Associated Press
MILWAUKEE ó Raul Ibanez doubled and scored on LaTroy Hawkins’ throwing error in the 10th inning, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 on Saturday night for their sixth straight win.
The NL East-leading Phillies are on pace for their best season in franchise history and could clinch a playoff berth on Sunday with a win and a loss by St. Louis.
Hunter Pence and Placido Polanco homered for the Phillies, who are 12 games ahead of Atlanta in the division.
Cardinals 4, Braves 3
ST. LOUIS ó Lance Berkman had a single, RBI double and walk ó reaching base seven straight times over two games ó and St. Louis inched closer in the NL wild card race by beating Atlanta.
Jaime Garcia (12-7) worked six efficient innings, and Rafael Furcal had two hits and his 300th career steal for the Cardinals, who doubled four times and scored four runs in the first three innings against Derek Lowe (9-14). They’ve taken the first two games of a three-game series to reduce Atlanta’s wild card lead to 51/2 games.
Freddie Freeman hit his 19th home run for the Braves, who are 4-7 in September after going 17-9 in August.
Cubs 5, Mets 4
NEW YORK ó Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning, rallying the Chicago Cubs past the New York Mets after they blew a three-run lead in the eighth Saturday.
Rockies 12, Reds 7
DENVER ó Jordan Pacheco’s first home run broke a fifth-inning tie and he added a two-run single in the eighth to lift Colorado over Cincinnati.
Marlins 3, Pirates 0
PITTSBURGH ó Anibal Sanchez pitched a one-hitter and tied his career high with 11 strikeouts to win for just the second time in 16 starts as Florida topped Pittsburgh.
Astros 9, Nationals 3
WASHINGTON ó Wandy Rodriguez earned his 11th win, and Carlos Corporan drove in three runs in Houston’s victory over Washington.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ó Evan Longoria hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning, helping the Tampa Bay Rays rebound after blowing a ninth-inning lead to beat the Boston Red Sox 6-5 on Saturday night and pull within 41/2 games of the AL wild card leaders.
Desmond Jennings opened the 11th with a triple off Daniel Bard (2-7) that lunging center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury couldn’t reach. After B.J. Upton hit a grounder to first, Longoria lined a single to center on an 0-2 pitch.
White Sox 7, Indians 3, 10 innings
CHICAGO ó Alex Rios hit a game-ending grand slam in the 10th inning to lift the Chicago White Sox over Cleveland.
Rios’ one out, first-pitch shot off Chris Perez (3-7) was Chicago’s first game-ending home run this season and his first career grand slam.
Tigers 3, Twins 2
DETROIT ó Brandon Inge hit his second game-ending homer of the season, giving the Tigers a victory over the Twins.
With two out in the bottom of the ninth, Inge hit a 2-1 pitch into the left-field stands off Glen Perkins (4-4) to give Detroit its eighth straight victory.
Athletics 8, Rangers 7
ARLINGTON, Texas ó Pinch-hitter Scott Sizemore’s grand slam in the sixth inning helped the Athletics end a nine-game skid against Texas.
With the score tied at 3, Rangers starter Alexi Ogando (12-8) hit Josh Willingham with a pitch leading off the sixth, and David DeJesus followed with a single. Texas manager Ron Washington replaced Ogando with left-hander Mike Gonzalez.
Blue Jays 5, Orioles 4
TORONTO ó Pinch-hitter J.P. Arencibia hit a game-winning single with two out in the ninth as the Blue Jays rallied to beat the Orioles, snapping Baltimore’s winning streak at three games.
Trailing 4-3 to begin the inning, Toronto’s David Cooper struck out against Clay Rapada before Orioles manager Buck Showalter called closer Kevin Gregg.