marlins 5, Braves 4

MIAMI - Florida overcame an injury to Brad Penny and an eighth-inning deficit to build on its lead in the NL wild-card race.

Juan Pierre singled home the winning run with one out in the ninth inning Friday night to beat Atlanta.

Florida increased wild-card lead to 1 1/2 games over Philadelphia, which lost 8-4 at Pittsburgh.

Penny gave up three runs before departing in the first inning with a hyperextended pitching elbow. Florida scored twice in the eighth against Jaret Wright to tie the game.

With their 82nd victory, the Marlins are assured of the second winning season in the 11-year history of the franchise. The only other time they finished above .500 was in 1997, when they won the World Series.

Expos 7, Mets 4

MONTREAL - Michael Barrett hit a two-run homer in his first game in nearly seven weeks, and Vladimir Guerrero had a three-run double to lead Montreal.

Montreal won its 10th in a row at Olympic Stadium and third straight overall. The last-place Mets have dropped a season-high eight consecutive games.

Barrett, hitting just .207 when he was sidelined by a hip injury July 27, hit his 10th homer of the season off Al Leiter (14-8) following Joe Vitiello's one-out double in the sixth.

The Expos fell to 8 1/2 games behind Florida in the NL wild-card race.

Astros 14, Cardinals 5

HOUSTON - Jeff Bagwell homered, Richard Hidalgo had four hits and pitcher Wade Miller drove in a career-high four runs as Houston routed St. Louis in the series opener.

The Astros roughed up Woody Williams and finished with 19 hits, remaining a game ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. St. Louis dropped 3 1/2 games off the pace.

Miller allowed two runs and two hits in six innings. He also went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and boosted his RBI total for the year to six.

He had an RBI double in the second, his grounder scored a run in the third and he added a two-run double in a five-run fourth inning. He's hitting .166 this season.