N.L. Playoff Races: Friday-Morning Update

Nationals 4, Dodgers 1: The Nationals were one of those clinchers; the first postseason spot for the Expos/Nationals franchise since 1981's split season is now in the books, with the team's magic number for assuring themselves of the NL East title dropping to eight after their win over the visitors from Los Angeles. Ross Detwiler threw six strong innings and Drew Storen posted his third save of the season. The Nats boosted their lead in the division to 5½ games over the Braves, who had the day off. The Braves and Nats don't meet again, so it would be quite an uphill climb for Atlanta to take the division -- instead, the Braves will settle for a wild-card spot; they now lead that race by six games.

Reds 5, Cubs 3: Jason Berken and Johnny Cueto matched zeroes at Wrigley Field for six innings Thursday, and then the teams' bullpens took over. Cincinnati's pen outpitched Chicago's; Manuel Corpas gave up five consecutive hits in a five-run Reds seventh inning and the Reds reduced their magic number for the NL Central title to two. In so doing, they also clinched a playoff berth; they could potentially clinch the division Friday if they win and the Cardinals lose to the Cubs in Chicago (OK, so the latter isn't likely). Reds manager Dusty Baker missed the last two games of the series; he was hospitalized in Chicago for an irregular heartbeat, but is expected to rejoin the team Friday in Cincinnati.

Cardinals 5, Astros 4: Allen Craig hit a three-run homer and Carlos Beltran's two-run pinch-hit double broke a tie as the Cardinals swept the visiting Astros, who dropped their 102nd game of the season. St. Louis continues to lead the second wild-card spot by 2½ games over the Brewers.

Giants 9, Rockies 2: You'd have thought this series was played in Denver, with the Giants scoring 24 runs in a four-game sweep. But the Giants were hosting in San Francisco as they pounded out 14 hits against five Rockies pitchers; the highlights were a pair of home runs from Pablo Sandoval, who drove in four runs, and the 23rd round-tripper of the season by Giants catcher Buster Posey, who's hitting .335/.410/.547 and making a strong push for the NL MVP. San Francisco's magic number for clinching the NL West is now three.

Brewers 9, Pirates 7: In a four-hour, seven-minute marathon that saw 26 hits and seven walks, the Brew Crew outlasted the Bucs and probably ended Pittsburgh's wild-card hopes as the visitors from Milwaukee completed a three-game sweep. Aramis Ramirez homered and in doing so, tied Ron Santo for sixth place for career home runs by a third baseman (337). Andrew McCutchen, another MVP candidate, smacked his 30th homer.

Phillies 16, Mets 1: No, that is not a misprint. The Phillies scored eight runs in the first inning, and nearly bookended it by putting up seven in the ninth. Ryan Howard homered and drove in five runs and Chase Utley went 4-for-5 with four RBI in the Phillies' 21-hit attack.

Padres 6, Diamondbacks 5: The D'backs, like the Pirates, slipped under .500 and potentially out of wild-card contention with this loss at home to San Diego. Arizona loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, and Padres manager Bud Black called on three different relievers to get the three outs, the final one registered by Anthony Bass when he struck out Aaron Hill to end the game.