inning infield single lifted the Chicago Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros Friday. Starlin Castro set up the winning rally with a leadoff walk, went to second on Darwin Barney's sacrifice, and moved to third on a wild pitch. He scored when third baseman Chris Johnson couldn't handle Byrd's dribbler up the line. Matt Garza was one strike from finishing off a five-hitter when Carlos Lee hit his second homer of the game into the left-field bleachers. The two-run shot tied the game 3-all. The Astros lost their 99th game. Houston has never lost 100 games in a season in the franchise's 50-year history. Marlins 3, Nationals 0: Javier Vazquez threw his first complete-game shutout in more than six years to lead the Florida Marlins to a win against the Washington Nationals. Vazquez (11-11) allowed five hits for his eighth career shutout. His last came as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 1-0 win at Detroit on May 22, 2005. Mike Stanton had an RBI double and two singles for the Marlins, who had lost their previous four games. Cardinals 4, Phillies 2: Adron Chambers drove in the go-ahead run with his first major league hit and Tyler Greene added an RBI double in the 11th inning to help St. Louis beat Philadelpha, keeping the Cardinals' playoff push alive while putting the Phillies' title celebration on hold. The Phillies (97-51), who have already clinched no worse than the wild card, entered the game with a magic number of two to clinch their fifth straight NL East title, needing a win combined with loss by the Atlanta Braves to the New York Mets. Brewers 6, Reds 3: Ryan Braun homered twice and became the second player in Brewers history to get 30 homers and steals in a season, leading Milwaukee to a victory that started a final push toward its first NL Central title and eliminated Cincinnati from playoff contention. The Brewers led by 10½ games on Sept. 5, but allowed the Cardinals to stay in it by dropping six of their last nine. They're on pace to clinch next week in Chicago. Mets 12, Braves 2: David Wright drove in five runs with two homers and the New York Mets, responding to criticism from their manager, beat Derek Lowe and the Braves. Atlanta leads St. Louis by only 3½ games in the NL wild-card race with 11 games remaining in the regular season. The Cardinals gained ground by beating the Phillies. Giants 9, Rockies 1: Madison Bumgarner allowed one unearned run in seven strong innings and hit a two-run double, helping the San Francisco Giants keep their playoff hopes alive with their sixth straight win over the Colorado Rockies. Brandon Belt, Cody Ross and Chris Stewart all homered for the Giants, who closed to within 6½ games of NL West leading Arizona with 11 games remaining. Other results: San diego Padres 2, Arizona Diamondbacks 0; LA Dodgers 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 2.
