Nl Wild Card

Another no-decision for Kirk Rueter, another big win for San Francisco. Jeff Kent and Benito Santiago hit solo home runs in the ninth inning yesterday and the Giants kept pushing toward the NL wild-card slot, beating host Milwaukee, 3-1. San Francisco has a two-game lead over Los Angeles, which beat San Diego yesterday, for the wild card. The Giants swept the three-game series at Miller Park. They have won five of six and 24 of 34. Rueter limited Milwaukee to one run and three hits in seven innings.

It's one of the most prolific white lies in baseball: Scoreboard-watch? Me? Never. "I don't know about anybody else, but I do," Phillies lefthander Randy Wolf said honestly yesterday at Wrigley Field. "It's exciting. This is what it's all about. "To be in the hunt. To be in a situation where you give yourself a chance to play past September. " The Phillies are in third place in the National League wild-card race. Cincinnati and San Diego are in front, the only other wild-card contenders above .500.

Suddenly, there is a new Phillies story line to follow besides Chase Utley's hitting streak, who gets traded next, and what kind of ice cream is in the clubhouse freezer. The Phils are legitimately hot. Their bats have come alive. They're playing with energy. And they're winning. All this has helped make them - unbelievable as it may seem - contenders in the sloppy National League wild-card race. Riding a 12-strikeout performance from rookie lefthander Cole Hamels, the Phils completed their first sweep in St. Louis since August 2002 with an 8-1 victory over the Cardinals last night at Busch Stadium.

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With two World Series rings and plenty of postseason experience over his 21-year career, Roger Clemens knows a lot about winning. But Houston's furious push for the playoffs has left even The Rocket at a loss for a comparison. Clemens got his 326th win to tie Eddie Plank for 11th on the career list, and the Astros hit four first-inning home runs to beat visiting Cincinnati, 5-2, yesterday and move into the NL wild-card lead with their 12th straight win. "I've been on clubs throughout my career who've won quite a few in a row," Clemens said, "but I don't know if it's ever been like this.

Jeremy Hermida drove in three runs and Dontrelle Willis won for the second time in his last 20 starts as last-place Florida dealt a blow to the host Colorado's wild-card hopes with last night's 7-6 win. Willis (9-15) labored through six innings, giving up seven hits and walking four. The Rockies remain the only NL team to have never beaten the lefthander. He improved to 3-0 lifetime against Colorado. It was Willis' first win since Aug. 14 against Arizona. Willis had two hits, including an RBI triple in the fourth.

Roy Oswalt threw his second straight shutout and set a Houston record for consecutive scoreless innings, helping the surging Astros beat visiting Pittsburgh last night, 6-0, for their 14th win in 15 games. Houston was 66-66 and 11 games back of Milwaukee, the NL wild-card leader, before the surge began Aug, 27. The latest win closed the Astros within three games of the Brewers, who lost 6-3 at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils are also three back in the wild-card hunt. It's uncertain when the Astros will play again.

A day that began with so much emotion and squabbling in the clubhouse ended in the best way possible for the Florida Marlins. A party at home plate. Wes Helms hit a game-winning homer, Dan Uggla had a two-run shot after challenging teammate Hanley Ramirez' effort, and the bickering Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-7, last night. Helms hit the 3-2 pitch off Mike Gonzalez (3-4) well over the leftfield scoreboard at Land Shark Stadium, sending teammates pouring out of the dugout in celebration, with even Ramirez joining in late.

Jason LaRue wasn't known as a power hitter, but delivered in a big way for Cincinnati. LaRue's one-out homer in the 11th inning powered the Reds, 5-4, over the visiting San Diego Padres last night and tightened the National League playoff race. LaRue had an awkward swing-and-miss on the first pitch from Doug Brocail (2-2), then connected on the next pitch for his eighth homer. LaRue, batting only .180, got into the 3-hour, 34-minute game in the late innings. Scott Schoeneweis (1-0)

As usual, Greg Maddux gave the credit to his teammates. Maddux became the first pitcher in major league history to win at least 15 games in 16 consecutive seasons, leading the Atlanta Braves over the visiting Florida Marlins, 8-0, yesterday. The Marlins' loss, coupled with the Phillies' loss to Cincinnati, kept Florida one-half game in front of the NL wild-card race. Maddux (15-11) had shared the record of winning 15 or more games in 15 straight seasons with Cy Young.

SCOTT ROLEN hit a solo home run and Jay Bruce and Dioner Navarro smacked run-scoring singles as the Cincinnati Reds defeated St. Louis, 3-1, to delay the Cardinals from clinching an NL wild-card spot on Tuesday night. The Cardinals, who may have clinched if the Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the San Francisco Giants late Tuesday night, face the Reds in their regular-season finale Wednesday night. The Cardinals' Adam Wainwright (14-13, 3.94) will face Homer Bailey (13-10, 3.75 ERA)

JAIME GARCIA homered off Bronson Arroyo and pitched into the seventh inning, helping the St. Louis Cardinals clinch a tie for the second NL wild card and spoil Dusty Baker's return from a mini-stroke with a 4-2 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Monday night. The defending World Series champions have won 11 of 14 and led the Los Angeles Dodgers, playing at home later against San Francisco, by 2 1/2 games. A loss by the Dodgers or another Cardinals win would wrap up a playoff spot for St. Louis and a visit to Atlanta for the wild-card game Friday.

METS RIGHTHANDER R.A. Dickey was so close yet so far from 20 wins, faltering from fatigue and fuming he had failed to seize the moment. "About the fourth or fifth inning I felt exasperated. I was not myself today for the most part," he said. "And then I'd come out for an at-bat and I would hear this kind of growing surge, and it really was neat. I mean, I don't know if I've ever experienced something like that before. Maybe I never will again. Although I wasn't distracted from the moment, how could you not be motivated to go out there and give the fans and, well, your teammates and yourself all that you have?"

To Lance Berkman, this season has been about meeting, rather than exceeding, expectations. A player who came to the Cardinals as a well-worn, free-agent first baseman enters the postseason as one of the National League's most productive outfielders. A team projected to miss the playoffs following the loss of ace Adam Wainwright will begin a best-of-five division series Saturday against the five-time NL East champion Phillies. Others may be impressed. Berkman said an often-trying season has brought him and the Cardinals to an appropriate place.

HOUSTON - Chris Carpenter came through like an ace and the St. Louis Cardinals earned the NL wild card, beating the Houston Astros, 8-0, last night and then watching the Braves lose to the Phillies in extra innings. The Cardinals and Atlanta began the day even in the wild-card race. When St. Louis finished, the Braves were tied with Philadelphia in extra innings. Carpenter (11-9) struck out 11 and allowed two hits in his 15th career complete-game shutout as St. Louis kept up its improbable September charge.

Here's a compelling reason for Phillies fans to root for Tampa Bay to catch Boston in the AL wild-card race. If the Rays accomplish the feat, they can soothe a bitter memory, a little. The Rays were nine games back of the Red Sox heading into play on Sept. 4. No major-league team has overcome a nine-game deficit in September to claim a postseason berth. The closest was the St. Louis Cardinals, who trailed the Phils by 81/2 games on Sept. 3, 1964, made up the ground, and went on to win the World Series, a Phils collapse that Touch 'Em All eminence grise Don McKee can recite by rote.

Little-used Pedro Ciriaco became the most unlikely of opponents to damage the St. Louis Cardinals' playoff chances. Ciriaco hit a tiebreaking double to cap a three-run rally in the eighth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates stunned visiting St. Louis, 6-5, last night, snapping the Cardinals' season-high five-game winning streak. "It's just a great feeling for him . . . after all the challenges he's had this year," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said of Ciriaco, sent back and forth from the minors six times this season.

NICK PUNTO HIT a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the 10th inning after Albert Pujols' two-run single tied it an inning earlier and the host St. Louis Cardinals kept their faint postseason hopes alive with a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves last night. Pujols had three hits and his hit just inside the first-base line with two outs in the ninth ended Craig Kimbrel's streak of 25 consecutive saves. Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman singled off Scott Linebrink (4-3) to start the 10th and moved up on a sacrifice.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers may get a chance over the next couple weeks to find out if champagne stains come out of gray uniforms easier than from white ones. Andre Ethier hit a go-ahead two-run homer off Tim Lincecum (14-6), Ronnie Belliard added a two-run single against the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, and the NL West leaders beat visiting San Francisco, 6-2, to go 30 games over .500 for the first time in almost 24 years. The Dodgers, who clinched the division title at home last season with three games to spare, now embark on a nine-game road trip through Washington, Pittsburgh and San Diego.