Miami ? By the time the game was finished, the players in the clubhouses nearly matched the total of fans in the stands.

Jamey Carroll hit a tiebreaking single and Jose Vidro followed with a three-run homer in the 14th inning, helping the Montreal Expos beat the Florida Marlins 8-5 Tuesday night.

“That’s as big a win as we’ve had all year,” Montreal manager Frank Robinson said.

The announced crowd was 4,836, but there only about 100 people left in the stands when it ended at 11:47 p.m. The game took 4 hours, 39 minutes.

“We stuck to it. We stayed the course.” Carroll said.

The victory, combined with Philadelphia’s loss in Atlanta, gave Montreal sole possession of second place in the NL East. The Expos also moved within one game of .500.

Kevin Millar extended his hitting streak to 23 games with a first-inning single for the Marlins. Florida thought it had the game won in the 10th inning, when he hit a long fly to left that was barely foul.

“I had a 3-0 count, nothing else on my mind but get one you can hook out of here. “As soon as I hit it, I thought it was fair. It started off fair, but hooked foul at the last second.”

Brian Schneider led off the Expos 14th with a double for his fourth hit. He advanced to third on Michael Barrett’s sacrifice and after a walk to Endy Chavez, Graeme Lloyd (4-5) was replaced by Toby Borland.

Carroll singled through a drawn-in infield and Vidro hit his 19th homer.

“We battled. It was a long game,” Vidro said. “It was a total team effort, a total team win.”

Scott Stewart (4-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the victory.

The Marlins tied a team record by using eight pitchers.

Montreal tied it at 4 with two runs in the eighth. Vladimir Guerrero doubled, Matt Cepicky hit an RBI single and Schneider doubled off A.J. Burnett.

Florida starter Julian Tavarez gave up two runs and eight hits in six innings before being relieved by Burnett, who struck out five in 1 2/3 innings during his second career relief appearance.

Braves 2, Phillies 1

Atlanta Greg Maddux allowed four hits in seven innings, moving within one victory of joining Cy Young as the only pitchers to win 15 or more games in 15 straight seasons and leading Atlanta past Philadelphia.

Maddux (14-6), who had given up six runs to Florida in the first inning of his previous start, improved to 19-6 in 34 starts on three days’ rest. John Smoltz got four outs for his 52nd save, one shy of the NL record shared by Randy Myers and Trevor Hoffman.

Gary Sheffield was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Vinny Castilla went 3-for-4 with a double. Vicente Padilla (14-11) allowed two runs and nine hits in seven innings.

Cardinals 11, Rockies 4

Denver Tino Martinez hit a grand slam, capping a seven-run eighth inning as St. Louis cut its magic number for clinching the NL Central to five.

Pinch-hitter So Taguchi broke a 4-4 tie with an RBI single off Kent Mercker (3-1) and Albert Pujols added a two-run single before Martinez’s 10th career slam.

Brewers 5, Astros 4

Milwaukee Ben Sheets (10-16) beat the Houston for the third time this season, allowing six hits in eight innings with seven strikeouts and no walks.

With runners on first and third and two outs in the ninth, Luis Vizcaino struck out pinch-hitter Mark Loretta for his fifth save. Kirk Saarloos (6-6) allowed five runs four earned and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Mets 3, Cubs 1

New York Jeromy Burnitz hit a two-run homer off Juan Cruz (2-11) in the ninth.

Sammy Sosa hit his 497th career homer and 47th of the season.

David Weathers (6-3) struck out Mark Bellhorn and Alex Gonzalez with two on to end the ninth. New York won its fourth in a row at Shea Stadium following an NL-record 15-game home losing streak.

Pirates 11, Reds 3

Pittsburgh Pokey Reese had a career-high five RBIs and Cincinnati made five errors its most since May 21, 1990, at Chicago’s Wrigley Field in allowing nine unearned runs.

The third-place Reds (74-77), who led the NL Central for 57 days earlier this season, were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.

Kris Benson (8-6) won his fourth straight decision, a career high, allowing three runs and five hits in five innings. Chris Reitsma (6-12) was the loser.

Padres 3, D’backs 2

San Diego Adam Eaton combined with three relievers on a four-hitter in his best start since elbow surgery, leading San Diego past Arizona.

Eaton (1-1), inconsistent in his first three starts, prevented the defending World Series champions from moving closer to their second straight NL West title.