MILWAUKEE — Marco Estrada struck out 11 in eight shutout innings, Corey Hart homered twice and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Houston Astros 9-5 Saturday night. The Brewers began the day barely in the playoff race, a year they reached the NL championship series. Any Milwaukee loss or St. Louis win would mean elimination. Hart drove in four runs to back Estrada (5-7), who won for the third time in four starts. The right-hander allowed only four singles and a walk after giving up six earned runs in just four innings against Washington in his last outing. Houston hit three home runs in the ninth to score five times off reliever Livan Hernandez. Fernando Martinez and Brian Bogusevic hit two-run homers and Tyler Greene added a solo shot. Braves 2, Mets 0: Mike Minor pitched 61/3 sharp innings to win his fifth straight decision, Martin Prado and Jason Heyward each had an RBI and the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets. Chipper Jones, who played his next-to-last regular-season game at Turner Field, was hitless in four at-bats. Craig Kimbrel earned his 41st save of in 44 chances with a scoreless but shaky ninth. Pirates 2, Reds 1: Andrew McCutchen hit a solo home run off Jonathan Broxton with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cincinnati Reds. A day after getting no-hit by Cincinnati's Homer Bailey, the Pirates won with eight hits. Nationals 6, Cardinals 4: Michael Morse circled the bases for a grand slam after taking an imaginary swing, and the Washington Nationals cut their magic number for winning the NL East to one Saturday, beating St. Louis on Kurt Suzuki's two-run double in the 10th inning. Diamondbacks 8, Cubs 2: Trevor Cahill threw a four-hitter in his third career complete game, Justin Upton drove in three runs and the Arizona Diamondbacks added to Chicago's futility in the NL West with a victory over the Cubs. Phillies 9, Marlins 5: Roy Halladay survived a shaky opening inning, Jimmy Rollins had three hits and scored three times, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins. Dodgers 3, Colorado Rockies 0: The Colorado Rockies are so down in the dumps these days, they can't even muster up enough resistance to play the spoiler role in the final days of the worst season in the franchise's 20-year history. Manager Jim Tracy, using a patchwork lineup Saturday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers because of injuries, had little to choose from on the bench to pinch-hit for starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood in the fifth inning with runners at the corners, two out and the Rockies trailing by two runs. So Chatwood batted for himself and grounded into a fielder's choice before Josh Outman replaced him on the mound in the bottom half. Chatwood allowed two runs and five hits over four innings in a 3-0 loss, as the Dodgers got two home runs from Matt Kemp and six gritty innings from Joe Blanton to climb within two games of St. Louis for the second NL wild card spot. In another match, San Diego Padres downed San Francisco Giants 7-3. — Agencies
