Washington Nationals punish Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves on cloud nine

Instead, Chicago blooded Carlos Villanueva on the mound, and the Nats took him for four runs in less than three innings.

The Nationals accrued 19 hits - Ryan Zimmerman with four, Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon getting three each - on their way to a sixth win in their past seven.

Washington remains one-and-a-half games behind the National League's East division-leading Atlanta Braves, who made it nine wins in succession with a 10-4 trouncing of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Braves conceded three runs at the top of the first inning, but bounced back largely thanks to a five-run fourth with Andrelton Simmons batting in four runs.

Also in the NL East, the Miami Marlins earned a 6-5 win over the St Louis Cardinals courtesy of two ninth inning runs, while the Philadelphia Phillies fell to a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets were humbled 5-3 by the Texas Rangers.

NL Central pace-setters the Milwaukee Brewers were 1-0 winners over the Cincinnati Reds, improving their buffer at the top to five games on the Cardinals.

A five-run seventh inning could not spare the Los Angeles Dodgers from an 8-7 defeat to the Colorado Rockies in their all-NL West clash.

The Dodgers remain half-a-game clear top of the standings, although the San Francisco Giants closed the gap with a 5-3 victory over the San Diego Padres after 10 innings.

In the American League, Central leaders the Detroit Tigers were felled 7-2 by the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Kansas City Royals remain four games behind the Tigers after a 7-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians, who are seven games off the pace.

The Seattle Mariners won a 14-inning thriller over the Chicago White Sox 3-2, while the Minnesota Twins walked off against the New York Yankees 2-1 after 11 innings.

The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles split their double-header, with the Red Sox walking off in game one 3-2 before the Orioles retaliated with a 7-4 triumph.

The Orioles are one game clear of the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL's East, after the Canadian outfit were humbled 5-1 by AL West leaders the Oakland Athletics.

The Blue Jays endured a horror day, with star first baseman Edwin Encarnacion incurring a right quad strain in what could prove to be a major blow for their post-season hopes.

The Los Angeles Angels are three-and-a-half games behind Oakland, after beating the Houston Astros 11-5 for their third straight victory.