Associated Press
The Major League roundup …
ST. LOUIS ó Rafael Furcal hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Sunday to pull within one game of Atlanta in the NL wild-card race.
St. Louis trailed the Braves by 101/2 games on Aug. 26, but the Cardinals have won 15 of their last 20. The Cardinals close with a three-game series at Houston, which has the worst record in the major leagues, while Atlanta hosts Philadelphia, which has the best mark.
Trailing 2-1, St. Louis tied the score in the seventh on Yadier Molinaís career-best 14th homer.
Nationals 3, Braves 0
WASHINGTON ó The top four hitters in Atlantaís lineup, including Chipper Jones and Dan Uggla, went a combined 0 for 16 with five strikeouts in a loss to Washington. The Braves have dropped 10 of their past 15 games.
Phillies 9, Mets 4
NEW YORK ó Roy Halladay, Hunter Pence and the fully loaded Philadelphia Phillies snapped their eight-game losing streak
Brewers 9, Marlins 5
MILWAUKEE ó Ryan Braun homered and raised his NL-best batting average to .333, lifting Milwaukee over Florida for its team-record 55th victory at home.
Diamondbacks 5, Giants 2
PHOENIX ó Miguel Montero hit a two-run double to support Josh Collmenterís seven strong innings.Dodgers 6, Padres 2
SAN DIEGO ó Clayton Kershaw earned his 21st win, taking a two-hitter into the eighth inning to make his final case for the NL Cy Young Award.
Rockies 19, Astros 3
HOUSTON ó Colorado set a team record with 25 hits, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chris Iannetta each drove in five runs and the Rockies routed Houston.Reds 5, Pirates 4
PITTSBURGH ó Dontrelle Willis allowed three hits in six innings and had a two-run double to pick up his first win of the season as Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh.
American League NEW YORK ó The Boston Red Sox salvaged their AL wild-card lead when Jacoby Ellsbury hit a two-out, three-run homer in the 14th for a 7-4 win against the New York Yankees.
The Red Sox rallied from 3-0 deficit.
Boston lost the opener 6-2 despite two homers by Ellsbury.
Boston leads Tampa Bay by a game.
Boston finishes in Baltimore, while Tampa Bay hosts the Yankees.
Rays 5, Blue Jays 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ó B.J. Upton and Ben Zobrist homered in the first inning to back Wade Davis.Athletics 6, Angels 5
ANAHEIM, Calif. ó Rookie closer Jordan Walden (5-3) wasted a 5-2 lead in the ninth inning.
Rangers 12, Mariners 5
ARLINGTON, Texas ó Yorvit Torrealba homered in consecutive innings, including a grand slam.
Tigers 10, Orioles 6
DETROIT ó Miguel Cabrera homered and singled to raise his average to .341 in his push for the AL batting title.
Twins 6, Indians 4
CLEVELANDó Rene Tosoni led off the 10th inning with a home run.
Royals 2, White Sox 1
CHICAGO ó Jarrod Dyson hit a two-run double.