MONTREAL - Wil Cordero and the Expos improved their wild-card hopes with an improbable victory.
Cordero hit two two-run doubles as Montreal rallied from an eight-run deficit and beat the Philadelphia Phillies 14-10 Tuesday night.
"He's done a terrific job the last two weeks or so coming up with big, big, big hits," Expos manager Frank Robinson said.
Montreal fell behind 8-0 after five and was trailing 10-4 before scoring seven in the seventh, highlighted by Cordero and Jose Vidro's two-run doubles.
"How exciting was that game?" Vidro said. "We came back; unbelievable, one of the most exciting games I've played since I've been in the big leagues."
The Expos won their third straight and moved within two of wild-card leaders Philadelphia and Florida.
"It's unreal. You see it happening but you don't believe it," Robinson said. "That was a great win for this ballclub, this organization and for the fans and for this city."
Ricky Ledee had his first two-homer game and drove in four and Mike Lieberthal had three hits and two RBIs for the Phillies, who have lost four straight and are 1-7 on a season-high 13-game road trip.
"It's devastating, there's no question about it, but it's not like there's two games left," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. "We just didn't get the job done tonight. There's no excuses."
Todd Zeile and Brian Schneider singled off Terry Adams to begin the seventh. Zeile advanced to third on Endy Chavez's forceout, then scored on a wild pitch.
Pinch-hitter Jose Macias singled and Brad Wilkerson hit a run-scoring single off Dan Plesac to make it 10-6.
Mike Williams struck out Orlando Cabrera for the second out before Vidro hit a drive just to the right of the foul line on the leftfield wall to draw the Expos within 10-8.
Williams pitched around Vladimir Guerrero before walking him intentionally and Cordero followed with his double to right-center to the delight of the crowd of 12,509.
Zeile, batting for the second time in the inning, hit a grounder off Williams' glove that caromed toward second baseman Chase Utley. Utley dived, but the ball glanced off his glove into rightfield, allowing Cordero to score and make it 11-10.
CUBS 7, CARDINALS 4: Mark Prior allowed three hits in eight sharp innings, and Randall Simon and Aramis Ramirez hit back-to-back home runs in a six-run third for Chicago.
The Cubs won for the third time in 14 games at Busch Stadium the past two seasons and moved a half-game ahead of the Cardinals for second in the tight Central.
Garrett Stephenson got knocked out early, perhaps opening the door for newly acquired Sterling Hitchcock in the St. Louis rotation.
PIRATES 4, MARLINS 3: Jason Kendall, upset at not being traded with Brian Giles to San Diego earlier in the day, hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh for host Pittsburgh. Florida lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Kendall singled ahead of Craig Wilson's run-scoring single in the first and doubled in the fifth, then hit his sixth homer after Marlins starter Mark Redman hit Tike Redman with a pitch in the seventh.
ASTROS 18, DODGERS 4: Jeff Kent homered and drove in five and Jeff Bagwell also homered for host Houston. The Astros came within one run of matching the franchise high, last done in 1999. Houston's top run total this season was 13 on May 7 against Pittsburgh.
GIANTS 3, ROCKIES 1: Jason Schmidt allowed four hits in 72/3 innings as San Francisco won for the sixth time in seven games since a season-long six-game losing streak. The Giants have won two of three without Barry Bonds, who's been on bereavement leave since his father, Bobby, died Saturday.
PADRES 5, D'BACKS 4: Phil Nevin and Ryan Klesko hit consecutive run-scoring doubles in the eighth as visiting San Diego rallied from a four-run deficit. Arizona squandered a chance to pull within a half-game in the wild-card race.
METS 6, BRAVES 5: Mike Piazza hit a three-run homer in his first game against Atlanta this season and Timo Perez added a two-run double for visiting New York. Piazza missed nearly three months with a strained right groin.
BREWERS 7, REDS 1: Doug Davis pitched a four-hitter and visiting Milwaukee won its eighth straight, its longest streak since a nine-game string in 1997.
