Myers, Phils top Cubs, nab share of wild-card lead

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Brett Myers' power pitching was the perfect complement to Jamie Moyer's crafty style and boosted the Phillies into a tie for the NL wild-card lead.

NL Wild Card Standings
	W	L	Pct.	GB
Dodgers	79	73	.520	--
Phillies	79	73	.520	--
Giants	75	76	.497	3½
Marlins	75	77	.493	4
Complete standings

Myers tossed his first complete game in 13 months and Chase Utley hit a two-run homer to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.

The Phillies (79-73) won for the seventh time in nine games and pulled even when Los Angeles lost to Pittsburgh 6-4 a few hours later. It's the first time this year Philadelphia has held a share of the wild-card lead, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Myers (12-6) gave up two runs, six hits and tied his career high with 12 strikeouts in winning his fourth straight decision. He is 6-1 in 10 starts since losing to Florida on July 28. It was his sixth career complete game and first since Aug. 20 last year against Pittsburgh.

A night earlier, Moyer allowed one run in seven innings. The 43-year-old left-hander has a much slower fastball and uses more off-speed pitches to get hitters out. Meanwhile, Myers relies on hard stuff.

Manager Charlie Manuel likes having Myers pitch behind Moyer.

"They have two different styles. It doesn't matter how you do it as long as you get the job done," he said.

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After Scott Moore's RBI single in the fourth gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead, the Phillies went ahead on Mike Lieberthal's RBI double and Abraham Nunez's run-scoring single in the bottom half of the inning against Les Walrond (0-1).

Nunez, who had a key two-run single in Tuesday night's win, is hitting .340 (16-for-47) since snapping an 0-for-20 slump.

"It feels good to be helping the team in important games," Nunez said. "I feel more comfortable up there."

Ryan Howard doubled off Will Ohman with one out in the fifth. With fans chanting "M-V-P!" and standing for each at-bat, Howard's bid for his major league-leading 58th homer fell several feet short. Howard went to third on Jeff Conine's single off Jae Kuk Ryu, and then beat first baseman Moore's throw home on Pat Burrell's grounder to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.

Utley hit his career-best 29th homer in the sixth. Jimmy Rollins doubled to start the inning. One out later, Utley lofted a 1-2 pitch into the right-field seats for a 5-1 lead.

Burrell hit his 26th homer, a drive into the Phillies' bullpen off Roberto Novoa, to make it 6-1 in the seventh.

Aramis Ramirez drove in a run on a groundout after Freddie Bynum tripled with one out in the eighth to cut it to 6-2.

Walrond allowed two runs and three hits, striking out six in three-plus innings in his second career start. His start was the 73rd by a rookie pitcher for the Cubs this season.

"You wish you had all your guys and had a regular rotation, but we don't," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "So, you do the best you can with what you have."

Game notes
Rollins struck out his first three at-bats before his double. ... Utley struck out the two at-bats before he homered. ... Cubs SS Ronny Cedeno was 0-for-4, ending his 13-game hitting streak. ... Myers recorded his eighth career double-digit strikeout game, third this season. ... Burrell has four homers since Aug. 1.