Geovany Soto drove in seven runs and Chicago overcame Alfonso Soriano's second dropped fly ball in Pittsburgh this season to rally for a 14-9 victory on Tuesday.

The Cubs won their fourth straight to move 32 games above .500 for the first time since they were 90-58 on Sept 15, 1984. They trailed 8-7 before scoring seven times in the eighth against three Pirates pitchers. Craig Hansen (0-2) walked in the tying and go-ahead runs while walking three consecutive batters and Soto hit his second bases-loaded double in a span of five innings.

Soto had two three-run doubles and hit his 20th homer off Denny Bautista in the sixth.

The Cubs are 13-4 against the Pirates, which lost their season high-tying sixth straight and 10th in 12 games.

In San Diego, Brian Giles and Kevin Kouzmanoff both drove in three runs as San Diego denied Brandon Webb his 20th victory with a 9-2 win over Arizona on Tuesday night.

Webb (19-5) lost in his first bid to become the NL's first 20-game winner since 2005, allowing six runs and nine hits in 4-2/3 innings.

Giles hit a three-run homer and Kouzmanoff added a two-run double in a five-run third inning as Arizona lost its third straight and fourth in five games. Kouzmanoff added an RBI double in the seventh.

Chase Headley drove in two runs for San Diego.

The Diamondbacks retained their three-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

Rookie Chad Reineke (2-1) pitched five innings for the win and combined with five relievers on a three-hitter.

The loss was Webb's first in nine decisions.

Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer, his 25th, with two outs in the fourth for the Diamondbacks. Reineke gave up two runs and two hits in his third major-league start.

In Philadelphia, Chris Coste's RBI single in the bottom of the 13th capped Philadelphia's comeback from a 7-0 deficit and allowed the Phillies to retake the lead in the NL East, beating the Mets 8-7.

Fernando Tatis hit a three-run homer and the Mets staked Pedro Martinez to the seven-run lead. But the Phillies chipped away against Martinez and rallied against a New York bullpen that has blown 10 leads in the ninth inning, according to Stats LLC.

Ryan Howard hit his league-leading 35th homer and Jimmy Rollins was 5-for-7 with a two-run shot for Philadelphia, which moved a half-game ahead of the Mets with its ninth win in 11 games.

In St Ptersburg, Florida, the Toronto Blue Jays sliced Tampa Bay's lead atop the American League East division with a 6-2 win over the Rays on Tuesday.

Consecutive losses have cut Tampa Bay's advantage over Boston in the East to 3-1/2 games.

Toronto starter Roy Halladay beat Tampa Bay for the first time this season after three previous defeats. He gave up only two runs in six innings.

Vernon Wells had two run-scoring singles and added a solo homer in the ninth. He has four homers and nine RBIs in his past three games.

In New York, Boston moved a step closer to squashing the playoff hopes of arch rival New York with a comfortable 7-3 win.

The Yankees fell six games behind the Red Sox in the wildcard race.

(Agencies via China Daily August 28, 2008)