Francisco blasts Phillies to victory over Cubs

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Ben Francisco's 12th inning homer provided the winning run for the Philadelphia Phillies in a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, the blast ensuring the World Series champions avoided a fourth straight loss.

The outfielder led off the 12th with a solo drive against pitcher Kevin Gregg before Phillies reliever Chad Durbin polished off the bottom half of the inning to pick up the save.

"It felt great to get a big hit like that in a pennant race," Francisco told reporters. "I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to be playing for a team with a chance to go to the playoffs."

The Cubs (58-53) forced extra innings with a ninth-inning run against Brad Lidge, who started the inning by walking Kosuke Fukudome and allowed the game-tying RBI single by Milton Bradley.

Behind right-hander Rich Harden, Chicago was in firm control with a 2-0 advantage before Jimmy Rollins rallied Philadelphia with a two-run homer in the sixth, a blow that broke up a no-hitter by the dominant starter.

Harden completed seven innings and struck out six batters before Carlos Marmol ran into trouble in the eighth.

The right-handed relief pitcher walked Ryan Howard with the bases loaded to bring in the go-ahead run, one of his three base on balls in the inning to go with one hit batsman.

Philadelphia (62-48) scratched out its runs despite just three hits while left-hander J.A. Happ kept the team close by holding the Cubs to two runs in six innings of work.

The 26-year-old Happ fired 100 pitches and took the no-decision to keep his record at 8-2 in his first full season. Scott Eyre (2-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings of perfect relief to pick up the win.

Despite leading the National League East by 3 games, Philadelphia has struggled as of late culminating with a 12-3 loss to the Florida Marlins on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.

The Phillies are hoping to get a further boost on Wednesday when veteran three-time Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez makes his first start for the team on his 2009 Major League debut.

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by John O'Brien)