ATLANTA — Brooks Conrad slowed up as he rounded first base, unsure if his drive had cleared the left field wall to give the Atlanta Braves an improbable victory.
Then he saw Laynce Nix swat at his empty glove in frustration. The ball went over. Game over.
Conrad hit a pinch-hit grand slam Thursday to finish off a seven-run ninth inning that gave the Atlanta Braves an unlikely 10-9 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, who fell out of first in the NL Central.
"It was a horrible ending," said Reds manager Dusty Baker, who appeared close to breaking down after the game. "Boy, that was a tough one."
Conrad's drive off Cincinnati closer Francisco Cordero deflected off Nix's glove as he reached over the top of the wall at the 380-foot sign.
"I thought I had it," Nix said. "It just bounced out."
CARDINALS 4, MARLINS 2: At St. Louis, Adam Wainwright dominated after a shaky start and Matt Holliday got his first two RBIs in four games since moving to third in the order for the Cardinals. Wainwright (6-2) allowed the first two first-inning runs against him this season, but pitched six scoreless innings after that, allowing six hits in all.
PHILLIES 5, CUBS 4: At Philadelphia, Raul Ibanez hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning, Jimmy Rollins hit a three-run homer and Chase Utley also went deep for the Phillies.
BREWERS 4, PIRATES 3: At Pittsburgh, George Kottaras, playing only because of an injury, doubled in a run and Milwaukee rallied from a three-run deficit to end a nine-game losing streak. Carlos Villanueva finished for his first save this season.
METS 10, NATIONALS 7: At Washington, David Wright hit a three-run double and had four RBIs for New York. Wright went 1-for-4 without a strikeout, ending a streak where he struck out in a career-high 15 straight games.
ROCKIES 4, ASTROS 0: At Houston, Ubaldo Jimenez allowed one hit over seven innings and Troy Tulowitzki had a three-run homer for Colorado, which broke a three-game losing streak. The only hit Jimenez (8-1) allowed was Humberto Quintero's single to start the third inning. Jimenez improved his major league-low ERA to 0.99.
DIAMONDBACKS 8, GIANTS 7: At Phoenix, Conor Jackson scored the tiebreking run on a wild pitch with two outs in the eighth inning and Arizona completed a two-game sweep of San Francisco. Mark Reynolds hit his 100th career home run and had three RBIs.
DODGERS 4, PADRES 1: At Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw pitched 71/3 gritty innings to win his third straight start and Garret Anderson delivered the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to lead the Dodgers over San Diego. Kershaw (4-2) allowed a run and seven hits, struck out seven and walked two.