CHICAGO — Kyle Lohse and the short-handed St. Louis Cardinals won for the sixth time in seven games, holding their lead in the NL wild-card race with a 6-3 win Sunday over the Chicago Cubs. Minus All-Stars Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltran from the starting lineup, the Cardinals stayed 2½ games ahead of Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot. Lohse (16-3) made his team-leading 32nd start, giving up three runs and five hits in six innings. Jason Motte earned his sixth save in the Cardinals' last seven games, and now has 40 saves this season. Molina did not play for the defending World Series champions because of lower back spasms, having hurt himself while getting out of the way of a pitch Saturday. The catcher was feeling better, manager Mike Matheny said, still had some discomfort. Cubs starter Justin Germano (2-9) worked 5 2-3 innings, giving up four earned runs and 10 hits. Brewers 6, Nationals 2: Jonathan Lucroy had a pair of RBI singles and Milwaukee beat Washington to keep the Brewers in the playoff chase. Rickie Weeks had three hits while Aramis Ramirez had two doubles for Milwaukee, which twice benefitted from Washington outfielders losing fly balls in the sun. The Brewers are 2½ games behind St. Louis for the final NL wild-card berth. Washington (92-60) leads the NL East by 4½ games over Atlanta, a 2-1 winner over Philadelphia Sunday. The Nationals magic number to clinch the division remains at six. Reliever Brandon Kintzler (3-0) pitched a scoreless sixth inning for the win. John Axford recorded the final out with two runners on for his 33rd save. Losing pitcher Ryan Mattheus (5-3) allowed three earned runs on four hits. Braves 2, Phillies 1: Tim Hudson tossed two-hit ball over 7 1-3 innings to help the Braves move to the brink of a playoff spot with a win over the Phillies. Hudson (16-6) struck out four and allowed one unearned run to send the Braves back to Atlanta with a shot at winning an NL wild-card berth. A year after a historic September collapse, the Braves are again close to a postseason spot. They can clinch during a six-game homestand that opens Tuesday. Pirates 8, Astros 1: A.J. Burnett allowed one run in eight innings for his 16th win, and Josh Harrison tied a career high with four hits to jumpstart Pittsburgh's offense in a win over Houston. Mets 3, Marlins 2: Ruben Tejada singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Mets a victory over Miami. Diamondbacks 10, Rockies 7: Aaron Hill hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat Colorado, the Rockies' season-high ninth straight loss. Padres 6, Giants 4: Yonder Alonso's two-run single in the seventh inning snapped a tie and helped the Padres beat the Giants. Dodgers 5, Reds 3: Adrian Gonzalez hit a pair of solo homers off Homer Bailey Sunday night, powering the Dodgers to a victory over the Reds that let them keep pace in the wild card race. — Agencies
