Associated Press
The National League roundup …
WASHINGTON ó When his batting average dipped to .173 on July 4 and every hard-hit ball seemingly turned into an out, Dan Uggla never lost faith that he would pull out of his horrific slump.
That is precisely what happened, in extraordinary fashion.
Uggla homered and extended his career-best hitting streak to 25 games, Freddie Freeman had two hits and two RBIs, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 6-4 Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep.
Uggla went 2 for 4, including a three-run drive that put the Braves up 6-0 in the fifth inning. His hitting streak is Atlanta’s longest since Marquis Grissom put together a 28-game run in 1996.
In his first 86 games, Uggla had 12 homers and 29 RBIs. During his streak, he’s batting .354 with 11 home runs and 23 RBIs.
No one in the majors currently has a longer hitting streak.
“It’s just a matter of time,” he said. “There was a never a time that I believed what was going on the first couple of months was going to continue.”
Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez felt the same way about Uggla, who joined the Braves during the offseason after a successful five-year run with Florida.
Brewers 10, Cardinals 5
MILWAUKEE ó Casey McGehee homered three times and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 on Wednesday and add to their NL Central lead.
Corey Hart also homered for the Brewers, who extended their lead over the Cardinals to 31/2 games.
Phillies 8, Rockies 6
DENVER ó Roy Halladay fought through an erratic outing for his NL-leading 14th win, and Ryan Howard drove in four runs with a homer and a double as Philadelphia completed the sweep.
Halladay (14-4) allowed five runs on eight hits in seven innings.
Astros 5, Reds 4
HOUSTON ó Rookie J.D. Martinez homered and hit a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning to help rookie starter Jordan Lyles pick up his first career win.
Cubs 1, Pirates 0
PITTSBURGH ó Matt Garza pitched seven shutout innings and Starlin Castro homered to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 1-0 win over the sliding Pittsburgh Pirates.
Giants 8, Diamondbacks 1
SAN FRANCISCO ó Ryan Vogelsong won his career-best sixth straight decision, and Orlando Cabrera drove in three runs to help San Francisco remain atop the NL West.
Vogelsong (9-1) allowed one run on five hits.
Mets-Marlins ppd
NEW YORK ó Dillon Gee had his start Wednesday night washed out when the Mets and Florida Marlins were postponed by a steady downpour before the game ever started.