Phillies Keep Smoltz Winless, 2-1

Chase Utley had a tiebreaking RBI single and game-saving catch, and Jon Lieber outdueled John Smoltz, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday at Philadelphia.

Lieber (3-0) yielded one run and seven hits in eight innings to win his third consecutive start since joining the Phillies.

Billy Wagner pitched a shaky ninth for his second save. He gave up two hits, two long fly outs and threw a wild pitch, but second baseman Utley made a diving, backhanded catch on Brian Jordan’s liner to end it with runners at second and third.

A former first-round pick out of UCLA, Utley was supposed to be Philadelphia’s regular starter at second base.

However, he has been platooned with Placido Polanco, who is making $4.6 million this season after unexpectedly accepting arbitration.

Jimmy Rollins hit a tying homer off Smoltz (0-3) in the sixth, helping the Phillies end a three-game losing streak.

Smoltz gave up two runs and five hits, striking out four in seven innings. The former Cy Young Award winner is winless since returning to the starting rotation after saving 154 games. But the Braves have scored only two runs in his three starts.

New York 4, Florida 3 -- Ramon Castro singled home the winning run with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Mets their sixth consecutive victory.

Pedro Martinez gave up three hits and struck out nine in a stellar home debut -- but the Mets’ new ace was outpitched by their old one, Al Leiter. The left-hander yielded only three hits in seven innings and left with a 2-1 lead before the Mets rallied against reliever Todd Jones in the eighth.

Carlos Beltran tied the score with a two-out single and Mike Piazza followed with a double to give the Mets a 3-2 lead, overcoming Martinez’s career-high three wild pitches.

Braden Looper (1-1) couldn’t hold it. He gave up three hits in the ninth, including Juan Encarnacion’s tying double. But Victor Diaz doubled off Guillermo Mota (0-1) with two out in the ninth and scored when Castro lined a 1-1 pitch to right-center.

Cincinnati 3, Houston 2 -- Eric Milton (2-1) gave up three hits in seven innings at Cincinnati, his first impressive outing in three starts, helping the Reds end their 12-game losing streak to the Astros. It was the sixth-longest losing streak in franchise history.

St. Louis 5, Milwaukee 3 -- Scott Rolen broke out of his early-season slump with a two-run homer and two singles for the Cardinals at Milwaukee. Rolen, who entered the game batting .125 (four for 32), hit his first homer of the season in the first inning.

Colorado 5, San Francisco 4 -- Joe Kennedy (1-1) outpitched Jason Schmidt at Coors Field to help the Rockies end an eight-game losing streak. The Giants couldn’t overcome Colorado’s four-run third inning and lost to the Rockies for the first time in five games this season. Schmidt (2-1) yielded four runs and eight hits in five innings.

Washington 9, Arizona 3 -- Vinny Castilla drove in four runs for the second game in a row at RFK Stadium to help the Nationals win their fourth in a row.

Last season, as the Montreal Expos, the club’s first four-game winning streak didn’t come until May 14-18 -- with the team 10-25.

Chicago 4, Pittsburgh 3 -- Neifi Perez doubled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning at Pittsburgh and Aramis Ramirez hit a three-run homer to lift the Cubs to their second victory in five games.