Cardinals Close In on Division Title

The St. Louis Cardinals couldn’t have been much more efficient than this: They came to Coors Field with a magic number of seven to clinch the NL Central and left Thursday with the number at two.

“We’re closing in on the finish line,” Manager Tony La Russa said. “Our boys can smell it.”

Scott Rolen hit his fourth homer in three games as the Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies, 12-6, for their 13th win in the last 15 games.

By sweeping the three-game series while second-place Houston was losing two of three to Milwaukee, the Cardinals increased their lead to 8 1/2 games. St. Louis has 10 games remaining and Houston nine, and those teams begin a three-game series tonight at Busch Stadium.

“We all can feel it,” said second baseman Fernando Vina, who had three hits and two runs batted in.

“It’s been a tough year for us with the tragedies and the things that have happened. We’ve got to keep going hard so we can finish it up at home. When it happens, it’s going to be something real special.”

Milwaukee 5, Houston 4--After losing two of three to the worst team in the National League, the Astros have seen their postseason chances all but fade away.

Bill Hall’s two-run double keyed Milwaukee’s four-run fourth inning at Milwaukee as the Brewers handed Roy Oswalt his first loss in two months.

Oswalt (19-7) gave up four runs and four hits in six innings to lose for the first time since July 16, a span of 12 starts.

Atlanta 6, Philadelphia 0--Tom Glavine pitched six scoreless innings and Chipper Jones hit a three-run homer at Atlanta.

Braves’ Manager Bobby Cox reached another milestone, becoming the 12th manager in major league history to win 1,800 games. His record in 21 seasons is 1,800-1,400.

Arizona 3, San Diego 1--Arizona rallied for two unearned runs in the eighth inning at San Diego to give Randy Johnson his fourth straight win.

Johnson (23-5) tied teammate Curt Schilling for the major league lead in victories. His September record, dating to 1993, is 27-1 in 38 appearances, including 37 starts.

The Diamondbacks lowered their magic number to four for clinching their second straight NL West title.

New York 3, Chicago 2--Roger Cedeno drove home the winning run with an infield single in the 12th inning at New York.

Montreal 6, Florida 5--At Miami, Bartolo Colon became the second pitcher to win 10 games in both leagues in a season.

Colon (10-3) joined Hank Borowy (New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs) in 1945 as the only pitchers to win 10 games in both leagues in the same season. Colon was 10-4 with Cleveland. He was acquired in a midseason trade.

Cincinnati 5, Pittsburgh 4--Kelly Stinnett hit the first grand slam of his career with two out in the ninth inning to lead the Reds at Pittsburgh.