Padres’ Peavy Stops Giants

Jake Peavy won for the fifth time in six starts, and Rich Aurilia had three hits in his first game for San Diego, helping the Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-1, Wednesday night at San Francisco.

Phil Nevin had two of San Diego’s 16 hits and drove in a run in his first game off the disabled list. San Diego won for the sixth time in seven games and moved back ahead of the Giants into second place by a percentage point in the National League West, 2 1/2 games behind the Dodgers.

Nevin, who had surgery July 5 on cartilage in his right knee, has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games. Ryan Klesko has hit in a season-high nine in a row and 15 of 17 overall.

Aurilia, acquired from Seattle on Monday, received a warm reception when he batted in the first inning and hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth. He played his first nine years in the majors with the Giants.

Pittsburgh 4, Atlanta 3 -- Kris Benson made another enticing start before the trade deadline, giving up five hits in eight innings to lead the Pirates at Atlanta.

Benson (8-7), in the last year of his contract and not expected to re-sign with the Pirates, is being scouted by about a half-dozen teams as the July 31 deadline approaches for trades without waivers.

Chicago 5, Cincinnati 4 -- Sammy Sosa hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning after a rain delay at Chicago, and the Cubs overcame a two-run deficit to end a three-game losing streak.

Todd Wellemeyer (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, stranding three runners in the seventh when he threw a called third strike past John Vander Wal in the pouring rain just before a 54-minute delay.

St. Louis 1, Milwaukee 0 -- Woody Williams threw seven innings of five-hit ball in 93-degree heat, singled twice and scored at St. Louis in the Cardinals’ 14th victory in their last 16 games. The Cardinals (60-34) have the best record in the major leagues and have won 11 of 12 at home.

Houston 5, Arizona 2 -- Andy Pettitte pitched a season-high eight innings, and the Astros extended the Diamondbacks’ losing streak to 10 with a victory at Phoenix. Arizona’s skid is one shy of the team record set from June 18-29.

Philadelphia 2, Florida 1 -- Ricky Ledee hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning, and Kevin Millwood pitched seven strong innings at Philadelphia to help the Phillies end their nine-game losing streak against the Marlins.

New York 5, Montreal 4 -- Nick Johnson dropped a routine throw to first base with two outs in the eighth inning at New York, allowing Ty Wigginton to score the go-ahead run for the Mets.