The Atlanta Braves have opened an Indianesque lead in the NL East.
By beating Cincinnati 2-1 Thursday night, while Philadelphia was losing 5-1 to New York in 11 innings, the Braves opened a 131/2-game lead in the division.The only other major-league division with so large a discrepancy is the AL Central, where Cleveland is ahead by 18 games.
Atlanta's victory on Javier Lopez's two-out RBI single in the ninth gave the Braves two victories in the three-game series against Cincinnati, which has a 71/2-game lead over Houston in the NL Central.
"We'll see the Reds again in the playoffs," Lopez said. "Beating them two of three is awesome."
"This is a tough one to lose," Reds manager Davey Johnson said.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, lost its fifth in a row and its 11th in the last 12 games to drop below .500 for the first time since being 0-1. The Phillies are six games back in the wild-card race - a deficit that would be even larger if Houston hadn't lost five in a row.
Braves 2, Reds 1
At Atlanta, the score was tied 1-1 with two outs in the ninth when Fred McGriff and David Justice singled, putting runners on the corners. Lopez then ripped a hit off Hector Carrasco (2-4) between third and shortstop.
Reliever Mark Wohlers (5-3) got the victory with one scoreless inning of relief. Braves starter Tom Glavine hit his first major league homer and allowed one unearned run and five hits in eight innings. He struck out six to move within three of 1,000.
Mets 5, Phillies 1
At Philadelphia, Rico Brogna singled with one out in the 11th and went to third on Joe Orsulak's single. Jose Vizcaino, with nine hits in his last 14 at-bats, then singled in Brogna to break a 1-1 tie.
Don Florence (1-0), who pitched one hitless inning of relief, got the victory in his first major league game. Healthcliff Slocumb (2-4) took the loss.
Marlins 3, Rockies 2
At Miami, the Marlins rallied for two runs in the seventh inning and another in the eighth.
Steve Decker drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly after Andre Dawson doubled and made it to third on a fielding error. The Marlins have the best record in the NL (18-9) since the All-Star break.
Expos 6, Astros 2
Rondell White had a two-run triple and Darrin Fletcher and Moises Alou hit solo homers for Montreal, which swept the three-game series at Houston.
Butch Henry (7-9) pitched eight strong innings, retiring 13 in a row in one stretch and striking out five.
Giants 8, Pirates 7
At San Francisco, the Giants blew a seven-run lead before going ahead in the eighth on Barry Bonds' RBI double.
Padres 3, Cubs 2
Cubs 12, Padres 5
Steve Trachsel (5-8) won at Wrigley Field for only the second time in 22 career starts, giving the Cubs a split of the doubleheader. The Padres rallied for two runs in the seventh to win the opener.