Chris Heisey and the Cincinnati Reds finally got a couple of big hits against the Philadelphia Phillies.

It was too late to stop an embarrassing four-game sweep.

Heisey came off the disabled list and hit a three-run homer, but Ryan Howard went deep to lead Philadelphia to a 6-4 victory Thursday.

“Everybody’s playing well,” Howard said. “Atlanta’s playing well. Milwaukee’s playing well. The way I see it, we need to keep our foot on the gas and not let up.”

Mike Leake (11-9) gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings for Cincinnati, which had won six of seven coming into the series. Leake struck out six and walked one.

“Leake threw the ball pretty good,” Baker said. “They got a some bloops and infield hits.”

Philadelphia got to Leake for three runs in the second inning. Brian Schneider, pitcher Vance Worley and Shane Victorino each had an RBI single.

“I was falling behind,” Leake said. “I wasn’t attacking like I did the rest of the game.”

It could have been worse for the Reds but centre fielder Drew Stubbs cut down Schneider when he tried to score on Worley’s bouncer up the middle.

“There is a big-time small margin for error against them,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “If you don’t take advantage of chances which are rare, you don’t have much of a chance. They rarely help you out with a walk. They pound the strike zone and throw quality strikes.”

Elsewhere in the NL it was: St. Louis 8 Milwaukee 4; Los Angeles 6 Pittsburgh 4; Atlanta 5 Washington 2; and New York 7 Florida 5.

At Cincinnati, the Reds snapped their streak of consecutive scoreless innings at 21 in the bottom half. Brandon Phillips doubled to left, advanced to third on Edgar Renteria’s groundout to shortstop and scored on Toronto native Joey Votto’s sacrifice fly to centre.

Worley (10-1) allowed four runs and eight hits, struck out seven and walked one. The first six of his Ks came on called third strikes, most of them on sinkers, he said.

The Phillies improved to 15-2 in Worley’s 17 starts this season and have won each of his last 13, their longest streak since they won a club-record 15 consecutive Steve Carlton starts in 1972.

Worley was cruising before the Reds opened their seventh with three consecutive hits. Stubbs doubled and Ryan Hanigan singled before pinch-hitter Heisey hit an opposite-field drive to right to get Cincinnati within two.

Heisey was activated from the disabled list before the game. He had been out since Aug. 7 with a strained left oblique.

Michael Martinez hit a two-run homer to help the Phillies (87-46) move 41 games over .500 for the first time since Aug. 26, 1976, when they improved to 83-42 with a win at Cincinnati. It was Philadelphia’s first four-game sweep at Cincinnati since May 13-16, 1916.

Martinez’s third homer landed in the fourth row of right-field seats in the seventh, giving the Phillies a 6-1 lead. It came against Jared Burton, who was making his first appearance of the year.

“What really hurt was the home run by Martinez,” Baker said. “Heisey hit that big home run to make it close. We missed Heisey, big time.”

Philadelphia won seven of eight games against the Reds this season to improve to 30-12 against them over the last six seasons.

Howard hit a solo shot to left-centre on a 3-1 pitch from Leake in the sixth, giving Philadelphia a 4-1 lead and extending his streak of consecutive seasons with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs to six.

Cardinals 8 Brewers 4

At Milwaukee, Albert Pujols hit a grand slam and a solo homer, helping St. Louis beat the Brewers to complete a three-game sweep against the NL Central leaders.

—

Dodgers 6 Pirates 4

At Pittsburgh, Dana Eveland pitched eight crisp innings and the surging Dodgers survived a shaky ninth inning to get the win.

—

Braves 5 Nationals 2

At Atlanta, Tim Hudson gave the Braves’ ailing rotation a lift and the Braves got home runs from Brian McCann and Chipper Jones.

—

Mets 7 Marlins 5

At New York, Miguel Batista pitched six serviceable innings to earn his 100th win, and David Wright hit a two-run single in a four-run third against the bumbling Marlins.

CINCINNATI —

Chris Heisey and the Cincinnati Reds finally got a couple of big hits against the Philadelphia Phillies. And it was too late to stop an embarrassing four-game sweep.

Heisey came off the disabled list and hit a three-run homer, but Ryan Howard went deep to lead Philadelphia to a 6-4 victory Thursday.

“There is a big-time small margin for error against them,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “If you don’t take advantage of chances which are rare, you don’t have much of a chance. They rarely help you out with a walk. They pound the strike zone and throw quality strikes.”

Mike Leake (11-9) gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings for Cincinnati, which had won six of seven coming into the series. Leake struck out six and walked one.

“Leake threw the ball pretty good,” Baker said. “They got a some bloops and infield hits.”

Philadelphia got to Leake for three runs in the second inning. Brian Schneider, pitcher Vance Worley and Shane Victorino each had an RBI single.

“I was falling behind,” Leake said. “I wasn’t attacking like I did the rest of the game.”

It could have been worse for the Reds but center fielder Drew Stubbs cut down Schneider when he tried to score on Worley’s bouncer up the middle.

The Reds snapped their streak of consecutive scoreless innings at 21 in the bottom half. Brandon Phillips doubled to left, advanced to third on Edgar Renteria’s groundout to shortstop and scored on Joey Votto’s sacrifice fly to center.

Worley (10-1) allowed four runs and eight hits, struck out seven and walked one. The first six of his Ks came on called third strikes, most of them on sinkers, he said.

The Phillies improved to 15-2 in Worley’s 17 starts this season and have won each of his last 13, their longest streak since they won a club-record 15 consecutive Steve Carlton starts in 1972.

Worley was cruising before the Reds opened their seventh with three consecutive hits. Stubbs doubled and Ryan Hanigan singled before pinch-hitter Heisey hit an opposite-field drive to right to get Cincinnati within two.

Heisey was activated from the disabled list before the game. He had been out since Aug. 7 with a strained left oblique.

Michael Martinez hit a two-run homer to help the Phillies (87-46) move 41 games over .500 for the first time since Aug. 26, 1976, when they improved to 83-42 with a win at Cincinnati. It was Philadelphia’s first four-game sweep at Cincinnati since May 13-16, 1916.

Martinez’s third homer landed in the fourth row of right-field seats in the seventh, giving the Phillies a 6-1 lead. It came against Jared Burton, who was making his first appearance of the year.

“What really hurt was the home run by Martinez,” Baker said. “Heisey hit that big home run to make it close. We missed Heisey, big time.”

Philadelphia won seven of eight games against the Reds this season to improve to 30-12 against them over the last six seasons.

Howard hit a solo shot to left-center on a 3-1 pitch from Leake in the sixth, giving Philadelphia a 4-1 lead and extending his streak of consecutive seasons with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs to six.

NOTES: The Reds promoted INFs Juan Francisco and Chris Valaika, RHPs Jared Burton and Carlos Fisher, LHPs Jeremy Horst and Matt Maloney and C Devin Mesoraco from Triple-A Louisville before the game. OF Fred Lewis cleared waivers and was outrighted to Louisville. … The Reds left after the game for their second consecutive 10-day, nine-game road trip, starting with three in St. Louis. NL ERA-leader Johnny Cueto, coming off a career-high 11-strikeout performance on Sunday, is Cincinnati’s scheduled starter on Friday. … The Phillies headed to Florida for a three-game series with the Marlins. RHP Roy Oswalt, a 6-5 loser to Florida last Friday, is scheduled to start for Philadelphia.

“There is a big-time small margin for error against them,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “If you don’t take advantage of chances which are rare, you don’t have much of a chance. They rarely help you out with a walk. They pound the strike zone and throw quality strikes.”

Mike Leake (11-9) gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings for Cincinnati, which had won six of seven coming into the series. Leake struck out six and walked one.

“Leake threw the ball pretty good,” Baker said. “They got a some bloops and infield hits.”

Philadelphia got to Leake for three runs in the second inning. Brian Schneider, pitcher Vance Worley and Shane Victorino each had an RBI single.

“I was falling behind,” Leake said. “I wasn’t attacking like I did the rest of the game.”

It could have been worse for the Reds but center fielder Drew Stubbs cut down Schneider when he tried to score on Worley’s bouncer up the middle.

The Reds snapped their streak of consecutive scoreless innings at 21 in the bottom half. Brandon Phillips doubled to left, advanced to third on Edgar Renteria’s groundout to shortstop and scored on Joey Votto’s sacrifice fly to center.

Worley (10-1) allowed four runs and eight hits, struck out seven and walked one. The first six of his Ks came on called third strikes, most of them on sinkers, he said.

The Phillies improved to 15-2 in Worley’s 17 starts this season and have won each of his last 13, their longest streak since they won a club-record 15 consecutive Steve Carlton starts in 1972.

Worley was cruising before the Reds opened their seventh with three consecutive hits. Stubbs doubled and Ryan Hanigan singled before pinch-hitter Heisey hit an opposite-field drive to right to get Cincinnati within two.

Heisey was activated from the disabled list before the game. He had been out since Aug. 7 with a strained left oblique.

Michael Martinez hit a two-run homer to help the Phillies (87-46) move 41 games over .500 for the first time since Aug. 26, 1976, when they improved to 83-42 with a win at Cincinnati. It was Philadelphia’s first four-game sweep at Cincinnati since May 13-16, 1916.

Martinez’s third homer landed in the fourth row of right-field seats in the seventh, giving the Phillies a 6-1 lead. It came against Jared Burton, who was making his first appearance of the year.

“What really hurt was the home run by Martinez,” Baker said. “Heisey hit that big home run to make it close. We missed Heisey, big time.”

Philadelphia won seven of eight games against the Reds this season to improve to 30-12 against them over the last six seasons.

Howard hit a solo shot to left-center on a 3-1 pitch from Leake in the sixth, giving Philadelphia a 4-1 lead and extending his streak of consecutive seasons with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs to six.

NOTES: The Reds promoted INFs Juan Francisco and Chris Valaika, RHPs Jared Burton and Carlos Fisher, LHPs Jeremy Horst and Matt Maloney and C Devin Mesoraco from Triple-A Louisville before the game. OF Fred Lewis cleared waivers and was outrighted to Louisville. … The Reds left after the game for their second consecutive 10-day, nine-game road trip, starting with three in St. Louis. NL ERA-leader Johnny Cueto, coming off a career-high 11-strikeout performance on Sunday, is Cincinnati’s scheduled starter on Friday. … The Phillies headed to Florida for a three-game series with the Marlins. RHP Roy Oswalt, a 6-5 loser to Florida last Friday, is scheduled to start for Philadelphia.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CINCINNATI (AP)—Cliff Lee(notes) wanted one more out. Instead, the dominating
left-hander had to settle for the biggest share of another shutout, one that
swept the Philadelphia Phillies to new heights.

Lee got his sixth straight win on Wednesday night, coming up one out short
of another complete game, and Hunter Pence(notes) homered for the second straight game,
setting up a 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that gave the NL East leaders
another big number.

They are 40 games over .500 for the first time this season, holding the
majors’ best record at 86-46. And there’s no wonder why. The Phillies lead the
majors with 19 shutouts.

“I didn’t know we have 19 shutouts,” Lee said. “I know we’ve got good
pitching and any day we’re capable of going out and shutting down another
offense.”

They have blanked the Reds the last two games and allowed a total of two
runs and 16 hits while taking the first three games of the series. It’s even
more impressive considering the Phillies had two unexpected days off over the
weekend because of Hurricane Irene, throwing the pitchers’ routines out of
whack.

“The starters—it’s unbelievable,” said closer Ryan Madson(notes), who got the
final out. “It just doesn’t seem like anything fazes them. They can do
anything. And it gives the whole team confidence when they’re out there.”

Cincinnati entered the series on a hot streak, winning four straight. The
Reds ran into an old problem—they can’t do anything against the Phillies’
pitching.

The Phillies swept them in the playoffs last season, with Roy Halladay(notes)
throwing a no-hitter. Philadelphia is 20-6 against Cincinnati lately, including
6-1 this season.

Lee (15-7) gave up only five hits through the first eight innings, then
retired the first two batters in the ninth. He gave up Joey Votto’s(notes) double,
walked Jay Bruce(notes) and hit Miguel Cairo(notes) with his 117th pitch, prompting manager
Charlie Manuel to let Madson finish it off.

Lee tried to talk Manuel out of making the pitching change.

“He asked me,” Manuel said. “I said I want Madson. He said, ‘You’re
sure?’ I said, ‘Damn sure.”’

Madson retired pinch-hitter Yonder Alonso(notes) on a foul pop for his 25th save in
27 chances. Lee wished he’d gotten the chance to get that last, elusive out.

“It’s not very often you go 8 2-3 and not give up a run and somehow not
feel good about it when it’s over,” Lee said. “It worked out. Madson came in
and got the guy out. It’s hard to question the move.”

Every time Lee takes the mound these days, it works.

Lee, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Tuesday, hasn’t lost since July 25.
The left-hander has given up only six earned runs in his last six starts. He’s
been especially tough on the road, where he hasn’t allowed a run in his last 30
2-3 innings since July 19.

He went 5-0 in June and did an encore by going 5-0 in August.

“I hope I have a good September and October, too,” Lee said.

Philadelphia scored in the first inning when the Reds failed to turn a
double play with two runners aboard. Pence led off the sixth with his 18th homer
off left-hander Dontrelle Willis(notes) (0-4), extending his hitting streak to seven
games. Philadelphia scored another run on a forceout in the seventh.

No matter how well he pitches or hits, Willis can’t get a win. He gets the
lowest run support among Reds starters, and the bullpen has blown save chances
in three of his starts.

“Guys on the other side of the diamond are pitching well,” Willis said.
“So I’m not frustrated. I like being in those type of games anyway.”

Earlier Wednesday, the Phillies made a move to strengthen their bench,
acquiring outfielder John Bowker(notes) from Pittsburgh. Bowker spent most of the
season in the minors, batting .306 with 15 homers.

Bowker bats left-handed and can play left field, right field and first base.
He drove over from Triple-A Indianapolis to join the team for the game.

Notes: Lee was loudly booed in the fourth, when he grounded to second
baseman Brandon Phillips(notes), took a couple steps toward first, waved his right hand
and headed back to the dugout. … Reds SS Paul Janish(notes) extended his career-worst
slump to 0 for 26. … The Phillies have won all seven of their four-game series
this season. They have never had a four-game sweep in Cincinnati. … The
Phillies will start RHP Vance Worley(notes) in the final game on Thursday afternoon.
Worley had a no-decision in his May 24 start against the Reds, giving up three
runs in five innings. The Reds will go with RHP Mike Leake(notes), who has given up 11
runs in 14 1-3 innings of his two starts against Philadelphia. … The Reds plan
to call up seven players from the minors on Thursday, including C Devin
Mesoraco(notes), their top draft pick in 2007. It will be his major league debut.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Hunter Pence homered for the second straight game, and Cliff Lee got his sixth straight win Wednesday night, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that took them to a new high point.

The NL East leaders are a season-best 40 games over .500, boasting the majors’ best record at 86-46.

Lee (15-7) extended the Phillie starters’ domination, coming within one out of his sixth shutout. He left with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth. Ryan Madson retired Yonder Alonso on a foul pop for his 25th save in 27 chances.

The Phillies’ second straight shutout gave them 19 this season, most in the majors.

Pence homered off left-hander Dontrelle Willis (0-4), the Reds’ hard-luck starter.

Cincinnati entered the series on a hot streak, winning four straight. The Reds ran into an old problem — they can’t do anything against the Phillies’ pitching.

The Phillies swept them in the playoffs last season, with Roy Halladay throwing a no-hitter. Philadelphia is 20-6 against Cincinnati lately, including 6-1 this season.

Philadelphia scored in the first inning when the Reds failed to turn a double play with two runners aboard. Pence led off the sixth with his 18th homer, extending his hitting streak to seven games. Philadelphia scored another run on a forceout in the seventh.

More than enough for this staff.

Lee, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Tuesday, hasn’t lost since July 25. The left-hander has given up only six earned runs in his last six starts. He’s been especially tough on the road, where he hasn’t allowed a run in his last 30 2-3 innings since July 19.

Lee retired the first two batters in the ninth, then gave up a double to Joey Votto, walked Jay Bruce and hit Miguel Cairo with his 117th pitch, forcing manager Charlie Manuel to go to the bullpen.

No matter how well he pitches or hits, Willis can’t get a win. He gets the lowest run support among Reds starters, and the bullpen has blown save chances in three of his starts. He gave up five hits in 6 2-3 innings.

Earlier Wednesday, the Phillies made a move to strengthen their bench, acquiring outfielder John Bowker from Pittsburgh. Bowker spent most of the season in the minors, batting .306 with 15 homers.

Bowker bats left-handed and can play left field, right field and first base. He drove over from Triple-A Indianapolis to join the team for the game.

Notes: Lee was loudly booed in the fourth, when he grounded to second baseman Brandon Phillips, took a couple steps toward first, waved his right hand and headed back to the dugout. … Reds SS Paul Janish extended his career-worst slump to 0 for 26. … The Phillies have won all seven of their four-game series this season. They have never had a four-game sweep in Cincinnati. … The Phillies will start RHP Vance Worley in the final game on Thursday afternoon. Worley had a no-decision in his May 24 start against the Reds, giving up three runs in five innings. The Reds will go with RHP Mike Leake, who has given up 11 runs in 14 1-3 innings of his two starts against Philadelphia. … The Reds plan to call up seven players from the minors on Thursday, including C Devin Mesoraco, their top draft pick in 2007. It will be his major league debut.

CINCINNATI — The Reds couldn’t touch ‘em again. Nothing new there. Whenever Cincinnati’s hitters dig in against the Phillies, they look bad and come away feeling that way, too. They managed only six hits while getting shut out by Philadelphia for the second straight game, 3-0 on Wednesday night. Cliff Lee came within one out of a complete game shutout, leaving with the bases loaded in the ninth. Ryan Madson got pinch-hitter Yonder Alonso on a foul pop to finish it. It’s getting old in Cincinnati. The Reds entered the series on a hot streak, winning four straight. They ran into an old problem — they can’t do anything against the Phillies’ pitching. The Phillies swept them in the playoffs last season, with Roy Halladay throwing a no-hitter. Philadelphia is 20-6 against Cincinnati lately, including 6-1 this season. And there’s no wondering why. “When you have pitching like they do, every run they score is huge,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “Their pitching staff gets paid what our whole payroll is. They earn their money.” He was exaggerating — slightly — about the payroll.Philadelphia’s top four starters — Lee, Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt — make $56.5 million this season. Cincinnati’s opening day payroll was $76 million. Right now, they are worlds apart. The NL East leaders are a season-best 40 games over .500, boasting the majors’ best record at 86-46. The Reds have slipped back below .500. Lee (15-7) extended the Phillies’ domination, winning his sixth consecutive start. He retired the first two batters in the ninth, gave up a double by Joey Votto, walked Jay Bruce and hit Miguel Cairo with his 117th pitch, prompting manager Charlie Manuel to let Madson finish it off. “Lee had control of all his pitches,” Baker said. Hunter Pence homered off left-hander Dontrelle Willis (0-4), the Reds’ hard-luck starter who couldn’t get a break again. Philadelphia scored in the first inning when the Reds failed to turn a double play with two runners aboard. Pence led off the sixth with his 18th homer, extending his hitting streak to seven games. Philadelphia scored another run on a forceout in the seventh. No matter how well he pitches or hits, Willis can’t get a win.He gets the lowest run support among Reds starters, and the bullpen has blown save chances in three of his starts. He gave up five hits in 6 2-3 innings. “Guys on the other side of the diamond are pitching well,” Willis said. “So I’m not frustrated. I like being in those type of games anyway.” Notes: Lee was loudly booed in the fourth, when he grounded to second baseman Brandon Phillips, took a couple steps toward first, waved his right hand and headed back to the dugout. … Phillips’ hitting streak ended at 13 games, the longest by a Red this season…. SS Paul Janish extended his career-worst slump to 0 for 26….The Phillies have won all seven of their four-game series this season. They have never had a four-game sweep in Cincinnati…. The Phillies will start RHP Vance Worley in the final game on Thursday afternoon. Worley had a no-decision in his May 24 start against the Reds, giving up three runs in five innings. The Reds will go with RHP Mike Leake, who has given up 11 runs in 14 1-3 innings of his two starts against Philadelphia. … The Reds plan to call up seven players from the minors on Thursday, including C Devin Mesoraco, their top draft pick in 2007. It will be his major-league debut.