Greg Maddux pitched the Chicago Cubs into the lead in the NL wild-card race and gave Dusty Baker a win to remember.

Maddux threw seven shutout innings for his 302nd career win, Baker got his 1,000th victory as a manager and Chicago beat the Montreal Expos 5-2 Monday night.

"It's special. Not everyone gets to 1,000," said Baker, 1,000-848 in 12 seasons as a big league manager. "It's a nice personal goal."

Maddux (13-8), who became the 22nd pitcher in major league history to reach 300 wins on Aug. 7, scattered five hits, struck out two and walked none. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate, including an RBI single.

"Hitting is the best part of the game," Maddux said. "Seriously, it's such a blast when you get a hit."

LaTroy Hawkins got one out for his 20th save to help Chicago move a half-game ahead of idle San Diego and one game in front of San Francisco in the wild-card standings.

At New York, Damion Easley hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning and Florida extended its winning streak to four.Florida overcame a shaky outing by Dontrelle Willis, who allowed three homers for the first time in his career, including one to Mike Piazza in his return from the disabled list.

At Atlanta, Andruw Jones capped a ninth-inning rally with the winning single, and J.D. Drew went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.Drew led off the ninth with a single off Dustin Hermanson (5-6). Julio Franco followed with another shot that rolled past right fielder Ricky Ledee for a run-scoring triple. After Hermanson walked Eli Marrero, Jones lined a 2-2 pitch into right field to drive in pinch-runner Mike Hampton with the winning run.

At Cincinnati, Brad Ausmus hit a tiebreaking three-run homer off Phil Norton (1-5) in the sixth for the surging Astros, who have won seven of eight.Adam Dunn hit his 40th homer for the Reds, and Felipe Lopez added a two-run shot.

At Kansas City, Mo., Craig Monroe homered twice and drove in five runs, and Nate Robertson (12-7) threw his first career complete game.Ivan Rodriguez added a two-run homer for the Tigers, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

At Chicago, Timo Perez bunted in the go-ahead run and Joe Borchard hit the longest homer in U.S. Cellular Field history - an estimated 504 feet - in the makeup of a June 10 rainout. Chicago's victory gave the American League a 127-125 edge in interleague play this year.