By The Associated Press
St. Louis – Roy Oswalt won for the fourth time this month, helping the Houston Astros extend their wild-card lead with a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.
Jason Lane hit a two-run homer and Craig Biggio hit his 25th, a career best. Biggio returned to the team after spending Monday in Houston for his mother’s open heart surgery.
The Astros (86-71) matched a season high at 15 games above .500 and snapped a six-game skid in St. Louis, winning for the fourth time in 15 tries overall against the Cardinals. Houston has five games remaining, four at home against the Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia’s 3-2 loss to the New York Mets gave the Astros a 2 1/2-game lead.
Houston’s win also eliminated the Mets from playoff contention.
Matt Morris (14-10) lost his career-worst fifth consecutive decision despite working six solid innings. Larry Walker had three hits in his first game back after a fourth cortisone shot for a herniated disc in his neck, and scored the Cardinals’ run on Reggie Sanders’ double in the sixth.
Oswalt (19-12) allowed one run and eight hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. He is 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA in September.
Brad Lidge worked two scoreless innings for his 39th save in 42 chances.
Mets 3, Phillies 2
Philadelphia – Jose Reyes was 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits as New York dampened Philadelphia’s playoff hopes.
Jimmy Rollins extended his hitting streak to a team-record 32 games with a single in the seventh for the Phillies.
“We’re down three games (in the loss column) with four left. That’s a hard battle,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “At the same time, we don’t quit.”
Juan Padilla (3-1) pitched two scoreless innings in relief to get the win. Aaron Heilman finished with two scoreless innings for his fourth save, striking out Bobby Abreu with a runner on second to end it.
Pirates 5, Cubs 3
Chicago – Jason Bay’s three- run homer lifted Pittsburgh over Chicago and put Greg Maddux in jeopardy of finishing with a losing record for the first time in 18 years.
Maddux, scheduled to start the season finale Sunday at Houston, has not finished below .500 since 1987, when he was 6-14 for the Cubs. Maddux (13-14) pitched a complete game, allowing five runs and eight hits.
Brewers 6, Reds 2
Milwaukee – Rick Helling (3-1) allowed three hits over six innings and Milwaukee climbed above .500 for the first time in four months. Helling struck out a season-high eight and J.J. Hardy homered for Milwaukee (79-78), which had not been over the break-even mark since being 24-23 on May 27.
Nationals 11, Marlins 1
Miami – Seeking his 23rd victory, Dontrelle Willis (22-10) instead gave up a career-high nine runs – four unearned – as Florida mathematically was eliminated from the wild-card race.
