NL West (Steve Finley Division):

Two teams tied for first in the division faced off head-to-head for the last time. And 28,065 fans came to the game! That included a walkup of close to 2,500 according to the Arizona broadcast team. The Padres started their ace Jake Peavy on three days rest and that gamble did not pay off as the DBacks knocked him around for 8 runs in 4 innings and held on for a 9-6 win. The DBacks won the season series, 10-8, to gain that particular tiebreaker edge as it is looking more likely that one of these two teams will be the wild card. (Late update: Orlando Hudson is having an MRI on a sprained left thumb.)

The Dodgers lost in Chicago (more below) and the Giants got a home run from Barry Bonds in a 5-3 win over the Rockies. The Dodgers are four games out of first and the Rockies are five. The Dodgers play again in Chicago Thursday and then go to San Francisco. The other teams are off Thursday. Arizona hosts St. Louis Friday and San Diego goes to Colorado.

NL East (Rico Brogna Division):

The first place Mets rested many of their starters and were shut out 7-0 by a quartet of Cincinnati pitchers: Tom Shearn, Marcus McBeth, Jared Burton, and Mike Stanton.

But the Mets didn't lose any of their five game lead as the Phillies blew an 8-2 lead in the eighth and an 8-6 lead with two outs and nobody on in the ninth and lost to the Braves 9-8.

The Nats took control of fourth place in the division as they completed a sweep of the Marlins 6-4.

The whole division is off Thursday, but on Friday the Mets (magic number: 19) will host Houston, Florida will be at Philadelphia, and the Nationals will be at Atlanta.

NL Central (Ted Savage Division):

The Cubs beat the Dodgers 8-2 to stay 1/2 game ahead of the Brewers who routed Houston 14-2.

The Cardinals fell two games back as the Pirates spoiled the return of Mark Mulder to the rotation with an 8-2 Pittsburgh win.

The Cardinals and Pirates play another game Thursday before St. Louis heads to Arizona and the Bucs go to Chicago. Milwaukee will be in Cincinnati. The Brewers are 26-42 on the road.

NL Wild Card (Andy Ashby Division):

The Padres lead the Phillies and Dodgers by three games and the Rockies by four games.

AL Central (Vito Valentinetti Division):

The Indians won their seventh straight game over the Twins this season and dropped their magic number to 17. They are also just one game in back of the Angels for the #2 slot and 2 1/2 games behind Boston for the #1 spot. The Indians start a big four-game series in Anaheim Thursday. The teams have split their first six games this season. If they split this series, the next tiebreaker is (and I'm not sure why), intradivision record and both teams are pretty close in winning percentage there with the Indians slightly ahead now.

Detroit managed to eke out a 2-1 win in 11 innings over the woeful White Sox. Bobby Seay won again and this time it wasn't a scorer's decision. He was the pitcher of record in the 11th when Brandon Inge doubled in the winning run.

The Royals lost.

AL East (Pee-Wanninger Division):

Vernon Wells of Toronto hit a 2-run homer in the ninth off of Hideki Okajima of Boston as the Blue Jays slowed down the Red Sox march to the playoffs with a 6-4 win.

The Yankees trailed Seattle 2-1 going to the 7th and then scored eight times as Alex Rodriguez hit two home runs in the inning. The Yankees won 10-2, but they still trail the Red Sox by six games.

The Devil Rays handed the Orioles another beating, 17-2. Carlos Pena had a 3 4 2 7 line in the boxscore. Nevertheless with the Yankees win, the Devil Rays moved another game closer to elimination. Right now, the Devil Rays can win a maximum of 80 games, the Yankees have 78 wins.

Baltimore travels to Boston Thursday (Wrong other way around as Baltimore is the host.) The Yankees are off before heading to Kansas City. Toronto starts a series at Tampa Bay Friday.

AL Wild Card (Dave Collins Division):

The Yankees lead the Mariners by 3 games and the Tigers by 3 1/2. After the Tigers play the White Sox Thursday, Detroit will host Seattle over the weekend in what should be an elimination series. But it's looking very likely that the only race in the AL will be between Boston, Los Angeles, and Cleveland for seeding.