Phoenix – Chad Tracy doubled in three runs in Arizona’s five-run eighth inning, and the Diamondbacks rallied to beat the San Diego Padres 8-5 on Saturday night.
Tracy was 3-for-5 with two doubles and Luis Gonzalez homered twice with three RBIs for the Diamondbacks, who avoided elimination in the NL West. The first-place Padres dropped back to .500 at 77-77.
Ramon Hernandez, with an assist from Gonzalez’s glove, hit a three-run homer for the Padres, who led 5-3 before Arizona’s comeback.
With San Francisco’s 6-0 loss at Colorado, the Padres lead the second-place Giants by five games with eight to play.
Akinori Otsuka (2-7), the sixth of seven San Diego pitchers, allowed four runs in one-third of an inning. He allowed two hits and walked two.
Tim Worrell (1-2) pitched a perfect eighth to get the victory in his 650th major league appearance, his first win since Sept. 25 last year.
Padres shortstop Khalil Greene left the game with a bruised left shin after fouling a ball off his leg in the third inning. San Diego said Greene’s availability was day to day.
Braves 6, Marlins 1
Atlanta – Andruw Jones hit his major league-leading 51st home run as Atlanta took another step toward its 14th straight division title, while moving Florida closer to postseason elimination.
Atlanta (88-67) lowered its magic number for clinching the NL East to four and eliminated the Marlins from contention in the division.
“To their credit, they find a way every year,” Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. “I mean, this is every year so it’s no fluke. They know what they’re doing.”
Florida (80-75) has lost eight of 10 in a playoff push that has gone into reverse and is five games behind Houston (85-70) in the wild-card race with seven games remaining.
John Thomson (4-5) won for the first time since May 5, allowing one run and four hits in seven innings.
Astros 8, Cubs 3
Chicago – Ezequiel Astacio, starting in place of injured ace Roger Clemens, allowed four hits in six innings, and Houston preserved its lead in the NL wild-card race.
Craig Biggio matched his career high with his 24th homer, a solo shot in the first inning, and drove in another run. Lance Berkman also homered. It was the ninth win in 11 games for Houston.
Nomar Garciaparra homered for the Cubs. Carlos Zambrano (14-6) had his career-best six-game winning streak snapped, giving up six runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Astacio (3-6) was tapped to start after Clemens was scratched Friday with a sore left hamstring.
Clemens, who won his record seventh Cy Young Award last year at 42 and is leading the majors with a 1.89 ERA this season, has been bothered by the injury all month. The Astros decided it would be better to give him some extra rest in case they make the postseason.
Reds 3, Phillies 2
Cincinnati – Eric Milton rebounded from the shortest start of his eight-year career to beat his former team, and Adam Dunn backed him up with a two-run homer as Philadelphia fell two games behind Houston in the NL wild-card race.
The Phillies scored a run in the seventh and another in the eighth to get within one run, but David Weathers pitched a perfect ninth as Philadelphia had its three-game winning streak snapped.
Phillies center fielder Jimmy Rollins singled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to 29 games, tying the major league season high set by Boston’s Johnny Damon from June 10 through July 17.
Milton (8-14) threw 6 2/3 shutout innings before giving up a run against the team for which he played in 2004.
Mets 5, Nationals 2
Washington – Tom Glavine carried a shutout into the sixth inning for his 274th career win and David Wright’s grand slam capped a five-run first off Livan Hernandez.
The Mets (77-77) have won six of their last eight games, and if they complete a series sweep today, they’ll move up to fourth place in the NL East and drop the Nationals (78-77) into last.
Brewers 8, Cardinals 7
Milwaukee – Chad Moeller hit a three-run homer and Brady Clark added a two-run drive in a seven-run second inning off Mark Mulder.
Milwaukee (77-77) is trying to finish with a winning record for the first time since 1992, when the Brewers in the American League.
Pirates 8, Dodgers 3
Los Angeles – Oliver Perez pitched six strong innings to earn his first victory in more than three months, rookie Brad Eldred hit a three-run homer, and the Pittsburgh snapped a four-game losing streak and mathematically eliminated the Dodgers from postseason contention.
