ST. LOUIS — Jake Fox homered in the 11th inning and the Chicago Cubs benefited from a wide slide by Matt Holliday, beating St. Louis 6-3 Sunday night and keeping the Cardinals' magic number at four for clinching the NL Central.
An interference call on Holliday cost the Cardinals a chance for a three-game sweep.
The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, and Ryan Ludwick hit a potential double-play grounder. Shortstop Ryan Theroit's relay was wide and Ludwick eluded the tag, letting the apparent winning run score and setting off fireworks over Busch Stadium.
But while several St. Louis players ran onto the field to celebrate, second base umpire Marty Foster said Holliday slid out of the basepath and ruled an inning-ending double play. Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa came out to argue, and Foster showed him the dirt path where Holliday slid going after Theriot - it was clearly too wide of the bag.
Fox hit a two-run home run in the 11th off Mitchell Boggs (2-3). Another run scored on Brad Thompson's wild pitch.
The Cardinals completed a 3-6 homestand, missing a chance to wrap up their first trip to the postseason since winning the 2006 World Series. Adam Wainwright was foiled in a second shot at his 19th victory.
The Cubs won hours after suspending right fielder Milton Bradley for the rest of the season. He was penalized for making disparaging remarks about the franchise and its fans.
Esmailin Caridad (1-0) pitched1 /3 scoreless innings for his first major league victory. Carlos Marmol finished for his 14th save in 18 chances.
The Cardinals made it 3-3 in the eighth off Kevin Gregg on Holliday's leadoff walk, a wild pitch and Yadier Molina's two-out single. Gregg has allowed 18 earned runs in 20 1 /3 innings the past two months.
Aramis Ramirez scored from second on shortstop Brendan Ryan's throwing error while trying to complete a double play to put the Cubs ahead 3-2 in the sixth.
Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano struck out 6 in 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits. He's 4-0 with a 1.62 ERA in five starts on the Cardinals' home field.
Wainwright remained tied with CC Sabathia for the major league victory lead after allowing two earned in seven innings.
Consecutive RBI doubles by Mark DeRosa and Albert Pujols in the fifth put the Cardinals ahead 2-1. In the top half, Blanco hit an RBI double off the base of the centerfield wall for the Cubs' first extra base hit in 21 innings.
DODGERS 6, GIANTS 2
Andre Ethier hit a go-ahead home run off Tim Lincecum and host Los Angeles beat San Francisco to go 30 games over .500 for the first time in almost 24 years.
ROCKIES 5, DIAMONDBACKS 1
Jason Giambi homered for the second consecutive game and Ubaldo Jimenez (14-11) outpitchedDan Haren to help visiting Colorado tighten its grip on the NL wild card with a victory over Arizona.
PHILLIES 4, BRAVES 2
Philadelphia ended rookie Tommy Hanson's streak of 19 consecutive scoreless innings, tagging Hanson (10-4) for four runs and seven hits and damaging host Atlanta's faint wild-card hopes. Cliff Lee (Benton, Arkansas Razorbacks) gave up 1 runon 5 hits and struck out 2 before a rain delay of 1 hour, 51 minutes in the middle of the fifth inning ended his start.
REDS 8, MARLINS 1
Corky Miller hit a home run to back a strong outing from Kip Wells (2-4) and host Cincinnati gained a split of its four-game series against Florida.
BREWERS 6, ASTROS 0
Prince Fielder hit his 40th home run and Yovani Gallardo (13-12) pitched five solid innings to help Milwaukee complete a sweep of Houston with its fifth consecutive victory.
METS 6, NATIONALS 2
John Maine (6-5) pitched five shutout innings to earn his first victory since May 31, and host New York beat Washington.
PADRES 4, PIRATES 0
Kevin Correia (11-10) added to his impressive September, pitching seven strong innings for San Diego against Pittsburgh. Correia allowed six hits and did not walk a batter. He is 2-0 with a 1.67 ERA in four starts this month.
American League MARINERS 7, YANKEES 1 Ken Griffey Jr. homered and drove in four runs, putting visiting New York's playoff party on hold by leading Seattle to a victory. The loss prevented New York from clinching a spot in the postseason. The Yankees can secure their 14th playoff berth in15 years with a victory at Los Angeles tonight or a Texas loss at Oakland.
RED SOX 9, ORIOLES 3
Jason Bay and Jacoby Ellsbury each homered and drove in three runs to lead Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-5) and visiting Boston past Baltimore.
ROYALS 2, WHITE SOX 1
Robinson Tejeda (4-1) won his third consecutive start and visiting Kansas City beat Chicago. Mitch Maier had an RBI single for the Royals, who have won 10 of their past 13 games.
ANGELS 10, RANGERS 5
Gary Matthews Jr. snapped out of his September slump with a tiebreaking home run and a two-run single for visiting Los Angeles in a victory over Texas. Pine Bluff's Torii Hunter was 0 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
RAYS 3, BLUE JAYS 1 David Price (9-7) allowed one run over 6 2 /3 innings, Carl Crawford hit a two-run home run and host Tampa Bay beat Roy Halladay (15-10) and Toronto.
ATHLETICS 11, INDIANS 4 Adam Kennedy had three hits and drove in three runs to help host Oakland beat Cleveland, matching their season-high seven-game winning streak.
TIGERS 6, TWINS 2 Placido Polanco drove in three runs, Detroit's bullpen pitched four shutout innings and the Tigers avoided a three-game sweep with a victory over host Minnesota to increase their AL Central lead to three games.
Sunday's games NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati 8, Florida 1 NY Mets 6, Washington 2 Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 2 San Diego 4, Pittsburgh 0 Milwaukee 6, Houston 0 Colorado 5, Arizona 1 LA Dodgers 6, San Francisco 2 Chicago Cubs 6, St. Louis 3, 11 innings AMERICAN LEAGUE LA Angels 10, Texas 5 Boston 9, Baltimore 3 Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 1 Kansas City 2, Chicago White Sox 1 Detroit 6, Minnesota 2 Oakland 11, Cleveland 4 Seattle 7, NY Yankees 1
Sports, Pages 13, 18 on 09/21/2009