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ST. LOUIS - The pop was back in Mark Bellhorn's bat when it counted most for the Cubs.
Bellhorn hit his second homer of the season Saturday, connecting off Steve Kline leading off the ninth as the Cubs finished a big day from starter Mark Prior with a 2-1 victory over the Cardinals.
"He was trying to throw me a strike because he didn't want to walk the leadoff hitter," said Bellhorn, mired in a 10-for-54 slump. "I hope I can feed off this tomorrow and maybe even for a couple of weeks and the rest of the year.
"I've been struggling, and once I come out of this I'll be fine."
The Central leaders have won six of seven. They also won for only the second time in 11 games the past two seasons at Busch Stadium, and for only the fourth time in 25 there since 2000.
"I knew it was a bad number," manager Dusty Baker said. "It's a tough place to play and a tough place to win."
Bellhorn, pinch-hitting for reliever Mike Remlinger, hit a 3-and-2 pitch from Kline over the leftfield wall for his second homer of the season. He hit 27 last season.
It was the latest shaky outing for Kline, who has a 4.67 ERA.
Albert Pujols tied it with his 10th homer off Prior with one out in the eighth.
Prior allowed a run on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 71/3 innings, lowering his NL-best ERA to 2.02, and also went 3-for-3. On the season, he is 9-for-26 with a home run, three doubles and five RBIs, and he has worked at least six innings in all nine starts.
BRAVES 12, PADRES 2: Gary Sheffield hit a grand slam and had five RBIs and Vinny Castilla homered twice to lead visiting Atlanta, which won its 26th in 31 games.
Shane Reynolds allowed five hits in seven innings as Atlanta improved its record to 30-13, best in the majors. He allowed one runner past second base after Xavier Nady's two-run homer in the second.
Sheffield had a sacrifice fly in the third and his slam off Mike Bynum in a six-run eighth that also included a two-run homer by Castilla, who homered again in the ninth.
San Diego has lost 17 of 20.
EXPOS 6, ROCKIES 4 (10): Pinch-hitter Henry Mateo hit a two-run single off Todd Jones as visiting Montreal overcame the third-inning ejection of starter Zach Day, who had glue on his fingers to cover a blister.
Luis Ayala pitched two scoreless innings for his second win in as many days, and Rocky Biddle pitched the ninth for his 12th save.
Mateo failed to get down a sacrifice bunt, causing Brad Wilkerson to get hung up between third and home for the first out, but followed with a single to score the runners from second and third.
PHILLIES 9, ASTROS 4: Placido Polanco homered, doubled, singled and scored three runs for visiting Philadelphia.
Brandon Duckworth allowed three runs and five hits in five innings in his first game since being recalled from Triple-A Scranton. Duckworth had been demoted after consecutive bad outings raised his ERA to 6.46.
Jim Thome added a homer in the ninth for the Phillies, who hit into six double plays.
METS 5, GIANTS 1: Cliff Floyd hit a two-run homer for visiting New York, which had been 0-12 during the regular season at Pacific Bell Park. The Mets split a pair of playoff games in 2000.
Steve Trachsel allowed one run and four hits in eight innings, the longest outing for a Mets pitcher since Al Leiter went 81/3 innings against the Cubs on Sept. 17.
Trachsel retired 17 of the final 20 hitters he faced and did not allow a runner past second base after the third.
DODGERS 4, MARLINS 1: Catcher Paul Lo Duca went 4-for-4, including a tiebreaking homer to back Odalis Perez and host Los Angeles. Perez allowed three hits in eight innings and struck out eight. Lo Duca was stunned for several minutes after getting hit in the head by the backswing of Mike Lowell's bat in the first. He then homered in the fifth, his first since April 29.
BREWERS 8, REDS 6: Eddie Perez hit a three-run homer off Scott Williamson in the bottom of the ninth, host Milwaukee's first winning homer since Richie Sexson connected off Houston's Mike Jackson on Sept. 1, 2001. Adam Dunn hit his major league-leading 16th homer for the Reds, who took a 6-5 lead in the eighth when Felipe Lopez hit a two-run triple off Luis Vizcaino.
PIRATES 8, D'BACKS 5: Kevin Young hit a three-run homer for Pittsburgh, which won a series at Arizona for the first time since 1998, Arizona's first season. Brian Giles singled in two runs for the Pirates, 3-12 at Arizona in the previous four seasons. Pittsburgh closer Mike Williams walked the first three batters in the ninth, but struck out Gonzalez and got Dellucci to ground into a game-ending double play for his 12th save in 14 chances.