NL roundup: Gload's single sweeps Braves

PHILADELPHIA — Needing a sweep to have a realistic chance to challenge for the division title, the Atlanta Braves lost three straight to the Phillies.

At least there's the wild-card race.

Pinch-hitter Ross Gload hit an RBI single with one out in the bottom of the ninth and Philadelphia beat the Braves 3-2 Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep and extend their lead in the NL East to 101/2 games.

Second-place Atlanta still should reach the postseason barring a late collapse. The Braves are 61/2 games ahead of St. Louis in the wild-card race.

METS 1, MARLINS 0: At Miami, R.A. Dickey made an early run stand up, blanking Florida for seven innings to pitch the Mets past the Marlins. Jose Reyes led off the game with a single and scored on a one-out double down the left-field line by Lucas Duda. Dickey (8-11) and relievers Josh Stinson and Manny Acosta combined on a five-hitter. The Mets also managed just five hits.

CARDINALS 2, BREWERS 0: At St. Louis, Chris Carpenter looked more like a Cy Young award winner than a .500 pitcher against the Brewers with a four-hitter to record his 14th career shutout. Rafael Furcal provided the offense with a solo home run but Carpenter needed just 2 hours, 5 minutes for his first shutout since he blanked the Brewers 3-0 exactly two years before in Milwaukee. He struck out five and walked two, one intentional.

PIRATES 5, ASTROS 4: At Pittsburgh, Andrew McCutchen homered twice, pinch-hitter Jason Jaramillo singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning for the Pirates. McCutchen hit a solo homer in the first after Houston had taken a 3-0 lead and a three-run shot in the fifth to tie the game at 4. Jaramillo's single off Sergio Escalona scored pinch-runner Chase d'Arnaud, giving Clint Hurdle his 600th career managerial victory.

PADRES 3, GIANTS 1: At San Diego, Aaron Harang threw seven strong innings and Cameron Maybin had two hits and an RBI as the Padres dealt a big blow to the Giants' fading playoff hopes. The Giants, who have 19 games left, came into the game trailing NL West-leading Arizona by six games. San Francisco rookie Brett Pill homered for a second straight game after he hit a home run Tuesday night in his first major league at-bat.

CUBS 6, REDS 3: At Chicago, Carlos Pena hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning to send the Cubs to victory. Aramis Ramirez had a two-run double for Chicago, which took two of three against Cincinnati to earn a split of its six-game homestand. Starlin Castro and DJ LeMahieu each had two hits for the Cubs. Castro sparked the winning rally with a leadoff single against Logan Ondrusek (4-5). Reed Johnson moved Castro to second with a sacrifice before the Reds decided to intentionally walk Ramirez and bring in left-hander Bill Bray to face the lefty-batting Pena.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, ROCKIES 3: At Denver, Joe Saunders (10-12) tossed six solid innings, Justin Upton and Miguel Montero homered and the Diamondbacks have now won 13 of 15 and increased their lead in the NL West to seven games over San Francisco.