Raul Ibanez hit an RBI double with two outs in the eighth
inning for the only run, helping the two-time NL champions reduce their magic
number for clinching their fourth straight division title to four. It was the
Phillies' first home sweep over the Braves since 2001.
Oswalt allowed the hit - a clean double by Martin Prado
in the fourth - and walked one in seven innings.
Atlanta began the day with a one-game lead over San Diego
in the wild-card race.
At Los Angeles, Miguel Tejada hit his
300th career home run as San Diego reclaimed first place from San Francisco in
the topsy-turvy NL West race.
The Giants lost to the Chicago Cubs 2-0, giving the
Padres a half-game lead as they returned to the top of the standings for the
first time since last Saturday. It was the third time the division lead changed
hands since the Padres lost at St. Louis to fall out of first on Sept. 16.
Tim Stauffer (5-4) allowed one run and three hits in six
innings, struck out five and walked two.
Heath Bell pitched the ninth for his career-high 43rd
save in 46 chances.
Tejada's eighth homer of the season gave the Padres a 3-1
lead in the third.
At Chicago, Randy Wells pitched 7 2-3
innings and Kosuke Fukudome homered to lead Chicago past San Francisco.
The Giants were shut out for the fourth time in their
last five losses. It was the eighth time in 11 games they scored two runs or
fewer.
The Cubs have won seven of their last eight games, the
lone loss 1-0 on Tuesday to the Giants on Buster Posey's home run.
After Wells walked Travis Ishikawa and allowed a double
to Cody Ross with two outs in the eighth, Cubs closer Carlos Marmol struck out
Freddy Sanchez to end the inning. Marmol struck out the side in the ninth for
his 34th save.
At Phoenix, Adam LaRoche,
Stephen Drew and Kelly Johnson homered to help deny Ubaldo Jimenez his 20th
victory as Arizona sent Colorado to its third straight loss.
Jimenez (19-7) lasted just four innings, giving up five
runs and six hits. He couldn't hold a 4-0 lead Colorado gave him in the first
on Melvin Mora's three-run homer and Todd Helton's solo shot.
Rodrigo Lopez (7-14) retired 13 of the last 14 hitters he
faced. Four relievers held the Rockies scoreless over the final four innings.
Sam Demel pitched 1 2-3 innings to get his second save in
two tries.
Jimenez gave up two homers in a game for the first time
this year and fell to 4-6 in 13 starts since beginning the season 15-1. The
Rockies are 3-5 after winning 10 straight.
At Milwaukee, Craig Counsell homered
during Milwaukee's eight-run second inning and Corey Hart homered the next
inning as the Brewers finished with 19 hits.
Cincinnati pitcher Aaron Harang hobbled off after being
hit in the leg by a line drive and the NL Central-leading Reds had their magic
number cut to three when Pittsburgh beat St. Louis 11-6.
Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto (12-6) had his shortest start
of the season and Harang, normally a starter, was struck in the right ankle by
Rickie Weeks' liner in the fourth inning. X-rays were negative and Harang had a
bruise.
At Pittsburgh, Charlie Morton
pitched effectively over six innings to win for the first time in 4 1/2 months
and Pedro Alvarez homered and drove in four runs as Pittsburgh extended St.
Louis' late-season collapse.
John Bowker homered among three hits as the Pirates won
their fifth straight, their longest streak since an identical run in August
2009, and assured the Cardinals of their eighth consecutive series loss to a
losing-record opponent. St. Louis has dropped 25 of 37 since it led the NL
Central on Aug. 13, including the first two of this three-game series.
Any combination of losses by St. Louis or wins by
first-place Cincinnati totaling three will eliminate St.
Louis from a division race it led much of the season.
Cincinnati lost 13-1 at Milwaukee on Wednesday.
At Washington, Danny Espinosa hit
a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning and a triple, and Michael Morse
added a solo shot as Washington edged Houston.
September call-up Espinosa's fifth homer barely cleared
the out-of-town scoreboard in right field off the second pitch from reliever
Jeff Fulchino (2-1). Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez walked Justin Maxwell
leading off the inning.
Espinosa scored Washington's first run of the game after
tripling in the third, coming home on Ian Desmond's infield single. Morse's
12th homer came on Rodriguez's first pitch of the fourth.
At Miami, Wes Helms had two of his
three RBIs in a five-run first inning and Dan Uggla drove in two runs as
Florida downed New York.
Alex Sanabia (5-3) allowed three runs in five innings for
the Marlins, who have won three straight.
Leo Nunez got the Marlins out of a jam in the eighth and
Clay Hensley pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
Uggla had an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to
make it 7-5.
Jonathon Niese (9-10) walked three, including Mike
Stanton with the bases loaded, in the first inning. Helms followed Stanton's
walk with a two-run double and Brad Davis' RBI groundout made it 5-0. Uggla
started the scoring with an RBI single.
