NL roundup: Braves continue their hot streak

ATLANTA — Martin Prado had three hits and scored three runs, Brian McCann hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs and Atlanta beat San Francisco 8-1 on Tuesday night.

The Braves have averaged 7.2 runs in a 5-1 start to their eight-game homestand and are 9-3 in their last 12 games overall.

The Giants, who fell out of the NL wild-card lead with Monday night's 11-3 loss to the Braves, have lost five of six.

Prado singled and scored on McCann's double in the first, and added another single in the three-run third. Chipper Jones had a run-scoring double, Garret Anderson had a sacrifice fly and Escobar added an RBI single in the inning.

The Braves added four runs off Ryan Sadowski (2-2) in the fourth on an RBI single by Prado and McCann's three-run homer.

Derek Lowe (9-7) allowed seven hits and one run in six innings. The Giants scored in the fifth on Juan Uribe's RBI single.

BREWERS 2, PIRATES 0: At Pittsburgh, Braden Looper allowed four hits over seven innings and Prince Fielder had two two-out RBI singles for Milwaukee. Last-place Pittsburgh, which snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Brewers on Monday, was shut out for the ninth time this season. Looper (9-4) won his fourth consecutive decision and for the fourth time in his past five starts. He walked three — one intentionally — and had one strikeout. Trevor Hoffman earned his 22nd save by retiring the side in order in the ninth. Fielder, whose 86 RBIs is second in the AL, drove in Craig Counsell in the fifth and in the seventh.