Phillies clinch, Tigers now one away

By The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Kendrick pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Pedro Martinez and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros 10-3 Wednesday night to clinch their third straight NL East crown.

Raul Ibanez hit his career-high 34th homer and Jimmy Rollins had a double and triple for Philadelphia, which is heading to the postseason for the third straight year for the first time since Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and crew won three consecutive division titles from 1976-78.

Kendrick (3-1) gave up two hits and struck out four. Martinez lasted just four innings, allowing three runs and six hits in his first start since a neck strain forced him out of a game at Atlanta on Sept. 19.

Astros starter Brian Moehler (8-12) gave up seven runs in 4 1-3 innings.

Rockies 10, Brewers 6

DENVER (AP) — Todd Helton, Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki each hit a two-run homer, and Colorado moved closer to a playoff spot.

The Rockies lead the wild card by four games over Atlanta with four to play. They also pulled within 2 1/2 games of NL West-leading Los Angeles, which is off Thursday before hosting Colorado for three games to finish the season.

Prince Fielder, Mike Cameron and Casey McGehee homered for the Brewers. Jeff Suppan (7-12) got the loss.

Jason Hammel (10-8) became the fifth Colorado pitcher to reach double digits in wins this season, going five innings and giving up four runs and seven hits.

Padres 5, Dodgers 0

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Clayton Richard stopped Los Angeles from clinching the NL West title, throwing seven sharp innings to lead San Diego to the victory.

The Dodgers equaled their season high with their fourth consecutive loss, failing once again to secure its second consecutive division title for the first time since 1977-78. They beat Pittsburgh 8-4 on Saturday night to wrap up a playoff berth.

Los Angeles has dropped six of eight overall, all on the road to sub-.500 teams.

Richard (5-2) surrendered Los Angeles’ only hit, a first-inning single by Matt Kemp. Mike Adams and rookie Luke Gregerson each got three outs to finish up.

Jon Garland (11-13) allowed five runs, four earned, and seven hits in 3 1-3 innings for the Dodgers.

Marlins 5, Braves 4

ATLANTA (AP) — Ricky Nolasco struck out nine straight Braves and finished with 16 strikeouts — the most by a major league pitcher in more than two years — and Florida held on for a victory.

Trying to make a late push for the NL wild card, the Braves rallied for two runs in the ninth inning and had a chance to win after loading the bases with two outs. But the game ended when Matt Diaz was thrown out trying to scamper back to third following a pitch in the dirt.

Nolasco’s nine consecutive strikeouts in one game were one short of the big league record set by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver for the New York Mets on April 22, 1970, against San Diego.

Nolasco (13-9), who struck out 14 of his first 19 batters, lasted 7 2-3 innings. He set a Marlins record with his 15th strikeout when Diaz fanned for the final out of the seventh.

Javier Vazquez (15-10) lost for the first time in five starts.

Giants 4, Diamondbacks 1

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Brad Penny pitched his first complete game in four years, Eli Whiteside homered and San Francisco got the win less than two hours after it was eliminated from playoff contention.

Penny (4-1) allowed six hits to remain unbeaten in four starts this season at AT&T Park since being claimed off waivers from Boston. He retired 16 of the final 17 batters in his fourth career complete game and first since Aug. 14, 2005, against the New York Mets.

The Giants were knocked out of the playoff race by NL wild card-leading Colorado’s 10-6 victory over Milwaukee.

Stephen Drew had two hits for Arizona, which scored its only run on a throwing error by Penny in the fourth. Kevin Mulvey (0-3) got the loss.

Nationals 7, Mets 4

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justin Maxwell’s grand slam off All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez with two outs in the ninth inning gave the Nationals their first win all season when trailing after eight innings.

Maxwell drove a full-count pitch from Rodriguez (3-6) barely over the wall in left field.

The Mets led 4-2 entering the ninth, but Rodriguez loaded the bases, then walked Adam Dunn to force in a run. Then came Maxwell’s third homer of the season, making a winner of reliever Ron Villone (5-6).

It was Rodriguez’s seventh blown save this season.

Pirates 4, Cubs 0, Game 1

Pirates 8, Cubs 2, Game 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Ryan Doumit had four hits and four RBIs to help the Pirates beat the Cubs for a doubleheader sweep.

Jeff Karstens (4-5) tossed five innings for the second victory by a no-name Pittsburgh pitcher over a high-priced Cubs starter on the day. A few hours before Karstens beat Carlos Zambrano (9-7), Charlie Morton (5-9) threw a four-hitter in a victory over Ted Lilly (12-9).

Doumit hit his 10th homer to help Pittsburgh complete its first doubleheader sweep at Wrigley Field since June 20, 1983.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Tigers 7, Twins 2

DETROIT (AP) — Magglio Ordonez hit a three-run double and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 on Wednesday night to move closer to the AL Central title.

Eddie Bonine pitched five effective innings after getting off to a rough start for Detroit, which increased its lead to three games over the Twins. The Tigers can clinch their first division title since 1987 with a victory in Thursday afternoon’s series finale.

Carl Pavano (13-12) allowed seven runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings. He was 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA in five previous starts against Detroit this year.

Bonine (1-1), making his ninth career start, allowed two runs in the first but shut down the Twins for the rest of his outing. He gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out three.

Blue Jays 12, Red Sox 0

BOSTON (AP) — Roy Halladay pitched a three-hitter for his second consecutive shutout and Toronto sent the Red Sox to their sixth straight loss.

The Red Sox started only two regulars after clinching the AL wild card late Tuesday night. They were hitless until Joey Gathright’s clean single to left with one out in the sixth.

The Blue Jays hit four homers — two by Randy Ruiz and one each by Lyle Overbay and Jose Bautista — one day after hitting six.

Halladay (17-10) had a strong outing in what might be his last game for the Blue Jays. He has one year left on his contract and could be traded in the offseason, although he’d have to agree to a deal.

Tim Wakefield (11-5) left after three innings and fell to 7-1 at Fenway Park.

Indians 5, White Sox 1, 1st game

White Sox 1, Indians 0, 2nd game

CLEVELAND (AP) — Mark Buehrle pitched six shutout innings and Paul Konerko drove in the only run as Chicago beat Cleveland to split a season-ending doubleheader, ending Eric Wedge’s seven-year managerial run at home with the Indians.

Wedge’s firing — and the dismissal of his coaching staff — was announced a few hours before the opener, won by the Indians 5-1. Despite being let go with six games left, Wedge wanted to finish what has been one of the most disappointing seasons in recent team history.

In the second game, Buehrle (13-10) outdueled Justin Masterson (4-10).

In the opener, Fausto Carmona (5-12) pitched seven strong innings for Cleveland.

Royals 4, Yankees 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Joba Chamberlain lasted just 3 2-3 innings in his final tuneup for the postseason and was booed by fans at Yankee Stadium in a loss to Kansas City.

Derek Jeter homered leading off the first, and Nick Swisher’s 29th homer tied the score in the fifth, a two-run drive off Robinson Tejeda.

Kansas City broke a seventh-inning tie when Mark Teahen walked against Damaso Marte (1-3) and John Buck tripled off Sergio Mitre.

Jamey Wright (3-5) pitched two innings for the win in relief off Robinson Tejeda, and Joakim Soria got three outs for his 30th save in 33 chances, stopping the Yankees’ seven-game winning streak.

Angels 5, Rangers 0

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Matt Palmer combined with four relievers on a one-hitter and Los Angeles beat Texas for the third straight night, tying a club record for most runs in a season with 866.

Palmer (11-2) gave up a leadoff single in the first inning to Julio Borbon, walked two batters and induced a pair of inning-ending double plays in his 13th and final start of the season.

Darren Oliver struck out the side in the sixth. Jose Arredondo, Kevin Jepsen and fellow rookie Rafael Rodriguez each pitched a hitless inning. It was the sixth combined one-hitter in Angels history and the first since July 24, 2004, also at home against the Rangers.

Rangers first baseman Hank Blalock sustained a concussion while lunging toward the bag on a bunt play.

Derek Holland (8-13) gave up four runs over 6 1-3 innings in his final start.

Rays 5, Orioles 3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — James Shields carried a shutout into the eighth inning, Ben Zobrist hit a three-run homer and Tampa Bay extended Baltimore’s losing streak to 13 games.

Baltimore can tie the second-longest skid in franchise history set in August 1954 with a loss in the series finale against the Rays on Thursday night.

Shields (11-12) allowed three runs and six hits over eight innings.

Carl Crawford also homered for the Rays (82-76), who guaranteed their second-ever winning season.

David Hernandez (4-10) gave up five runs and seven hits in 4 1-3 innings for the Orioles.

Mariners 7, Athletics 0

SEATTLE (AP) — Ken Griffey Jr. hit a three-run homer and Brandon Morrow allowed one hit over eight impressive innings to lead Seattle over Oakland.

Griffey’s 629th career home run came in the first inning off Clayton Mortensen (2-4), chased with nobody out in the second. Morrow (2-4) yielded only an infield single to Rajai Davis in the fourth and threw 105 pitches in the longest start of his career.

Morrow also set a career high for strikeouts with nine. Shawn Kelley completed the two-hitter.