Reds Rout Struggling Giants, 12-3

Adam Dunn’s three-run homer capped a 10-run eighth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds defeated the slumping San Francisco Giants, 12-3, on Thursday at San Francisco.

Sean Casey had four hits in four at-bats for the Reds. He drove in three runs with two singles in the eighth -- including a two-run single that was his 1,000th hit.

Casey also had two doubles, including a drive off the right-field wall to score Felipe Lopez in the sixth. That gave Cincinnati a 2-1 lead, but the Reds extended the margin in their biggest inning since they scored 12 runs in the sixth on Aug. 7, 1998, against Milwaukee.

Aaron Harang (7-3) was outstanding in his third victory in five starts, pitching seven innings of four-hit ball. Only two runners reached second base against him. With Barry Bonds taking a day off, the Giants had no pop against his assortment of off-speed pitches.

The Giants have lost six of eight during a precarious drop in the West Division standings. They are in third place, 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Dodgers.

Florida 11, Arizona 5 -- Carl Pavano pitched into the eighth inning on three days’ rest and hit a run-scoring single, helping the Marlins end a season-worst four-game losing streak. Paul Lo Duca and Miguel Cabrera homered for the Marlins, who also stopped a five-game skid on the road.

Pavano (12-4) yielded five runs and seven hits. He pitched three innings in a rainout Sunday against Montreal and threw 43 pitches, but started in place of A.J. Burnett, whose scheduled start was delayed a day by Manager Jack McKeon. He threw 111 pitches in 7 1/3 innings.

Chicago 5, Colorado 1 -- Mark Prior (3-2) pitched six scoreless innings for his first win in more than a month, and the Cubs won their fourth in a row by completing a three-game sweep at Coors Field.

Derrek Lee and Corey Patterson each hit a solo home run for the Cubs, who moved a season-high 12 games over .500. It was their first sweep against the Rockies since they took three in a row July 18-20, 1994, at Mile High Stadium.

New York 11, Milwaukee 6 -- Rookie third baseman David Wright homered and drove in six runs at Milwaukee to help Victor Zambrano win in his Met debut. Zambrano, acquired from Tampa Bay on July 30, yielded six runs -- four earned -- and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. Wright fell one short of the club record for RBIs by a rookie, set by Jeromy Burnitz on Aug. 5, 1993, against Montreal.

St. Louis 2, Montreal 1 -- Scott Rolen hit a tiebreaking homer in the top of the eighth inning, and Chris Carpenter (12-4) yielded one run and four hits in eight innings for the Cardinals, who have won 13 of 17 to move a season-high 31 games over .500. Rolen hit his 26th homer over the center-field fence, giving him 98 RBIs, tops in the majors.

Atlanta 6, Houston 5 -- Pinch-hitter Marcus Giles’ sacrifice fly drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning. With the score 5-5, J.D. Drew led off with a single and Chipper Jones doubled off reliever Dan Miceli. After an intentional walk to Andruw Jones, Giles hit a fly to right.

Philadelphia 5, San Diego 3 -- David Bell’s single with two out in the top of the 10th inning off closer Trevor Hoffman drove in Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco with the go-ahead runs. The loss dropped the Padres 6 1/2 games behind the Dodgers.