By the Associated Press

HOUSTON - Ramon Martinez's two-run single capped a three-run ninth inning, lifting the Chicago Cubs past the Houston Astros 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Aramis Ramirez hit a tying, RBI single in the ninth off closer Octavio Dotel (0-4), who blew his third save in 15 chances.

Tom Goodwin reached second on left fielder Lance Berkman's fielding error to lead off the ninth and one out later Ramirez singled. After Todd Hollandsworth grounded out, Derrek Lee was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Martinez then sent a 3-2 pitch to left field, scoring Goodwin and Ramirez for the go-ahead runs.

Kyle Farnsworth (1-3) got the win, allowing only one hit in the eighth. Cubs closer LaTroy Hawkins got three outs for his sixth save of the season.

Yankees 4, Diamondbacks 2

PHOENIX - Miguel Cairo singled in two runs and Jose Contreras improved to 3-0 in his last four starts for the Yankees.

Gary Sheffield, Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter each had three hits for the Yankees, who have won 11 of 13 - and 17 of 20 - to open a season-best 41/2-game lead over Boston in the NL East. One of Sheffield's hits was a solo home run off Mike Koplove in the ninth inning.

Contreras (4-2) allowed two runs on five hits in 6 1-3 innings. He struck out six, walked two and hit a batter. Mariano Rivera, returning for the first time to the mound where he blew Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, threw a perfect ninth inning for his 27th save, most in the majors.

Andy Green hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer for his first major league hit for Arizona. Brandon Webb (3-6) took the loss.

Devil Rays 5, Padres 2

SAN DIEGO - Aubrey Huff hit a three-run homer, Mark Hendrickson (4-5) pitched into the eighth inning and Tampa Bay tied its franchise record with its sixth straight victory.

With Oakland's eight-game winning streak ending at St. Louis, Tampa Bay suddenly is baseball's hottest team. The season-high six straight wins have come against teams from the NL West, baseball's weakest division. The Devil Rays won two against San Francisco and three against Colorado at home before starting a nine-game trip.

The Devil Rays have won six straight just four times in their seven-year existence.

Brian Lawrence (8-4) was allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings.

Dodgers 5, Orioles 1

LOS ANGELES - Juan Encarnacion hit a three-run homer and Jose Lima pitched seven strong innings for the Dodgers.

The interleague game was the first meeting between the teams at Dodger Stadium since the Orioles won the first two games of the 1966 World Series on their way to a sweep of Los Angeles.

Lima (5-2) allowed one run on three hits, including Miguel Tejada's solo shot in the seventh inning, his 10th. Eric Gagne got two outs for his 14th save, and 77th straight.

Making his seventh major league start, Daniel Cabrera (3-3) gave up five runs on nine hits.

Rockies 6, Red Sox 3

DENVER - Vinny Castilla homered and drove in two runs and Todd Helton also had two RBIs to help Joe Kennedy win for the first time in eight starts, and the Colorado Rockies ended an eight-game losing streak by holding on for a 6-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

Kennedy (5-4) gave up seven hits and three innings in five innings to win for the first time since beating Montreal on May 5. He had been 0-4 in his previous seven starts.

Shawn Chacon threw 31 pitches and faced the tying run in the ninth before finishing for his 11th save in 16 attempts.

Bronson Arroyo (2-5) worked the first six innings and gave up four runs, but remained winless in his last five starts.

Cardinals 8, Athletics 4

ST. LOUIS - Pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson sparked a five-run seventh inning with a two-run go-ahead single, helping the Cardinals end the A's eight-game winning streak.

Albert Pujols was 1-for-4 with two RBIs for the Cardinals in his first appearance at first base in eight games. Pujols has been hampered by a strained left hamstring, an injury that reduced him to DH duties during a weekend series at Texas.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa faced the team he led to four division championships and a World Series championship from 1986-95 for the first time since leaving for St. Louis in '96. This was the first regular-season meeting between teams who last met in the 1931 World Series.

The A's fell to 18-1 all-time against the NL Central.

Matt Morris (7-5) worked around two-run homers to Damian Miller and Mark Kotsay, allowing four runs on six hits in seven innings. Jason Isringhausen got one out for his 14th save.

Chad Bradford (3-3) took the loss.

Tigers 10, Phillies 3

PHILADELPHIA - Jeremy Bonderman pitched one-hit ball over seven dominant innings and Carlos Guillen had a bases-loaded triple to lead Detroit.

Bonderman (5-5) was crisp and in control, tying a career high with eight strikeouts and walking only two. He allowed his only hit in the fourth and won for the first time in five starts. Bonderman didn't allow hit for the first 3 1-3 innings until he gave up a solo homer to Bobby Abreu, his 15th of the year. He allowed only one walk after that and 56 of his 86 pitches were strikes.

Ugueth Urbina gave up a homer in the ninth to Jim Thome to complete the two-hitter.

Brian Powell (0-1) was effective in his first major league start since last July 10 against Colorado. He gave up four runs and had a career-high eight strikeouts. He allowed seven hits, but five came in the first two innings.

White Sox 7, Marlins 5

MIAMI - Carlos Lee doubled and scored in the 10th inning, extending his hitting streak to a franchise-record 28 games - the longest in the majors this year - and helping the Chicago White Sox beat the Florida Marlins 7-5 on Tuesday night.

Timo Perez hit a tying, two-run homer in the ninth off closer Armando Benitez, who blew his second save in 26 chances. Benitez also gave up a three-run homer to Frank Thomas in the eighth.

Joe Crede led off the ninth with a double, and Perez followed with his second homer to tie it at 5.

After Lee's one-out double in the 10th, the Marlins intentionally walked pinch-hitter Paul Konerko. Perez later drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Reliever Nate Bump walked Miguel Olivo, scoring Lee and giving the White Sox the go-ahead run. Bump then bobbled a dribbler by Kelly Dransfeldt that allowed Konerko to score. Dransfeldt's grounder was ruled a hit.

Damaso Marte (2-2) pitched a perfect ninth for the win, and Shingo Takatsu pitched the 10th for his second save in as many chances. Toby Borland (1-1) allowed two runs while getting just two outs.

Braves 3, Royals 2

ATLANTA - Andruw Jones scored the winning run on a wild pitch by Jason Grimsley in the eighth inning, helping the Braves rally past the Royals.

Chipper Jones made his first start at third base since Oct. 21, 2001, when the Braves lost to Arizona in Game 5 of the NL championship series. An everyday third baseman from 1995-01, he went 1-for-4 and made two routine plays in the field.

Atlanta's comeback ruined a fine performance by Dennys Reyes, who took a 2-1 lead into the eighth. But he walked Rafael Furcal to lead off the inning, and Kansas City manager Tony Pena brought in Grimsley (3-3).

Nick Green sacrificed Furcal to second, and Andruw Jones singled up the middle to bring in Furcal with the tying run. Chipper Jones reached on an error, and both runners moved up on a fielder's choice by Johnny Estrada. With a 1-2 count on Julio Franco, Grimsley threw a wild pitch that allowed Andruw Jones to jog home with the winning run.

Chris Reitsma (3-1) pitched a scoreless eighth, and John Smoltz had a perfect ninth for his 10th save in 11 chances.

Brewers 3, Mariners 0

MILWAUKEE - Victor Santos and two relievers combined on a two-hitter, and Lyle Overbay drove in two runs to lead the Brewers past Seattle.

Santos (5-2) allowed two hits and struck out six and walked one, matching a career high with seven innings pitched. John Olerud doubled in the second, and was the only batter to reach second against the right-hander.

Luis Vizcaino threw a hitless eighth, and Dan Kolb pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 19 chances to complete the Brewers' third shutout.

The Mariners had their three-game winning streak stopped, and were shut out for the eighth time this season. Freddy Garcia (3-6) pitched 7 2-3 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out eight.

Angels 4, Pirates 2

PITTSBURGH - Chone Figgins' two-run double broke a tie in the ninth and Garret Anderson hit a two-run homer to lead Anaheim past Pittsburgh and extending the Pirates' losing streak to nine games.

Despite Craig Wilson's homer in the second, the Pirates dropped their 14th in 15 games and matched their longest losing streak since a nine-game slide from Sept. 9-17, 2000. They are a major league-worst 9-19 at home and are 1-15 with 14 consecutive losses to AL West teams in interleague play.

With the score tied at 2 in the ninth, Darin Erstad - just off the disabled list - singled off Salomon Torres (4-2) for his second hit and pinch-hitter Jeff DaVanon reached on a force play three batters later. DaVanon stole second, putting him in position to score on Figgins' grounder.

Scot Shields (5-0) pitched two innings for the victory despite allowing the tying run to score in the seventh. Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Twins 8, Expos 2

MONTREAL - Johan Santana got his first career RBI and allowed three hits in eight innings, and Torii Hunter homered and drove in three runs to lead Minnesota.

Lew Ford also hit a two-run shot for Minnesota, which has won six of eight.

Santana (4-4), who had his longest outing of the season, hit an RBI single in the second for his third career hit. He retired 18 straight after giving up Brad Wilkerson's double leading off the first.

Zach Day (5-7) allowed four hits and four runs in 1 1-3 innings - his shortest career outing. Montreal lost its fourth in a row after scoring just one run while being swept three straight in Seattle over the weekend.

Mets 7, Indians 2

NEW YORK - Mike Piazza and Ty Wigginton had three hits apiece, while Cliff Floyd added two and Karim Garcia had a two-run homer in a 14-hit attack for the Mets, who had lost seven of their last nine games.

The offensive outburst came hours after Denny Walling was fired as hitting coach for the team with the second-lowest batting average in the major leagues. New York scored its most runs since May 21, just the 10th time in 63 games the Mets had that many in a game.

Steve Trachsel (6-5) allowed two runs and eight hits, walked one and struck out five in 6 2-3 innings.

Jason Davis (1-5) allowed seven runs and 11 hits in four innings for Cleveland.