The Phillies increased their lead in the NL East to 2 1/2 games on Monday night with a win over the Braves, coupled with a loss by the Mets to the Cubs. Philadelphia broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the eighth with four runs to break the game open. Pat Burrell hit a three-run home run off Julian Tavarez in the inning. New York led Chicago 2-1 heading into the fourth inning, but the Cubs put six runs on the board to take the lead for good. The loss was the third-straight for the Mets. Milwaukee, idle on Monday, moved to within a game of New York for the NL Wild Card with the Mets' loss. The Phillies, meanwhile, have won three consecutive games to turn a half-game deficit (after Friday's action) into a healthy lead with less than a week left in the season.