ST. LOUIS — For three games, the Los Angeles Dodgers piled up hits and had nothing to show for it. To end a season-worst four-game losing streak, they made a few count.

Matt Kemp and Casey Blake combined for seven hits and Kemp's two-run single in the 10th was the difference in the Dodgers' 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals last night.

"We've been playing hard, we haven't been driving in any runs," Kemp said. "Our starting pitching has kept us in the ballgames and we've just got to get it done when we've got runners in scoring position."

Blake had four hits and is 7 for 10 the last two games for Los Angeles, which avoided a four-game sweep and has not been swept all season. The Dodgers lead the NL in hitting and are second in scoring with an average of nearly five runs. They finally got rolling after totaling three runs on 33 hits the first three games.

"It was important to get yesterday's game, so you can imagine what today's was," manager Joe Torre said. "To bounce back, it doesn't surprise me."

The Dodgers were 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position after going 4 for 25 the first three games. James McDonald (3-2) worked a perfect ninth and Jonathan Broxton finished for his 24th save in 27 chances.

METS, ROCKIES SPLIT

Jorge De La Rosa set a franchise record by winning his seventh consecutive start and visiting Colorado earned a split of the day-night doubleheader and snapped New York's five-game winning streak. De La Rosa (9-7) pitched 6 1/3 solid innings, and Clint Barmes hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in a 4-2 victory. In the opener, Johan Santana (12-8) struck out eight in seven sharp innings in the Mets' 7-0 victory.

GIANTS 7, PHILLIES 2

Pablo Sandoval splashed a solo home run into McCovey Cove on the 50th anniversary of Hall of Famer Willie McCovey's debut with the Giants and host San Francisco beat Philadelphia. Jonathan Sanchez (4-9) struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings in the left-hander's first home start since throwing a no-hitter July 10 against San Diego.

PADRES 7, REDS 4

Rookie Will Venable hit a three-run homer to help Tim Stauffer earn his first win in almost three years as host San Diego beat Cincinnati. Stauffer (1-2) allowed seven hits and one run in seven innings for his first win since beating Los Angeles, 4-2, on Aug. 21, 2006.

BREWERS 7, NATIONALS 5

Yovani Gallardo struck out 11 in seven innings and Mike Cameron slid under catcher Wil Nieves' tag for the go-ahead run in the seventh, lifting host Milwaukee over Washington. Gallardo (10-7) allowed five hits and a walk.

BRAVES 6, MARLINS 3

Brian McCann's three-run homer in the 10th inning gave visiting Atlanta the victory. Nate McLouth led off the Braves' 10th against Luis Ayala (1-3) with a single. After a sacrifice and an intentional walk to Chipper Jones, McCann hit a 2-2 pitch over the right-center field wall.

CUBS 12, ASTROS 3

Kevin Hart won his third straight start, Jake Fox and Milton Bradley hit back-to-back homers in the third and host Chicago beat Houston. Hart (3-1), in only his fourth major league start, allowed six hits and three runs in six innings.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

ORIOLES 7, ROYALS 3

Rookie Brad Bergesen allowed one run in seven innings, then hobbled off the mound after being hit with a line drive on his final pitch, and host Baltimore beat Kansas City. Bergesen (7-5) was struck in the leg by a sharp grounder off the bat of Billy Butler. Catcher Matt Wieters picked up the loose ball and threw out Butler to end the inning.

RANGERS 7, MARINERS 1

Derek Holland took a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning and Michael Young hit two of host Texas' five home runs. Holland (4-6) retired 24 of his first 25 batters and struck out 10. The only hits he allowed were Jack Hannahan's single in the fifth and Franklin Gutierrez's single in the ninth.

RED SOX 8, ATHLETICS 5

Hours after he was linked to a positive drug test, David Ortiz hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning as host Boston beat Oakland. With two runners aboard, Ortiz hit a two-out pitch from Craig Breslow (4-5) to right-center, giving Boston a 6-5 lead.

WHITE SOX 3, YANKEES 2

DeWayne Wise's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth gave host Chicago the victory. With runners at first and second, Wise hit a liner to center that scored Scott Podsednik.