Ho-hum, another division title for the Atlanta Braves. Add one for the Houston Astros, too, albeit a bit later than they hoped.
The most thrilling race in the majors, though, remained tied - Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, still even at 62 home runs.The Braves made it seven straight division titles, taking the NL East with a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. How expected was it? The clincher attracted only 33,367 fans, the second-smallest crowd at Turner Field since May 28.
"I don't blame 'em," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "Certainly, it's not that easy, even though the people expect it. There could easily be a letdown, but there never is around here."
The Astros also got to break out the champagne after winning their second straight NL Central title. Houston lost 7-4 in 13 innings to the New York Mets but clinched the championship when second-place Chicago lost to San Diego 4-3.
"It's not the way we wanted to do it," Astros manager Larry Dierker said. "Even though we didn't win it on the field, I think everyone knows the potential of this club."
In the race for home-run history, Sosa struck out four times for the first time this season in Chicago's loss at San Diego. The defeat dropped the Cubs into a tie with New York for the wild-card lead.
"I don't remember the last time I had a game like that," Sosa said.
McGwire, who made an early exit from Sunday night's game because of back spasms, hit two singles in four at-bats as St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 7-3. As a precaution, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa plans to sit out McGwire in one game of today's doubleheader against the Pirates.
Atlanta added to its record of consecutive division titles when Tom Glavine became the NL's first 19-game winner. The left-hander (19-6) moved within one victory of his fourth 20-win season.
Chipper Jones and Michael Tucker homered for the Braves, who lined up for routine handshakes on the field when the game ended. In the clubhouse, though, there was champagne, and championship hats and shirts were given out.
The Braves won three straight NL West championships before switching to the East in 1994, a season that was stopped by a strike. Atlanta has won four in a row since the move.
A crowd of 24,241 at the Astrodome was ready to party when Houston took a 4-2 lead into the ninth. As the inning started, a message on the scoreboard cautioned fans to celebrate in the stands, not on the field.
"It was like they were saying the game was over," Mets outfielder Brian McRae said. "We saw that and it made us a little angry. You don't do that. It really fired me up."
McRae hit a tying, two-run homer in the ninth, then hit a two-run double in the 13th as the Mets delayed Houston's celebration.
Mike Piazza had four hits for New York, including a 480-foot homer. He was intentionally walked in the 13th before McRae's go-ahead double.
PADRES 4, CUBS 3: Ken Caminiti hit a leadoff home run in the eighth inning and a crowd of 50,384, boosted by Sosa's presence, saw the home team win. Greg Vaughn hit his 49th homer for San Diego.
Sosa, who leads the majors with 156 strikeouts, fanned three times against Sterling Hitchcock and once against Dan Miceli. The fans stood and cheered each time Sosa batted, and the public-address system played merengue music.
The Padres (95-56) pulled within a game of Atlanta and Houston (96-55) for the best record in the league. Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for the major league-leading 50th save.
CARDINALS 7, PIRATES 3: McGwire felt fine enough to play but took few healthy cuts in St. Louis' victory at Busch Stadium.
McGwire managed a two-run single - he has just three singles in 18 at-bats in six games since hitting home run No. 62. He checked his swing a couple of times and also hit a rare, opposite-field single to right.
DIAMONDBACKS 14, GIANTS 2: Travis Lee drove in five runs as Arizona took a 14-0 lead in the third inning. San Francisco's most lopsided loss this season left it 3 1/2 games behind in the wild-card race.
The Diamondbacks set a team record with 17 hits. The final one came in the eighth when Yamil Benitez's routine popup became the first ball to hit the roof of Bank One Ballpark and dropped in short left field for a single.
BREWERS 2, REDS 1: Jeromy Burnitz hit his 37th home run and an RBI double as Milwaukee won at Cincinnati.
Burnitz homered for the second straight day and has a career-high 122 RBIs.
EXPOS 4, MARLINS 2: Brad Fullmer hit a three-run homer, and host Montreal sent Florida to its 16th loss in 18 games.
Dustin Hermanson (14-10) won his third straight decision. The Marlins lead the majors with 102 losses.
DODGERS 4, ROCKIES 1: Carlos Perez pitched his third straight complete game as Los Angeles beat Colorado at Dodger Stadium.
Perez (10-13) gave up seven hits, struck out nine and walked one.