National League Roundup: Beltran's hit completes Mets' rally / LJWorld.com

Archive for Friday, September 26, 2008

Associated Press

September 26, 2008

Mets 7, Cubs 6

New York - Carlos Beltran singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning, and New York rallied to beat Chicago for a huge victory that halted the Mets' late-season slide.

After trailing by three runs in the seventh, New York fought back in the rain to move within one game of NL East-leading Philadelphia with three to play. The Mets also stayed tied atop the wild-card race with Milwaukee, which beat Pittsburgh.

Rich Harden pitched six solid innings in his final playoff tuneup for the NL Central champions, and lightly used rookie Micah Hoffpauir went 5-for-5 with five RBIs and his first two major-league homers - including a tiebreaking shot in the seventh off Ricardo Rincon that gave Chicago a 6-3 lead.

Brewers 5, Pirates 1 (10)

Milwaukee - Ryan Braun delivered the game-winning grand slam in the 10th inning, and Milwaukee finished a sweep of Pittsburgh to remain tied in the NL wild-card race.

Rickie Weeks led off the 10th with a single off Pirates reliever Jesse Chavez. Jason Kendall advanced Weeks to second with a sacrifice bunt, and the Pirates walked Ray Durham intentionally. Chavez (0-1) struck out Cameron, but walked pinch hitter Craig Counsell to load the bases.

Braun then clobbered a 2-2 pitch deep to left field, holding up his bat and hollering to the Brewers' dugout as he began to circle the bases.

Marlins-Nationals, canceled

Washington - The Florida Marlins' game at the Washington Nationals was called off because of rain and will not be made up.

It began drizzling about five hours before the scheduled 7:10 p.m. first pitch, and the rain grew heavier. The tarp stayed on the field, and the game was called after a delay of 2 hours, 5 minutes.

Cardinals 12, D'backs 3

St. Louis - The Arizona Diamondbacks were eliminated from the NL West race with a loss to St. Louis, giving the division title to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rockies 3, Giants 1

San Francisco - Clint Barmes homered for the second straight game, pitcher Jorge De La Rosa hit an RBI single, and Colorado completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco.

Padres 7, Dodgers 5

Los Angeles - Brian Giles and Adrian Gonzalez homered, and Luis Rodriguez had four hits to lead San Diego.

Astros 8, Reds 6

Houston - Roy Oswalt allowed two hits and struck out three in six innings.