The Associated Press

MIAMI - For the San Francisco Giants, it was better luck this time in Miami.

Brett Tomko pitched a four-hitter for his first career shutout, and San Francisco beat the Florida Marlins 5-0 Thursday night.

Wrapping up their first visit to South Florida since being eliminated in the playoffs last October, the Giants took the finale of the three-game series.

San Francisco remained one game behind NL wild-card leader Chicago. The defending World Series champion Marlins fell seven back and show no sign of mounting another late-season surge.

Tomko (7-6) made sure the crowd of 29,638 had little to cheer about. He threw his first complete game this season, allowing four singles and one walk while striking out four. Tomko improved to 5-0 in seven starts against the Marlins.

Ray Durham hit a two-run homer to give Tomko all the runs he needed.

Barry Bonds failed to hit the ball out of the infield and went 0-for-4 with a walk, dropping his batting average to .362, still best in the National League.

Cubs 8, Astros 3

CHICAGO - Sammy Sosa and Aramis Ramirez hit consecutive homers in a five-run third inning, and Chicago won its fifth straight game. Mark Prior (4-3) needed 116 pitches to get through six innings but got his first win in three weeks. He gave up seven hits, including Jeff Bagwell's 19th homer, and escaped a second-and-third, no-outs jam in the sixth. Leading the NL wild-card race, the Cubs won for the ninth time in 12 games. The loss was just the third in 11 games for the Astros, who fell seven games behind the Cubs.

Padres 10, Mets 3

NEW YORK - Adam Eaton shut down New York through seven innings to win his seventh straight road start, and San Diego completed a four-game sweep. It was the fifth straight loss for the Mets, who never held a lead during the series and were outscored 26-8, with half their runs coming in the ninth inning. New York managed just 22 hits in the four games.

Dodgers 10, Expos 3

MONTREAL - Adrian Beltre hit his major league-high 41st homer, and Eric Gagne was cheered wildly in what was likely his final game in his hometown. Despite a seven-run lead, the Dodgers used Gagne in the ninth inning. The Montreal native, pitching at home for the first time since winning last year's NL Cy Young Award, drew attention when he started warming up and the crowd of 18,520, the Expos' third-highest at home this season, gave him a standing ovation when he pitched. He retired three in a row after a leadoff walk.

Braves 6, Rockies 4

ATLANTA - Mike Hampton helped himself with an RBI single and Atlanta pushed its NL East lead to a season-high 9 1/2 games. The Braves completed a three-game sweep and won their fourth in a row overall. Colorado has lost four straight. In 56 games since June 23, when the Braves were six games under .500 at 32-38, Atlanta is 41-15. Now 20 games over .500, they continued to expand their lead over Florida. John Smoltz pitched the ninth for his 34th save in 37 chances.