PITTSBURGH - Just when Matt Morris' injury threatened to unravel the St. Louis Cardinals' suspect starting rotation, Garrett Stephenson came out of the bullpen to serve as a fill-in ace.
Stephenson made his second straight strong start by holding Pittsburgh to five hits over eight innings and Tino Martinez homered, leading the Cardinals past the Pirates 4-3 Thursday.
Albert Pujols singled in the first to set up the Cardinals' first run and extend the majors' longest hitting streak this season to 28 games. All but one of the Cardinals' 11 hits was a single (Martinez led off the sixth with his 12th homer) as they won their fifth in six games and sixth in eight.
St. Louis took three of four in the series to tie Houston for the Central lead in the majors' most crowded division race.
Stephenson allowed one run for the third time in four starts. He beat the Expos 2-1 with a complete game July 29 and the Braves 3-1 Saturday, when he lasted seven innings.
"He didn't throw the ball hard but he really pitched smart," the Pirates' Jose Hernandez said. "He kept going in and out, getting guys out with his changeup. He certainly didn't overpower anybody, but he shut us down for the most part."
It's a big turnaround from a month ago when, with Stephenson coming off a stretch of five consecutive losses that dropped his record to 4-10, he was temporarily sent to the bullpen against his wishes.
"I still didn't think I was pitching that bad," Stephenson said. "Sometimes you're going to catch breaks and sometimes you're not. ... Right now, the results are pretty good."
Stephenson is pitching as he did in 2000, when he was 16-9. Good thing for the Cardinals, too, with Morris out since July 22 with a broken bone in his right hand.
Morris threw in the bullpen Thursday and could start as early as Sunday in Philadelphia.
CUBS 7, ASTROS 1: Two days off and a bump-up in the batting order made all the difference for Alex Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, in a 2-for-46 slump when the series began, had three hits and a homer and drove in three as host Chicago tightened the Central.
"I think there is a feeling that every night any guy in our lineup can make a big impact in winning a ball game," Gonzalez said after the Cubs won three of four from the Astros.
BRAVES 7, PADRES 4: Russ Ortiz became the first 17-game winner in the majors and Javy Lopez hit two more homers for host Atlanta.
Gary Sheffield extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a homer, tying his career high, and Chipper Jones homered for the third game in a row.
DODGERS 6, MARLINS 4: Eric Gagne struck out the side in the ninth, extending his major-league record with his 40th consecutive save to start a season for visiting Los Angeles.
Florida beat the Dodgers the previous two nights with walkoff homers in extra innings, but the Marlins went down on 11 pitches against Gagne.
PHILLIES 4, BREWERS 3: Placido Polanco's homer sparked a three-run rally, and Mike Williams got his first save with host Philadelphia. Randy Wolf got his first victory since July 23. He allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in five of seven innings, but only one scored.
REDS 3, D'BACKS 2: Aaron Harang won his second start and D'Angelo Jimenez and Sean Casey delivered clutch singles as host Cincinnati snapped a 16-game losing streak to Arizona.
Outage shuts down Shea
NEW YORK - The New York blackout forced the evacuation of workers and players from Shea Stadium hours before the game between the Mets and Giants.
The game was postponed about an hour before the scheduled 7:10 p.m. start. No makeup date was announced.
By nightfall, the Giants still were waiting in a darkened parking lot beyond the rightfield bullpen for a second bus. It was still unclear whether they were going to drive to Montreal for a series starting tonight or head to Philadelphia for a flight.
