Billingsley brilliant in Dodgers' victory

HOUSTON — Chad Billingsley didn't have much to say about his dominating performance against the Houston Astros on Thursday night.

That's OK. Everyone else couldn't stop raving about it.

Billingsley pitched three-hit ball into the eighth inning and Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake each drove in a run, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 win over the Astros.

"How about that game the kid pitched?" Dodgers manager Joe Torre asked. "It was something."

Billingsley (4-0) has won his first four starts of the season, the first Dodgers pitcher to do so since Kazuhisa Ishii won his first six in 2002. He was helped by double plays that ended the second, fifth and sixth innings. Billingsley halted Houston's recent torrid hitting streak where the team had 11 hits in each of the previous three games. The win broke a two-game skid for the Dodgers.

BREWERS 6, PHILLIES 1: At Philadelphia, Dave Bush held the Phillies hitless for 71/3 innings before pinch-hitter Matt Stairs homered off the foul pole in Milwaukee's win.

Several innings after World Series MVP Cole Hamels was forced to leave after getting hit in the left shoulder by Prince Fielder's line drive, Bush (1-0) became the big story on the mound.

Ryan Braun and Hall homered for Milwaukee and Fielder contributed a three-run double.

Hamels (0-2), also the MVP of the 2008 NLCS, struck out six in the first three innings. One pitch after giving up Braun's two-run homer in the fourth, Hamels was struck on the front of his left shoulder by Fielder's liner that went for an infield single. Hamels said he was OK and did not expect to miss a start.

CARDINALS 12, METS 8: At St. Louis, Albert Pujols homered twice and Kyle Lohse (3-0) hung on for another win as the Cardinals beat the New York Mets to complete a three-game sweep.

Rick Ankiel homered and doubled twice and Skip Schumaker hit a pair of RBI doubles as the Cardinals punished Livan Hernandez and won their seventh in a row at home. The Mets lost their fourth straight overall.

Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church homered for the Mets.

REDS 7, CUBS 1: At Chicago, Aaron Harang allowed only one unearned run over seven innings and Joey Votto homered, doubled twice and singled, leading Cincinnati past the sloppy Cubs.

The Reds went 7-3 on their first road swing of the season, marking the first time since 2004 they'd won three series on the same trip.

Harang (2-2) scattered seven hits in outpitching Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano (1-1), who hasn't won at Wrigley Field since last Aug. 21.