ST. LOUIS >> Shane Victorino helped the Philadelphia Phillies make a statement.

Victorino and Freddy Galvis each drove in three runs, including Galvis’ go-ahead single in the sixth inning, and the Philadelphia Philles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-9 on Thursday.

“We had the early lead, lost the lead early. This was a test of character,” Victorino said.  “What kind of team really are we? I think we can be a great team. It’s just a matter of us going out there and doing it.”

Victorino hit a two-out, two-run double in the second inning.

Placido Polanco, Carlos Ruiz and Ty Wigginton added three hits apiece for Philadelphia, which had a season-high 18.

Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 13th straight save.

“That was a really good game for us,” Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. “The hits that we got, that was definitely a confidence booster for us. We’ll be OK.”

St. Louis narrowed the margin to 9-8 with a two-out homer by David Freese. His 10th homer of the season went 463 feet and is the second longest homer in the stadium’s seven-year history.

“I’d say they did a great job of fighting and staying with it, not quitting,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s something we’ve seen pretty consistently with this team. You just hate to have to fight that much.”

Reds 6, Braves 3

Rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco capped a series full of homers with his first career grand slam, leading host Cincinnati over Atlanta.

Giants 14, Marlins 7

Melky Cabrera had three hits and drove in four runs for visiting San Francisco, which gave starter Ryan Vogelsong robust run support for a change.

Padres 11, Mets 5

Will Venable hit a pair of RBI doubles and Cameron Maybin had two run-scoring singles as San Diego broke out the offense after a long rain delay in New York.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Indians 2, Tigers 1

Justin Masterson matched Justin Verlander pitch for pitch for his first career win over Detroit, and first-place Cleveland did just enough to beat the reigning AL MVP to complete a three-game sweep of visiting Detroit.

Shin-Soo Choo homered on the third pitch from Verlander as the Indians opened a six-game lead over third-place Detroit in the AL Central.

White Sox 11, Twins 8

Paul Konerko and Alex Rios hit back-to-back homers and Alejandro De Aza added a grand slam to cap a six-run sixth, leading host Chicago over Minnesota.

Angels 3, Mariners 0

Albert Pujols had three hits, including the 450th home run of his career and Dan Haren struck out a career-high 14 in his sixth career shutout as Los Angeles beat host Seattle.