Diamondbacks Move Past Padres in West

The Arizona Diamondbacks slugged their way into first place in the West Division.

Rookie catcher Chris Snyder hit two of Arizona’s season-high five home runs, including his first grand slam, and drove in five runs as the Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs, 13-6, Sunday at Wrigley Field.

Arizona won three of four games to move percentage points ahead of the slumping San Diego Padres in baseball’s worst division.

The Diamondbacks (52-55, .4859) have gone 8-6 since July 17, gaining 6 1/2 games on the Padres (51-54, .4857), who have lost 12 of 13.

Snyder, 24, a late-season call-up last year, came into the game batting .216 with 19 RBIs in 79 games this season.

Luis Gonzalez hit a pair of solo homers and an RBI double for the Diamondbacks, who roughed up Greg Maddux (8-8) by scoring nine runs in the fourth and fifth innings and matched their highest-scoring game of the season.

Maddux left after allowing consecutive doubles to Chad Tracy and Gonzalez to start the fifth. Mike Remlinger entered and struck out two, but also walked two to load the bases for Snyder, whose homer gave the Diamondbacks a 9-1 lead.

Cincinnati 7, San Diego 1 -- Adam Dunn and the Reds knocked the Padres out of first place. Dunn’s grand slam in the fifth inning was Cincinnati’s third homer of the game at San Diego.

Wily Mo Pena and Rich Aurilia also homered to help complete the three-game sweep for the Reds, who have won a season-high five straight.

New York 9, Houston 4 -- Ramon Castro’s bloop single in the eighth inning gave the Mets their first lead in three games at Houston, then they scored four runs in the ninth that ended the Astros’ seven-game winning streak. The Astros lost for only the second time in 15 games. They went 22-7 in July.

Washington 4, Florida 2 -- Livan Hernandez (13-4) gave up 11 hits and two runs in eight tough innings and helped himself with a run-scoring single at Miami as the Nationals ended a season-high six-game losing streak. Hernandez threw 145 pitches -- in 91-degree heat. Chad Cordero worked a perfect ninth for his league-leading 35th save.

Atlanta 5, Pittsburgh 4 -- Rafael Furcal homered from both sides of the plate to help John Smoltz win his eighth straight decision. Smoltz (12-5), who hasn’t lost since June 6, gave up three runs and eight hits in eight innings. The Braves, who completed July with an 18-8 record, are 6-0 on a homestand that ends with today’s finale of the four-game series against the Pirates.

Milwaukee 5, San Francisco 1 -- Chris Capuano (12-6) took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning at Milwaukee. He yielded two hits in eight innings, improving to 7-0 in nine starts since losing to Tampa Bay on June 13. It is the longest winning streak by a Brewer pitcher since reliever Curtis Leskanic won seven straight decisions in 2000.

Colorado 9, Philadelphia 2 -- The Rockies scored all their runs in the fifth inning and avoided a four-game sweep. Jeff Francis (10-7) had another solid outing at Coors Field, shutting out the Phillies on four hits over six innings. He became the first National League rookie to win 10 games this season, and improved to 8-2 at home.