SAN FRANCISCO, 27 September 2004 — Pedro Feliz bludgeoned a tie-breaking grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to hand the San Francisco Giants a 9-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Saturday. Feliz’s fourth hit of the day and 21st homer of the season made sure the Giants closed within 1 1/2 games of the first place Dodgers in the West Division and within 1/2 game of the Chicago Cubs for the wild card. It was Feliz’s second career grand slam. Ray Durham also homered, had two hits and two RBI for the Giants, who collected 11 hits in all.
In New York, Craig Brazell homered in the 11th inning as the Mets edged the Chicago Cubs 4-3. Victor Diaz tied the game with a three-run shot with two outs in the ninth.
In Milwaukee, Wes Obermueller pitched a six-hit shutout to inspire the Brewers to an 8-0 rout of the Houston Astros. Obermueller (6-8) struck out three batters and picked up two hits in his first career shutout.
In Denver, Roger Cedeno cracked a two-run homer in the seventh inning as the St Louis Cardinals downed the Colorado Rockies 10-6. John Mabry had a three-run homer in the sixth and Yadier Molina added a two-run double to cap the scoring.
In Atlanta, Mike Hampton worked seven scoreless innings and Dewayne Wise homered in the seventh to lift the Braves to a 1-0 win over the Florida Marlins. Hampton (12-9) struck out three batters and allowed three hits in his third straight victory.
In Pittsburgh, Jason LaRue had two hits and drove in four runs as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pirates 7-4. Paul Wilson (10-6) held the Pirates to one run and six hits in seven innings.
In Montreal, Ryan Howard’s run-scoring double in the 10th frame gave the Philadelphia Phillies a 4-3 victory over the Expos. Jason Michaels singled and drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth before Mike Lieberthal drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th.
In San Diego, Ryan Klesko’s two-run double in the seventh inning led the Padres past the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5. Klesko notched four RBI while Brian Giles added three hits and drove in a run. Akinori Otsuka (8-2) seized the victory in relief and Trevor Hoffman picked up four outs for his 40th save of the season.
Erstad Keeps AL West Hopes Alive for Angels
Darin Erstad stroked a three-run homer to help the Anaheim Angels stay alive in the American League West Division title race with a 5-3 triumph over the Oakland Athletics Saturday. The host Angels moved within two games of the first place A’s with eight to play. Anaheim’s only realistic chance of a post-season berth is to win the division.
Garret Anderson notched two hits, including an eighth-inning double which proved the winning run. Francisco Rodriquez (4-1) struck out four batters in two scoreless innings of relief to pick up the victory.
In Baltimore, Matt Riley tossed six scoreless innings to power the Orioles to a 3-0 blanking of the Detroit Tigers.
In St Petersburg, Midre Cummings homered and scored three runs, including the game-winner in the ninth inning, as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays edged the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5.
In Chicago, Jose Valentin and Carlos Lee belted solo homers to steer the White Sox past the Kansas City Royals 5-1. Mark Buehrle (15-10) went the distance for Chicago, allowing one run and four hits with six strikeouts.
In Cleveland, Coco Crisp had three hits, including a two-run double in the eighth inning, to lift the Indians to a 5-3 triumph over the Minnesota Twins. Crisp homered in the fifth and Josh Phelps added a pinch-hit solo blast in the eighth.
In Boston, Doug Mirabelli homered and drove in four runs as the Red Sox brushed aside the New York Yankees 12-5. Manny Ramirez had two hits, including a double, and scored twice.
In Arlington, Michael Young thumped an RBI triple before scoring the winning run in the seventh inning to lift the Texas Rangers to a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Kevin Mench homered in the sixth and drove in the winner in the seventh.
