PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Frandsen hit one of Philadelphia's four solo homers to back Kyle Kendrick, and the Phillies inched closer in the NL playoff race with a 6-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves Friday night. Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and Chase Utley also went deep for the resurgent Phillies, who pulled within three games of St. Louis for the league's second wild-card spot with their fourth straight win. Milwaukee and Los Angeles also stand in Philadelphia's way with 11 games remaining. Despite the loss, the Braves are in excellent position to secure a postseason berth. Their magic number for clinching a spot was five, pending the outcome of the Milwaukee-Washington game. Dodgers 3, Reds 1, 10 innings: Matt Kemp's two-out single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning sent the Dodgers to a victory that denied the Reds' first chance to clinch the NL Central. The Dodgers won for only the fifth time in 15 games, moving two games behind St. Louis for the final NL wild card. They also trail Milwaukee by a half-game. Cincinnati was trying to lock up its second division title in three years without manager Dusty Baker, still in a Chicago hospital with an irregular heartbeat. Brewers 4, Nationals 2: Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez had consecutive RBI hits in the ninth inning off Nationals closer Tyler Clippard and the Brewers extended their season-high winning streak to six games with a win over the Nationals. The victory combined with a St. Louis loss moved the Brewers within 1 1-2 games of the Cardinals for the final wild card berth in the National League. Cubs 5, Cardinals 4, 11 innings: Darwin Barney spoiled Chris Carpenter's season debut with a two-run, game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth inning, and David DeJesus hit a game-ending single in the 11th to help the Cubs beat the Cardinals. Alberto Cabrera (1-1) struck out two in a perfect 11th to earn his first career victory. Mets 7, Marlins 3: The Mets managed to avoid falling into last place in the NL East, beating the cellar-dwelling Marlins behind a big game by Scott Hairston. New York, which also got a solo homer from Ike Davis, had lost nine straight at home since beating Houston on Aug. 26. The Mets won for only the fifth time in their last 30 games at Citi Field and ended a team-record streak of 16 home games without scoring more than three runs. Astros 7, Pirates 1: Jed Lowrie hit a three-run homer and Justin Maxwell and Brett Wallace added solo shots to help the Astros coast to a win over Pittsburgh, further dampening the Pirates already dim postseason hopes. The Pirates couldn't find much offense as they lost their fourth straight game to fall to six games back for the second NL wild card spot. They've lost 16 of their last 20 games in this late-season swoon to fall to 74-76. Diamondbacks 15, Rockies 5: Rookie Wade Miley tossed six innings for his 16th win, Chris Johnson homered among his three hits and drove in three runs, and the Diamondbacks beat the slumping Rockies. Giants 5, Padres 1: Buster Posey hit a tiebreaking RBI single on the night he received a prestigious award and the Giants reduced their magic number for clinching the NL West to two with a victory over the Padres. — Agencies
