NL roundup: Rockies officially back in playoffs

DENVER — It's a Rocktober redux for the Colorado Rockies, who are back in the playoffs after a one-year hiatus.

"It stings," Troy Tulowitzki said as he squinted away the tears that were flushing the champagne out of his eyes. "But I've never forgotten '07 and it's great to experience it again. It never gets old."

Aaron Cook pitched four-hit ball over eight spectacular innings in his second start since missing a month with a sore shoulder, and Garrett Atkins drove in three runs for the Rockies in a 9-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.

The Rockies' fourth straight victory eliminated Atlanta, their final pursuer, from contention for the NL wild card. Colorado can still catch the Dodgers for the NL West title if the Rockies sweep a weekend series in Los Angeles.

"We're in," Tulowitzki said. "Anything can happen once you're in."

The Dodgers, who have lost four straight, were off Thursday and watched their division lead over the Rockies get sliced to two games with three left.

As the Rockies rejoiced behind the mound after the final out, fans broke into a chant of "Beat L.A.! Beat L.A!" while fireworks crackled through a cloudless sky.

"We're celebrating right now. We'll worry about that tomorrow," Todd Helton said as his teammates sprayed him with beer and champagne.

On the other side of the clubhouse, manager Jim Tracy was getting soaked by players serenading him with "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas.

"I've never had a better feeling than this in 33 years in professional baseball," Tracy said.

CARDINALS 13, REDS 0: At Cincinnati, ace pitcher Chris Carpenter hit a grand slam and drove in six runs, getting St. Louis back on track with his arm and bat in a rout of Cincinnati. Carpenter's first career homer came off Kip Wells (2-5) and capped a five-run second inning for the Cardinals, who had lost five of six — including three straight since clinching the NL Central title Saturday. He added a two-run double during a four-run fifth to match the career RBI total he brought into the game. The right-hander also threw five innings of three-hit ball for his 17th win. Carpenter's grand slam was the 10th by a Cardinals pitcher and first since Kent Mercker connected at Florida on Sept. 2, 1998.

GIANTS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 3: At San Francisco, Tim Lincecum struck out seven in his final start of the season, Andres Torres homered and hit an RBI triple and San Francisco finished its home schedule with a victory over Arizona.

ASTROS 5, PHILLIES 3: At Philadelphia, Cliff Lee was shaky in his playoff tuneup and the Phillies, one night after clinching their third consecutive NL East title, lost to Houston. Miguel Tejada homered to extend his hitting streak to 18 games and Lance Berkman had a two-run double for the Astros.

NATIONALS 2, BRAVES 1: At Atlanta, Pete Orr hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning and Washington beat Atlanta, hours after the Braves were eliminated from playoff contention.