Major League Baseball
Cards lose, but magic number sill drops to five MILWAUKEE (AP) – Geoff Jenkins homered leading off the bottom of ninth and rookie Carlos Villanueva combined with two relievers on a four-hitter to lead Milwaukee Brewers to a 1-0 victory over St. Louis on Wednesday night.
The Cardinals lost for the sixth time in 11 games, but their magic number to clinch the NL Central for a third straight year dropped to five with Cincinnati’s loss to Houston.
Phillies 6, Cubs 2
PHILADELPHIA – Brett Myers pitched his first complete game in 13 months and Chase Utley hit a two-run homer to lead Philadelphia.
The Phillies, who have won seven of nine, entered one game behind Los Angeles in the NL wild-card standings.
Astros 7, Reds 2
HOUSTON – Roger Clemens pitched six scoreless innings in his final home start of the season for win No. 348 to lead Houston.
Luke Scott had a bases-loaded triple and solo homer and Craig Biggio hit a three-run homer as the Astros won for the third time in 10 games. The Astros were 61/2 games behind the wild-card leaders coming into the game.
Clemens (7-5) struck out six and allowed three hits with three walks. He did not yield an earned run for the fourth time this season and allowed fewer than three for the 15th time in 17 starts.
Giants 7, Rockies 4
DENVER – Barry Bonds’ pinch-hit, run-scoring single in the eighth broke a tie game and helped San Francisco snap a four-game losing streak.
The Giants entered Wednesday’s game trailing San Diego by five games in the NL West and Los Angeles by 41/2 games in the wild-card race. They had lost six of their last eight.
Marlins 6, Mets 3
NEW YORK – Dontrelle Willis hit two home runs and pitched into the ninth inning to lead Florida.
Willis also had a run-scoring single in Florida’s three-run sixth. His strong effort helped Florida snap a four-game losing streak and kept alive its dwindling hopes of winning the NL wild card as the Marlins entered five games behind Los Angeles.
Braves 7, Nationals 3
WASHINGTON – Brian McCann, Andruw Jones and Jeff Francoeur homered to lead Atlanta.
The Braves entered with a magic number of seven to be eliminated from the playoffs. They have been in the postseason every year since 1991.
Yankees 3, Twins 2
TORONTO – The New York Yankees clinched their ninth consecutive AL East title when the second-place Boston Red Sox lost to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.
The Yankees began the day needing one win or a loss by the Red Sox to wrap up the division championship – and their 12th straight playoff berth. New York lost 3-2 in Toronto on Wednesday, but Boston’s game went final about 30 minutes later.
Tigers 6, White Sox 2
CHICAGO – Curtis Granderson had three hits and Magglio Ordonez and Ivan Rodriguez homered to help Detroit Tigers maintain its slim lead in the AL Central.
With their second win in the three-game series against the White Sox, the Tigers remained one-half game ahead of second-place Minnesota, which defeated Boston 8-2 .
The defending World Series champion White Sox lost for the fifth time in six games.
Twins 8, Red Sox 2
BOSTON – Torii Hunter hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning for Minnesota in the wine that allowed the Yankees to clinch their ninth consecutive AL East title and the Twins to remain one-half game behind Detroit in the AL Central.
Mariners 6, Rangers 3
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Cha Seung Baek allowed two runs and four hits over 6 2-3 innings and Raul Ibanez homered as Seattle eliminated Texas from the AL West race.
Devil Rays 4, Orioles 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Ty Wigginton helped Tampa Bay snap a season-high, nine-game losing streak, hitting a tie-breaking two-run homer in the eighth inning.
Greg Norton drew a one-out walk from Rodrigo Lopez (9-17) before Wigginton made it 4-2 with his 21st homer. Lopez leads the majors in losses.
Angels 3, Royals 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kelvim Escobar combined with two relievers on a five-hitter and Orlando Cabrera drove in three runs for Kansas City, which learned manager Buddy Bell will be taking a leave of absence for medical tests.