DENVER - Aramis Ramirez hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth after Nomar Garciaparra tied it on Shawn Chacon's wild pitch moments earlier, and the Cubs beat the Rockies 11-8 on Wednesday.
The lead changed three times in the final three innings, twice on home runs.
After pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh, Ramirez homered to make it 7-6. Todd Walker added a two-run homer two batters later.
Sweeney's second pinch homer this season and eighth of his career came a half-inning after Sammy Sosa gave the Cubs a lead with a three-run homer just before the ejections of reliever Scott Dohmann and manager Clint Hurdle.
Chacon threw a wild pitch during Ramirez's at-bat that rolled to the backstop.
Sosa tied it when he hit a 1-and-0 pitch from Dohmann an estimated 437 feet into the leftfield bleachers.
Moments later, Dohmann and Hurdle were tossed after the right-hander threw a high inside pitch to Ramirez. The pitch did not hit Ramirez, but plate umpire Dan Iassogna tossed Dohmann immediately although he apparently hadn't issued a warning.
Hurdle stormed out of the dugout and argued briefly before sending Steve Reed in to pitch and making a visit to the mound. Hurdle then began arguing again with Iassogna and had to be restrained by crew chief Charlie Reliford.
Sosa was plunked in the left hip area in the third by starter Jamey Wright, and Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano hit Aaron Miles leading off the first.
BRAVES 5, ASTROS 4: John Thomson pitched four-hit ball, retiring 11 of the last 12 batters he faced, and Chipper Jones had two run-scoring singles for visiting Atlanta, which has won 10 of 12.
Jeff Bagwell hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth off Braves closer John Smoltz. But Smoltz recovered for his 26th save in 28 chances.
DODGERS 2, PIRATES 1: Jose Lima pitched seven solid innings to win his fourth straight decision and Alex Cora hit a tiebreaking home run for host Los Angeles.
Cora's two-out homer down the rightfield line in the seventh against Josh Fogg was his career-high seventh this season and 125th by the Dodgers, one more than they had last season.
The Dodgers won for the 23rd time in 29 games and are a season-high 20 games over .500. But centerfielder Steve Finley, in his third game with the team after Friday's trade from Arizona, left after five with soreness in his right hamstring.
CARDINALS 5, EXPOS 4: Albert Pujols homered leading off the ninth and John Mabry was 4-for-4 and four RBIs to lead host St. Louis.
Pujols hit his 31st homer of the season, a drive off Chad Cordero that capped the Cardinals' comeback from a 3-0 deficit.
Julian Tavarez pitched a scoreless ninth for the Central leader, which has won seven of nine.
PHILLIES 7, PADRES 5: Jimmy Rollins hit an inside-the-park homer and Eric Milton won for the first time in six starts for visiting Philadelphia. Milton, who had last won July 4, won despite allowing two home runs in only five-plus innings.
Up 4-2 in the fourth, Rollins lined a pitch that hit the base of the rightfield foul pole and bounced into the Phillies bullpen. By the time Brian Giles, who was playing far off the line, got to it, the ball had rolled under a bench littered with cups and other trash. Giles had a tough time picking up the ball, allowing Rollins, who let up slightly when he rounded third, to score without a throw.
REDS 8, GIANTS 7: Adam Dunn hit two homers and Felipe Lopez a go-ahead two-run shot in the sixth for visiting Cincinnati.
Dustan Mohr's leadoff inside-the-park homer in the fifth cut San Francico's deficit to 5-2. His long fly to the wall ricocheted off Dunn's glove and rolled to the bullpen down the leftfield line, and Mohr slid in ahead of the tag. The Giants tied it later in the inning on A.J. Pierzynski's single.
D'BACKS 11, MARLINS 6: Randy Johnson ended his three-game skid and Roberto Alomar had four hits and three RBIs for host Arizona. The Diamondbacks have won consecutive games for the first time since June 30-July 1 against San Diego.
METS 6, BREWERS 5: First baseman Lyle Overbay botched Gerald Williams' bunt for a tiebreaking two-run error in a five-run seventh, and visiting New York beat Milwaukee for its first two-game winning streak in nearly a month.
