ST. LOUIS -- Yadier Molina hit a disputed double that drove in the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning Thursday night, sending the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds 4-3.
The Cardinals began the day one game behind San Francisco for the second NL wild-card spot.
Matt Carpenter drew a one-out walk from Blake Wood (6-5). With two outs, Molina's one-hop hit appeared to bounce off a sign above the left-field wall and carom back into play.
Carpenter kept running and scored from first. Reds Manager Bryan Price ran after the umpires, who left the field as soon as Carpenter touched the plate.
Price later said umpire crew chief Bill Miller told him that teams have 10 seconds to appeal on a game-ending play, and that the complaint wasn't made in time.
"I'm not blaming the umpires. I'm blaming the system," Price said.
Molina and Jedd Gyorko hit solo home runs for the Cardinals.
Seung Hwan Oh (6-3) wound up with the victory.
Cincinnati scored single runs in the eighth and ninth. Pinch hitter Scott Schebler had a two-out, two-strike infield single to make it 3-3.
Gyorko hit his team-high 28th home run off starter Dan Straily in the second. Molina hit his eighth home run in the fifth.
St. Louis rookie Alex Reyes, in his fifth major league start, gave up 1 run on 7 hits in a 99-pitch outing. He struck out six and walked two.
Reyes, who lowered his ERA to 1.57, also drove in the go-ahead run with a groundout.
Cincinnati closed to within 3-2 in the eighth on a double by Joey Votto and an RBI single by Adam Duvall.
Votto left the game after suffering a cut to his chin while sliding into second base. He had three hits.
The Reds have scored first in their last seven games.
NATIONALS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 3 Wilmer Difo hit his first major league home run and Pedro Severino his second, helping injury-depleted NL East champion Washington move closer to clinching home-field advantage in the Division Series by beating visiting Arizona.
CUBS 1, PIRATES 1 (6) Chicago and host Pittsburgh played to the first tie game in the major leagues since 2005 when rain forced the teams to stop in the sixth inning. The Cubs and Pirates aren't scheduled to play again this season, and the game won't be made up because it doesn't affect postseason positioning.
BRAVES 5, PHILLIES 2 Freddie Freeman's 30-game hitting streak ended when he struck out in the eighth inning of a tie game, but Atlanta managed to score four runs after that off visiting Philadelphia closer Jeanmar Gomez and beat the Phillies. Tied 1-1 with rookie Dansby Swanson at first base, Freeman whiffed to end the longest hitting streak in the majors since Dan Uggla (33) in 2011.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
YANKEES 5, RED SOX 1 Host New York was eliminated from playoff contention despite a victory over Boston that completed a three-game sweep of the AL East champions. New York, which could not overcome a 9-17 start, was in the bottom of the seventh inning when Baltimore's victory at Toronto knocked out the Yankees.
ORIOLES 4, BLUE JAYS 0 Ubaldo Jimenez and two relievers combined on a three-hitter and visiting Baltimore beat Toronto, moving into a tie with the Blue Jays in the AL wild card race with three games remaining. Jimenez (8-12) allowed one hit in 62/3 innings, improving to 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA in five September starts. He walked three and struck out five.
TWINS 7, ROYALS 6 Byron Buxton tripled, doubled, drove in two runs and scored twice as Minnesota defeated host Kansas City. Buxton's one-out double triggered a three-run ninth off Kelvin Herrera (2-6). Robbie Grossman, Miguel Sano and Max Kepler contributed run-scoring singles in the ninth.
RAYS 5, WHITE SOX 3 Chris Archer overcame a shaky seventh inning to avoid becoming the majors' first 20-game loser since 2003 and lead visiting Tampa Bay past Chicago. Archer (9-19) allowed 3 runs and 6 hits in 62/3 innings to help the Rays snap a six-game skid and leave Detroit's Mike Maroth as the only pitcher to lose 20 games this century.
Sports on 09/30/2016