NL Central (Ted Savage Division):

The Brewers stay alone in first place lasted all of one day as the Milwaukee bullpen failed late while the Cubs bullpen stayed intact just long enough.

The Brewers started the day with an afternoon game in Pittsburgh. The Pirates took a 4-0 lead, but the Brewers pecked away and tied it in the top of eighth on an RBI triple from Corey Hart.

But in the bottom of the eighth, Derrick Turnbow gave up three runs, two of them on a triple by Josh Phelps and the Pirates won 7-4.

That loss gave the Cubs a chance to move back into a tie for first and they did so with a 3-2 win in Houston. Ryan Dempster almost blew the lead, giving up an RBI triple to Mike Lamb and the Astros had runners on the corners with one out when Dempster got Eric Munson to hit into a 3-6-1 DP to end it.

Two teams wearing red played each other also.

The tie will be over tomorrow as the Cubs play Houston while Milwaukee has the day off. The Cubs will play four games, including a doubleheader Saturday, in St. Louis over the weekend. The Brewers will return home Friday to host the Reds.

The Brewers and Cubs do not play each other again this season.

NL East (Rico Brogna Division):

Shawn Green decided to play on Rosh Hashanah and he drove in the winning run in the Mets 4-3 win over Atlanta at Shea Stadium. The Mets lead in the division is now seven games and their magic number is 11.

The Phillies fell further back as they were shut out by the Rockies, 12-0. The Rockies used Denny Bautista, Mark Redman, Juan Morillo, and Josh Newman. The Phillies turned a triple play in the first.

The AP estimated that there were about 400 people in the stands when the Marlins game against Washington started this afternoon. How many stayed for all 12 innings is up to debate. The Marlins won and are now 1/2 game behind Houston to get out of having the worst record in the NL. The Nats were eliminated from the NL East race, but not the wild card.

The Phillies will be the only NL East team in action Thursday as they will play the Rockies for the fourth time.

NL West (Steve Finley Division):

Baseball's bumblebees, the Arizona Diamondbacks, won again in San Francisco, 9-4. The DBacks lead the Padres by 3 1/2 games in the division although just 2 in the AILC. Their magic number is 16 to clinch the division and 13 to clinch a playoff spot. The Giants are now eliminated from the NL West, but not the wild card.

(Bumblebees, as any devoted watcher of Miss America pageants would know, is the animal that can fly despite having a body that makes it impossible to fly, so they are a symbol of determination. Would Miss Louisiana lie to me? Apparently she did.)

The Padres lost to Chad Billingsley for the fourth time this year, falling 6-1. Mike Cameron became the second Padre batter to strike out five times in one game. The other one was Clay Hensley last year in Chicago. But since Hensley is a pitcher and he struck out five times, no one minded because that meant the Padres scored a lot. Kevin Kouzmanoff has reached base nine straight times for the Padres.

NL Wild Card (Andy Ashby Division):

The Padres top three pursuers, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Colorado, all have the same record at 76-69 and are 2 1/2 games out. The tie won't last as the Phils and Rox will go at it again in Philadelphia tomorrow night.

Limited action tomorrow and only a few games with playoff implications:

Jeff Francis (Colorado) vs J.D. Durbin (Philadelphia), Steve Trachsel (Chicago) vs Woody Williams (Houston), Greg Maddux (San Diego) vs David Wells (Los Angeles)

AL East (Pee-Wee Wanninger Division):

Tampa Bay scored four runs in the first at Boston and were holding on to a 4-3 lead in the ninth with closer Al Reyes in with one on and one out against David Ortiz. But in shades of last year, Ortiz hit a walkoff homer to give the Red Sox a 5-4 win. The magic number is 12 to win the division and 7 to clinch a playoff spot.

The Yankees are still five games back, but only 4 in the AILC. New York beat Toronto 4-1. Joba Chamberlain gave up his first run, although it was unearned. The estate of George McQuillan, who started his career with 27 scoreless innings in 1907, rejoiced.

For the Orioles, see the AL West.

AL West (John Montague Division):

The Angels scored 18 runs on just 14 hits in Baltimore as Orioles pitchers walked 13 batters and hit one and the Baltimore fielders chipped in with three errors. The Orioles threw 215 pitches. The final casualty report was Angels 18, Orioles 6. The Angels magic number is 9. I have tickets to the Angels game next Wednesday against Tampa Bay. Will that be the clincher?

The Mariners kept the Angels lead at 9 1/2 games with a rare win. The Rangers did not win (see AL Central).

AL Central (Vito Valentinetti Division):

The Indians lost in Chicago, 7-4, as their magic number stalled at 11, as Detroit beat Texas 5-1. Justin Verlander won his 17th game. Cleveland's lead is 5 1/2 games.

Gil Meche got a win for Kansas City against Minnesota.

AL Wild Card (Dave Collins Division):

The Yankees are still 4 games ahead of Detroit and have a magic number of 16 to make the playoffs.

Games with postseason implications Thursday:

John Lackey (Los Angeles) vs Jon Leicester (Baltimore), Ian Kennedy (New York) vs A.J. Burnett (Toronto), Jason Hammel (Tampa Bay) vs Jeff Weaver (Seattle)