Baseball

Oswalt puts Astros in command

ST. LOUIS - It has been a big September for Roy Oswalt, and this time he stifled a team that has given him problems.

Oswalt won for the fourth time this month with the help of a two-inning save from Brad Lidge, and the Houston Astros extended their wild-card lead to 21/2 games over the Phillies with a 3-1 victory over the Cardinals on Tuesday night.

"They were swinging the bats pretty good and it didn't look like things were going to happen with a big night offensively," Houston manager Phil Garner said. "So Roy had to pitch well, and he did. So did Brad."

Oswalt allowed one run and eight hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. He is 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA in September. He lost his other two starts against the Cardinals this season, allowing 10 runs in 12 innings.

"I've faced these guys 50 times it feels like already," Oswalt said. "I got a few guys to swing at pitches out of the strike zone, that's the biggest thing."

Jason Lane hit a two-run homer and Craig Biggio hit his 25th, a career best. Biggio returned to the team after spending Monday in Houston for his mother's open heart surgery.

The Astros (86-71) matched a season high at 15 games above .500 and snapped a six-game skid in St. Louis, winning for the fourth time in 15 tries overall against the Cardinals. Houston has five games left, four at home against the Cubs.

SAN DIEGO - The Padres have finally staggered to the cusp of the West title.

Ramon Hernandez hit a go-ahead grand slam and drove in a career-high seven runs to lead the Padres to a 9-6 win over the Giants, reducing their magic number to two for clinching the division crown.

The Padres, who overcame Barry Bonds' 708th homer - a three-run shot - can wrap up the fourth division championship in their 37-year history by winning one of the two remaining games in this four-game series with the second-place Giants. San Diego has a four-game lead with five to play.

METS 3, PHILLIES 2: Jose Reyes was 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits, and visiting New York eliminated Philadelphia from contention in the East.

The Mets were eliminated from playoff contention when Houston beat St. Louis.

NATIONALS 11, MARLINS 1: Dontrelle Willis, seeking his 23rd win, instead gave up a career-high nine runs, four unearned, as visiting Florida was mathematically eliminated from the wild-card race and fell into a tie with Washington for last place in the East.

PIRATES 5, CUBS 3: Jason Bay's three-run homer lifted visiting Pittsburgh and put Greg Maddux in jeopardy of finishing with a losing record for the first time in 18 years.

BREWERS 6, REDS 2: Rick Helling allowed three hits in six innings and host Milwaukee moved above .500 for the first time in four months.

D'BACKS 2, DODGERS 0: Brandon Webb allowed two hits in seven innings and Chad Tracy hit a two-run homer in the eighth for visiting Arizona.

[Last modified September 28, 2005, 02:30:38]