New York catcher Mike DiFelice, left, loses the ball as Philadelphia's Tadahito Iguchi celebrates scoring the winning run in the ninth inning. The Phillies defeated the Mets, 11-10, on Thursday in Philadelphia.

Phillies 11, Mets 10

Philadelphia – Chase Utley hit an RBI single off Billy Wagner in the ninth inning, and Philadelphia completed a huge sweep of first-place New York by rallying for a victory Thursday in a back-and-forth struggle that lasted four hours.

By winning four straight against the Mets, the Phillies moved within two games of the NL East leaders and suddenly set up an exciting September pennant race.

Mets nemesis Pat Burrell homered twice. Ryan Howard and Aaron Rowand also connected for the Phillies, who wasted leads of 5-0 and 8-5 before falling behind 10-8 in the eighth. That’s when the Mets called on Wagner, who hadn’t pitched since Friday after experiencing a tired arm.

Looking for his first six-out save in eight years, Wagner (2-2) gave up Burrell’s solo shot in the eighth and immediately ran into trouble in the ninth.

Jayson Werth hit a leadoff single, then stole second and third on consecutive pitches with one out. Pinch-hitter Tadahito Iguchi’s single to left tied it at 10.

Jimmy Rollins was intentionally walked after Iguchi stole second, bringing up Utley. The All-Star second baseman worked a full count before lining a single to right field to score Iguchi and send the crowd into a frenzy.

Reds 5, Pirates 4

Pittsburgh – Alex Gonzalez scored from first base on Ken Griffey Jr.’s pop-fly single that fell among three Pirates fielders in the ninth inning, and Cincinnati overcame Adam Dunn’s base-running mistake that cost the Reds two runs.

With Griffey getting three hits and scoring twice, the Reds came back from deficits of 2-0 and 4-3.

Cubs 5, Brewers 4

Chicago – Matt Murton and Alfonso Soriano hit back-to-back homers off Chris Capuano in the sixth inning, and Chicago beat Milwaukee to push its lead in the NL Central back to 21â2 games. Chicago took two of three in its final series of the season with the second-place Brewers. St. Louis, which lost to Houston on Thursday, is three games behind.

Astros 2, Cardinals 1

Houston – Matt Albers pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, and Lance Berkman homered for the second consecutive game. Albers (4-6) walked four and struck out three, shutting down the Cardinals’ offense for the second time this season.

Diamondbacks 8, Padres 7

San Diego – Rookie Mark Reynolds had three hits and a career-high five RBIs to lift Arizona past San Diego. The Diamondbacks held on for the win after taking an 8-0 lead. Reynolds hit a two-run homer an estimated 451 feet into the second deck in left field off Chris Young (9-5) in the second inning. Reynolds then capped a four-run fifth inning with a three-run double.