ATLANTA — This time, the Atlanta Braves held on to their big lead and locked up a playoff trip with plenty of time to spare.
It couldn’t have felt any sweeter for retiring star Chipper Jones.
Freddie Freeman hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to put Atlanta back in the postseason with a 4-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.
Freeman’s drive off Mike Dunn clinched at least a National League wild-card berth for the Braves, who squandered a big lead in the wildcard race with an 8 1/2-game collapse last September.
“They took the attitude last year to try and hang on,” Jones said. “This year we took the bull by the horns. We’re shooting for the stars. We’re still shooting for the division until they [the Washington Nationals] close us out.”
The Braves moved within four games of the Nationals, who lost to Philadelphia, with eight to play.
Jones, who plans to retire at the end of the season, led off the ninth with a double. He moved to third on a wild pitch by Dunn (0-3) and scored when Freeman’s 22nd home run easily cleared the center-field wall.
“There was never any doubt,” Jones said during the clubhouse celebration. “We knew that last year was somewhat of a fluke.”
Craig Kimbrel (3-1) worked a scoreless inning to help the Braves win their 22nd consecutive game started by Kris Medlen. The streak is the longest in the majors since the New York Yankees won 22 consecutive games started by Whitey Ford in 1950 and 1953.
CARDINALS 4, ASTROS 0 Jaime Garcia pitched seven sharp innings and Jon Jay drove in two runs to help visiting St. Louis improve its playoff chances. Garcia (6-7) allowed six hits and struck out five to beat the Astros for the second time in a week after going 0-5 in his first seven starts against Houston. The Cardinals won their fourth consecutive and moved 4 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee in the race for the second NL wild card.
REDS 4, BREWERS 2 Johnny Cueto pitched seven solid innings, and host Cincinnati stayed in the chase for the NL’s top record by beating Milwaukee. Cueto (19-9) didn’t allow a runner to reach second base until Carlos Gomez doubled with two outs in the fifth inning.
PHILLIES 6, NATIONALS 3 Darin Ruf homered for his first major league hit, and Carlos Ruiz and Domonic Brown also homered as host Philadelphia beat playoff-bound Washington.
PIRATES 10, METS 6 Pedro Alvarez hit his 30th home run and drove in four runs as Pittsburgh ended host New York’s four-game winning streak.
American League
TIGERS 2, ROYALS 0 Anibal Sanchez threw his first shutout in over a year, and host Detroit moved into a tie for first place in the AL Central. Sanchez (4-6) retired the first 11 hitters he faced and allowed only three hits.
INDIANS 4, WHITE SOX 3 Host Chicago gave Detroit an opening to tie for the AL Central lead when Gordon Beckham hit into a game-ending forceout with the potential tying run on second base in a loss to last-place Cleveland.
BLUE JAYS 4, ORIOLES 0 Aaron Laffey and five relievers pitched a combined six-hitter as Toronto beat host Baltimore for the second consecutive game.
RAYS 5, RED SOX 2 David Price (19-5) struck out a season-high 13 and Jeff Keppinger hit a threerun home run as visiting Tampa Bay extended its winning streak to six games.
TWINS 5, YANKEES 4 A two-run double by Denard Span kept visiting New York from increasing its AL East lead over Baltimore.
ATHLETICS 3, RANGERS 2 George Kottaras hit a leadoff home run in the 10th inning and visiting Oakland moved within four games of the AL West lead by beating first-place Texas. The A’s began the day two games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels for the second AL wild-card spot.
Tuesday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 6, Washington 3 Atlanta 4, Miami 3 Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 2 Pittsburgh 10, NY Mets 6 St. Louis 4, Houston 0 Chicago Cubs at Colorado, (n) LA Dodgers at San Diego, (n) Arizona at San Francisco, (n)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland 4, Chicago White Sox 3 Detroit 2, Kansas City 0 Toronto 4, Baltimore 0 Tampa Bay 5, Boston 2 Oakland 3, Texas 2 (10) Minnesota 5, NY Yankees 4 Seattle at LA Angels, (n)
Sports, Pages 22 on 09/26/2012