Marlins’ Willis Waltzes to His 20th Victory

Dontrelle Willis became the first pitcher in Marlin history to earn 20 victories in a season, giving up four hits over six innings to help Florida beat the Washington Nationals, 12-1, on Wednesday night at Washington in a game between clubs chasing Houston in the NL wild-card race.

Willis improved to 20-8 with a 2.52 earned-run average, tying St. Louis’ Chris Carpenter (20-4) for the major league lead in wins.

“I’m dumbfounded right now, very ecstatic just because of how my teammates felt for me today. They were pulling for me,” Willis said. “I’m kind of breathtaken. It’s historic.”

Jeff Conine, Juan Encarnacion, Damion Easley and Paul Lo Duca each had two hits, as did Willis, to lead the offense. The pitcher collected a single and a double, scored twice and drove in a run.

Houston 8, Philadelphia 6 -- Craig Biggio hit a three-run homer against Billy Wagner with two out in the ninth inning at Philadelphia to give the Astros a three-game sweep and their 12th consecutive victory over the Phillies.

Atlanta 4, New York 3 -- Ryan Langerhans hit a two-out, two-run single in the 10th inning, and the Braves rallied twice to complete a three-game sweep of the slumping Mets at Atlanta.

San Diego 4, Colorado 2 -- Mark Loretta homered and scored twice at San Diego, and Adam Eaton won his 10th game for the Padres, who reached the .500 mark at 69-69.

Arizona 4, Pittsburgh 2 -- Brandon Webb gave up two runs over seven innings at Pittsburgh, and the Diamondbacks handed the Pirates their 10th consecutive home loss.

Chicago 2, St. Louis 1 -- Greg Maddux pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings and earned his 317th victory with a win at St. Louis.

Milwaukee 14, Cincinnati 5 -- Rookie J.J. Hardy hit his first grand slam and set a career high with four hits and six RBIs at Cincinnati.