Houston – Charles Gipson was cut down at home plate for the final out following Luke Scott’s double into the right-center gap, and the Chicago Cubs beat Houston 3-2 on Thursday night to cut the Astros’ lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card race to two games.
Derrek Lee broke a sixth-inning tie with his 46th homer, and the Cubs led by one run entering the ninth.
Ryan Dempster walked Orlando Palmeiro with one out, Gipson pinch ran and pinch-hitter Mike Lamb struck out. Scott pinch hit and doubled, with center fielder Corey Patterson cutting the ball off.
Patterson threw to second baseman Jose Macias, who made a perfect relay to catcher Henry Blanco, well ahead of Gipson.
Blanco blocked the plate and the speedy Gipson tried to knock him over, but the catcher applied the tag and held on.
Houston, which won 11 of its previous 14 games, missed a chance to clinch no worse than a tie for the wild card. The Astros (87-72) still have a commanding position over the Phillies (85-74) with three games to go.
Philadelphia, which was off Thursday, begins a series tonight at Washington.
Houston finishes the regular season against the Cubs, with Andy Pettitte (17-9) trying to win his eighth consecutive decision tonight. Roger Clemens (12-8) and Roy Oswalt (19-12) are the scheduled starters over the weekend.
Glendon Rusch (9-8) won his fourth decision in a row over five September starts for the Cubs, who must sweep the four-game series to avoid a losing record. Dempster got his 32nd save in 34 chances.
Wandy Rodriguez (10-10) gave up three runs and five hits over seven innings. He is 1-4 in September, his only losing month this season.
Lance Berkman led off the second with his 23rd homer to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.
Matt Murton’s homer in the fourth tied the game, and Lee put the Cubs ahead 2-1 in the sixth with a 401-foot drive off the facade behind the seats in left field.
Jeromy Burnitz was hit by a Rodriguez pitch leading off the seventh, then went to third base after shortstop Adam Everett’s throwing error on a grounder by Michael Barrett. Burnitz came home on a wild pitch, but Barrett was thrown out when the Cubs tried a squeeze play – Rusch was unable to get his bat on a pitch that bounced in front of the plate and was scooped up by catcher Raul Chavez.
Jason Lane led off the Astros’ seventh with a long flyball to left, but Murton made a leaping catch against the hand-operated scoreboard. Chris Burke and Adam Everett then had consecutive singles before pinch-hitter Jeff Bagwell hit a sacrifice fly. Rusch got out of the inning by striking out pinch-hitter Jose Vizcaino.
Brewers 2, Reds 0
Milwaukee – Gary Glover (5-4) allowed two hits over seven innings and struck out a career-high 10 to lead Milwaukee on “free admission” day at Miller Park.
