Padres Are Heads Up In Win Against Phils

National League

A head-first slide made the difference Saturday in a game between teams in the tight N.L. wild card race.

Brian Johnson’s dive helped him reach on an infield hit with two outs in the 11th inning, giving the San Diego Padres a 6-5 win over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies.

The Padres won for the third time in four games. Two of those wins came in San Diego’s last at-bat.

“We had a little lull where we weren’t quite finishing people off,” Johnson said. “I think we’ve overcome that and we’re heading into the last part of the season on a good note.”

In the 11th, Andujar Cedeno reached on a force play and took second on pinch-hitter Phil Clark’s single. The runners advanced on Jody Reed’s groundout.

Johnson hit a high chopper off reliever Heathcliff Slocumb (4-6) that second baseman Mickey Morandini fielded behind the bag. Morandini made a hurried, off-balance throw, and Johnson beat it with a dive.

Astros 10, Marlins 8

Houston

Jeff Bagwell homered as Houston built an early eight-run lead, then pinch-hitter Tony Eusebio hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning that led Houston past Florida.

Bagwell hit a solo homer in the fifth for an 8-0 lead. He has three RBIs in two games since coming back from a broken left hand.

Rockies 6, Cards 1

St. Louis

Rookie Roger Bailey pitched strong to win his fourth consecutive start as Colorado beat St. Louis. Bailey (7-5) is unbeaten since he became a starter Aug. 17. The 24-year old right-hander allowed five hits, walked three and struck out four.

Expos 9, Dodgers 8

Los Angeles

Sean Berry had three hits, including a two-run homer, as Montreal held off Los Angeles and dropped the Dodgers into second place in the N.L. West.

Montreal left-hander Kirk Rueter, coming off a one-hit shutout last Sunday against the Giants, shrugged off a basepath collision with Dodgers reliever Joey Eischen in the top of the fifth and pitched long enough to get the win.

Pirates 11, Reds 8

Cincinnati

Rick White won for the first time in more than a year, helping himself with an RBI double during a seven-run seventh inning that gave Pittsburgh a win against Cincinnati.

Cubs 6, Braves 4

Atlanta

Sammy Sosa homered twice and reached 100 RBIs for the first time in his career, leading Chicago past Atlanta. Jaime Navarro (13-5) became the first pitcher to beat the Braves in consecutive starts this season.

Giants 5, Mets 3

San Francisco

Mark Leonard hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat of the season and Sergio Valdez threw a four-hitter as San Francisco defeated New York.

Clearing the bases

Now that Los Angeles is finally through picking at its scab - at least in public - the team has gone back to doing what it does more prolifically than any other team.

The Dodgers committed seven errors Friday night, increasing their season total to 116 in 118 games. The Montreal Expos were the grateful recipients and prevailed 6-5.

The Dodgers, who say they’re finished making life miserable for new teammate Mike Busch, had no other reason to be distracted in the field. But center fielder Brett Butler, the former replacement player’s most vocal antagonist, may still have his mind elsewhere.

Butler, who officiated at a hastily called news conference before Thursday night’s game as much to repair his own tarnished reputation with the fans as to reconcile with Busch, made one of the Dodgers’ errors. That was almost as newsworthy as the Busch controversy, because it was Butler’s fifth in his last 669 games.