Danny Espinosa (8) of the Washington Nationals celebrates scoring the winning run with teammate Jayson Werth (28) as catcher Brian McCann (16) of the Atlanta Braves walks off the field Monday. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Nationals 5, Braves 4
WASHINGTON — Atlanta second baseman Dan Uggla fumbled Chad Tracy's ground ball in the 13th inning, allowing Danny Espinosa to score the winning run, and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 Monday night.
Washington grabbed a six-game lead in the NL East, handing Atlanta its third straight loss.
Ian Desmond led off the 13th with an infield single off Cristhian Martinez (5-3) before Espinosa tried to bunt and hit into a forceout. Kurt Suzuki then hit a slow roller for an infield hit, allowing Espinosa to take third.
With the infield in, Tracy hit a ball to Uggla, who appeared confused and instead of either trying to get Espinosa at the plate or attempting to turn a double play, he fumbled it, and Espinosa scored the game-winner.
Craig Stammen (6-1) pitched two hitless innings for the win.
Phillies 12, Reds 5
PHILADELPHIA — John Mayberry Jr. hit a two-run homer and Ryan Howard and Erik Kratz had solo shots to back Roy Halladay, helping the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds 12-5 on Monday night.
Halladay (7-7) wasn't sharp, allowing five runs and 10 hits in seven innings. But the offence bailed out the two-time Cy Young Award winner.
Domonic Brown hit a go-ahead two-run double off Mike Leake (5-8) in a four-run fifth. Mayberry had three hits and three RBIs, Chase Utley, Howard and Kratz each drove in two and Juan Pierre had three hits and three runs.
The Phillies have won seven straight over the Reds and 12 of 13, dating to 2010.
The NL-Central leading Reds lost for just the third time in 11 games.
Rockies 3, Mets 1
NEW YORK — Tyler Colvin hit a tying homer off R.A. Dickey in the fifth inning then made a diving play in the eighth to preserve the lead, and the Colorado Rockies beat the New York Mets 3-1 on Monday night.
Jonathan Herrera bunted for a hit in the top of the eighth and made his way around the bases with help from some inept defence to give Colorado a 2-1 lead.
Colvin's first home run in 105 at-bats, denied the knuckleballer a chance at his 16th win and helped the Rockies to their sixth victory in eight games.
Rafael Betancourt, the Rockies' fifth pitcher, put two runners on before getting Mike Baxter to fly out to centre finishing his 24th save.
Marlins 12, Diamondbacks 3
PHOENIX — Giancarlo Stanton homered twice, including the first of back-to-back home runs during Miami's nine-run fourth inning, and the Marlins routed the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-3 on Monday night.
Justin Ruggiano homered after Stanton, and Jose Reyes had four hits — including three doubles — scored twice and drove in a run for the Marlins, who have won three of four.
Miami's 10 hits in the fourth matched a franchise record set last September 9 at Pittsburgh and the 12 runs and 20 hits were season highs.
Marlins starter Mark Buehrle (11-11) was the beneficiary of the offence, allowing two runs on six hits over seven innings for his second straight win. He struck out four without a walk.
Joe Saunders (6-10) allowed nine runs on 12 hits in 3 2-3 innings.
Giants 2, Dodgers 1
LOS ANGELES — Madison Bumgarner scattered four hits over eight scoreless innings, Pablo Sandoval drove in both runs and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Monday night to regain the NL West lead by a half-game.
Bumgarner pitched his second scoreless outing of the season for the Giants, who have won six of their last nine games and 11 of 17. They erased the Dodgers' half-game lead in a division race that has seen the rivals frequently swap leads.
Bumgarner (14-7) struck out 10 and walked none to even his road record at 6-6.
Pirates 1, Padres 3
SAN DIEGO — Edinson Volquez struck out 10 and Will Venable drove in two runs to lift the San Diego Padres to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
The loss comes on the heels of Pittsburgh's 19-inning 6-3 victory at St. Louis on Sunday afternoon.
San Diego, which snapped a five-game losing streak Sunday, has won 16 of 19 against the Pirates. Pittsburgh is a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the final wild-card berth.
Volquez (8-9), who had a 13.83 ERA in his previous four starts, allowed one run and five hits. The right-hander walked three and hit a batter.
It was the first time Volquez has pitched past the fourth inning in four starts this month.
Dale Thayer pitched the ninth for his seventh save in nine chances.
