PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Roy Oswalt threw seven dominant innings, Raul Ibanez hit a grand slam and the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their fifth straight NL East title with a 9-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.
In a season where nothing less than a World Series championship would be considered a success, there wasn't much of a party on the field. The Phillies had a been-there, done-that attitude toward winning the division last year, and this time was no different.
Players ran onto the diamond a bit faster than usual, but they simply exchanged handshakes, hugs and high-fives as if this was an ordinary game in April. They did at least put on shirts and hats proclaiming themselves division champs.
The major league-leading Phillies (98-52) are four wins away from setting a single-season club record.
Oswalt (8-9) allowed no runs and five hits, striking out seven. Brad Lidge got one out in the eighth after Michael Stutes ran into trouble, and Ryan Madson finished with a seven-run cushion.
St. Louis fell 4 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the wild-card race. They had won eight of nine to narrow the gap from 8 1/2 back on Sept. 6.
Cardinals starter Jake Westbrook (12-9) allowed one earned run and five hits in 3 1-3 innings.
Braves 1, Mets 0
ATLANTA (AP) - Tim Hudson struck out 10 and Chipper Jones hit an RBI single in the eighth inning as the Atlanta Braves increased their NL wild-card edge by beating the New York Mets.
The Braves leads St. Louis by 4 1/2 games for the wild card.
Hudson (15-10) held the Mets to four hits over eight innings.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 45th save in 51 chances after striking out the side, fanning David Wright, Lucas Duda and Jason Bay.
The Braves have won three of four and the Mets have lost seven of eight.
R.A. Dickey (8-13) struck out four in 7 2-3 innings and also walked a season-high six.
Padres 3, Diamondbacks 1
SAN DIEGO (AP) - The last-place San Diego Padres surprised NL West-leading Arizona for the second straight night as Wade LeBlanc and three relievers combined on a five-hitter and Orlando Hudson and Jeremy Hermida hit solo homers.
The Diamondbacks' lead in the NL West was trimmed to five games over the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants, who won 6-5 at Colorado. Each team has 10 games to play. The Diamondbacks' magic number for clinching the division remained at six, meaning any combination of Diamondbacks wins and Giants losses totaling six will give Arizona the title.
Arizona lost its third straight game, its longest losing streak since dropping six from Aug. 17-22. The Diamondbacks also had only five hits in Friday night's 2-0 loss at San Diego.
Giants 6, Rockies 5
DENVER (AP) - Carlos Beltran had an RBI double in a four-run eighth inning and the Giants extended their winning streak to seven games with a win over the Rockies.
The Giants moved five games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West with 10 games to play after Arizona lost at San Diego.
The Giants are also five games behind the Atlanta Braves in the wild-card race where they are third and trail the St. Louis Cardinals by a half game.
Waldis Joaquin (1-0) retired the two batters he faced in the eighth to earn the victory.
Huston Street (1-4) took the loss.
Cubs 2, Astros 1
CHICAGO (AP) - Houston lost 100 games in a season for the first time in franchise history, squandering a bases-loaded chance in the ninth inning and falling to Rodrigo Lopez and Chicago.
The Astros, who began play in 1962 as the Colt .45s, dropped to 51-100. Minnesota has the second-most losses in the majors this season with 91.
Colorado and the Angels are the only remaining franchises that have never lost 100 games in a season.
The Cubs, meanwhile, won for the 4,000th time since moving into Wrigley Field in 1915. Only the Yankees at the original Yankee Stadium and Red Sox at Fenway Park have won more games in one ballpark than the Cubs have taken at their ivy-covered home.
Lopez (6-6) didn't allow an earned run and held the Astros to four hits in six innings while striking out seven. Sean Marshall held on in the ninth for his fifth save.
Henry Sosa (2-5) took the loss for Houston.
Brewers 10, Reds 1
CINCINNATI (AP) - Yovani Gallardo struck out a career-high 13, including four in one inning, and Ryan Braun hit his third home run in two nights to help the Milwaukee Brewers inch closer to the NL Central crown with a romp over the Cincinnati Reds.
Yuniesky Betancourt also homered as the Brewers lowered their magic number to five with their fourth win in their last five games.
Gallardo (17-10) had struck out 12 four times, including last Sunday. He threw 117 pitches, 75 of them strikes, in his six innings, giving up just two hits