Houston swept the three-game series with the Cardinals and has won five straight. The Astros finished 21-9 for the month, third best record in the National League behind Chicago and Milwaukee.
Wigginton tied the August club record set by Jeff Bagwell in 2000 when he hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning. It was Wigginton’s 21st of the season.
The Cardinals fell 6½ games behind the Brewers in the wild card race. Before the weekend, they were 3½ games back.
Starter Wandy Rodriguez (8-6) left after 5 2/3 innings with a strained right oblique muscle. Club officials said he is day-to-day.
Rodriguez allowed seven hits and no walks, striking out four. He was replaced by Chris Sampson.
Sampson pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings and LaTroy Hawkins came in to pitch a perfect eighth.
Hawkins has now made 14 appearances without allowing a run since coming over in a trade with the Yankees July 30. He has struck out 17 in the 11 innings he has pitched for the Astros.
Jose Valverde pitched a perfect ninth inning and picked up his 37th save in 43 chances. He has recorded saves in each of his last 10 appearances, the longest streak in the National League this season.
Mets 6, Marlins 2
MIAMI - Pedro Martinez pitched six innings for only his second victory since July 7, and New York homered three times to beat Florida.
Back-to-back home runs in the third inning by Nick Evans and David Wright put the Mets ahead to stay. Carlos Beltran added his 21st home run.
The first two batters to face Martinez scored, but those were the only runs he allowed. Martinez (5-3) gave up seven hits but only one walk.
Phillies 5, Cubs 3
CHICAGO - Jayson Werth hit another home run against Chicago and 45-year-old Jamie Moyer got his 12th win, helping Philadelphia salvage a split of a four-game series at Wrigley Field.
Werth hit a two-run double in the first and a solo drive in the fifth for his 21st homer of the season. Werth, who went deep twice and drove in four runs in Philly’s 5-2 win Saturday, is 11-for-21 with four homers and 10 RBI against the Cubs this season.
The Cubs’ NL Central lead was trimmed to 4½ games over Milwaukee, which blanked Pittsburgh 7-0 on Sunday.
Moyer (12-7), who started his career with the Cubs in 1986, gave up eight hits and two runs in 5 1/3 innings, and the Phillies bullpen worked its way out of a couple of jams.
Dodgers 8, Diamondbacks 1
PHOENIX - Andre Ethier and Casey Blake hit first-inning homers, and Los Angeles Dodgers roughed up Brandon Webb and Arizona, climbing within 2½ games of the Diamondbacks in the NL West.
Derek Lowe (11-11) tossed six shutout innings as the Dodgers took two of three games from Arizona. Los Angeles won a road series for the first time since July 20, when they also took two of three in Phoenix.
After dropping Friday night’s opener to fall 4½ games back, Los Angeles rebounded to beat Arizona aces Dan Haren and Webb by a combined score of 14-3.
Nationals 8, Braves 4
WASHINGTON - Aaron Boone failed to lay down a sacrifice, then slammed a three-run, eighth-inning home run to lift Washington to its season-high sixth straight win.
Called on to bunt after a single by Ryan Zimmerman and a walk to Elijah Dukes, Boone popped Elmer Dessens’ first offering foul. Boone sent the next pitch from Dessens (0-1) into the left-field bullpen for his sixth homer, his first since May 27.
Boone finished with four RBI and Washington went on to score five times in the eighth, sending 11 men to the plate. It’s the Nationals’ longest winning streak since a 10-game run from June 2-12, 2005, the team’s first season in Washington after moving from Montreal.
Reds 9, Giants 3
CINCINNATI - Joey Votto went 4-for-4 with four RBI, Bronson Arroyo turned in another impressive start and Cincinnati beat San Francisco to complete its first three-game sweep of the Giants at home in 14 years.
Arroyo (13-10) also doubled in two runs and Jeff Keppinger scored three times for Cincinnati, which has won three straight for the first time since July 10-12.
Padres 2, Rockies 1
SAN DIEGO - Trevor Hoffman blew the save after a terrific outing by Jake Peavy but Luis Rodriguez singled in the winning run in the ninth to give San Diego a victory over Colorado.
Peavy struck out 13 over eight shutout innings but Hoffman (3-6) surrendered a pinch-hit RBI single to Chris Iannetta that tied it at 1. Hoffman, the career leader with 551 saves, has four blown saves this season.
Rookie Will Venable led off the bottom half with a base hit against Taylor Buchholz (6-4) and advanced to third on Brian Giles’ one-out single. Rodriguez followed with his winning hit.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Rangers 4, Angels 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Josh Hamilton and Marlon Byrd hit home runs and Texas beat Los Angeles to avoid a sweep of the four-game series.
Both home runs went to center field, a day after center fielder Torii Hunter had robbed the Rangers of a home run for the second straight game. Hunter, trying to win his eighth straight Gold Glove, was still a little banged up after hitting the back of his head against the fence and had the day off.
Kevin Millwood (9-7) won his third straight start, allowing two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings following back-to-back complete-game victories over Detroit and Kansas City.
The right-hander struck out seven and was lifted after 101 pitches by pitching coach Andy Hawkins, who ran the club after manager Ron Washington was ejected in the top of the seventh by plate umpire Bill Hohn for arguing a called third strike against Byrd.
Rays 10, Orioles 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - James Shields allowed one run over seven innings and Jason Bartlett hit his first homer in over an year to help American League East-leading Tampa Bay complete a three-game of Baltimore.
Shields (12-8) gave up six hits to match his career high for wins set last season. He has won seven of his last nine starts at home.
Bartlett had four hits and drove in two runs, including a solo shot during a two-run seventh that made it 10-1. It was his first homer since Aug. 27, 2007.
White Sox 4, Red Sox 2
BOSTON - Jim Thome tied Mickey Mantle for 14th place with his 536th career homer, Gavin Floyd won his fifth straight decision and Chicago beat Boston to avoid a three-game sweep.
Thome hit a two-out, two-run drive off Tim Wakefield (8-9) in the first inning for his 29th of the season. Thome and Paul Konerko hit consecutive two-out doubles in the sixth to give Chicago a 3-1 lead.
Floyd (15-6) allowed one run and seven hits over 6 2/3 innings against a team that outscored the White Sox 16-4 and outhit them 30-11 in the first two games.
Twins 12, Athletics 4
OAKLAND, Calif. - Justin Morneau homered and drove in four runs, Scott Baker won for only the second time since the All-Star break and Minnesota beat Oakland to split a four-game series.
Alexi Casilla also homered and Nick Punto added two hits, including an infield single that sparked the Twins’ five-run sixth inning.
Minnesota, which missed a chance to move into first in the AL Central Saturday when closer Joe Nathan’s throwing error in the ninth led to a 3-2 loss, remained a half-game back of the White Sox, who beat Boston 4-2.
Blue Jays 6, Yankees 2
NEW YORK - Roy Halladay won his fourth straight start, giving him four wins over New York this season.
Rod Barajas hit a two-run double that was misjudged by New York left fielder Xavier Nady, and Toronto played error-free ball again in its final game at Yankee Stadium.
Mariners 6, Indians 4
CLEVELAND - Adrian Beltre homered twice and Seattle beat Cleveland to complete a three-game sweep.
Beltre’s third multihomer game of the season and 19th of his career helped Seattle win for the seventh time in nine games.
Ryan Rowland-Smith (4-2) allowed two runs, one earned, and seven hits over 6 1/3 innings to win his second straight start. The converted reliever struck out two and walked one in his seventh start in 42 outings this year.
Tigers 4, Royals 2
DETROIT - Miguel Cabrera homered and drove in all four runs in Detroit’s win over Kansas City.
Cabrera drove in two runs with a bases-loaded double in the eighth to help the Tigers take two-of-three games from the Royals. He also hit a two-run homer in the sixth to tie the game.
