UP
Craig Biggio drove in three runs and Andy Pettitte pitched the surging Astros to their seventh straight victory, 7-4 over the Pirates. The win moved the Astros over .500 for the first time since June 22–the day Roger Clemens made his first start of the season vs. the Twins.
UP
Greg Maddux threw 76 pitches in a six-inning outing as his Dodgers beat the Rockies 11-4 to grab the NL wild-card lead. He didn’t walk a batter while striking out three. Catcher Russell Martin drove in four runs, and Nomar Garciaparra added a two-run homer to boost the offense.
UP
Nick Swisher and Milton Bradley each homered in a four-run second to back Rich Harden’s five shutout innings, helping the A’s clinch their first AL West title since 2003 with a 12-3 win over the Mariners. It was their 14th division title overall, including four in a row from 2000-03.
THREE DOWN
DOWN
Dontrelle Willis fell to 12-12, yielding five runs and seven hits in five innings in a 5-3 loss to the Reds that eliminated the Marlins from the wild-card chase. David Weathers retired Miguel Cabrera on a called third strike for the third out of the eighth with the tying runs on.
DOWN
Mike Cameron’s two-run double capped the Padres’ four-run seventh inning against Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter and shrunk St. Louis’ lead in the NL Central to 1 1/2 games in a 7-5 win. The Cardinals, who led by seven games with 13 to go, couldn’t hold a three-run lead.
DOWN
Tigers outfielder Magglio Ordonez left Tuesday night’s game against Toronto because of spasms in his lower back. He is hitting .296 with 24 homers and a team-high 102 RBIs in 150 games, the most he has played since playing 160 in 2003 with the White Sox.
