Giants Strike Late and Win

Jeff Kent and Benito Santiago each hit solo home runs in the ninth inning and the San Francisco Giants kept pushing toward the National League wild-card slot, beating the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-1, Sunday at Milwaukee.

The Giants, who swept the three-game series at Miller Park and have won five of six and 24 of their last 34, have a two-game lead over the Dodgers for the wild card.

Kirk Rueter limited Milwaukee to one run and three hits in seven innings. His record remained 13-8, but the Giants are 11-0 in games in which he starts and gets no decision.

Felix Rodriguez (8-6) got one out for the victory. Robb Nen pitched the ninth for his 41st save in 49 chances.

The Giants return to Pacific Bell Park for five games, beginning Tuesday against San Diego. If necessary, they will play a makeup game at Atlanta on Sept. 30.

Atlanta 4, Florida 1--Greg Maddux did something that hadn’t been accomplished in nearly 100 years, but it took John Smoltz only one season to do his thing.

Maddux joined Cy Young as the only pitchers to win 15 or more games in 15 consecutive seasons, and Smoltz tied the NL record for saves in a season as the Braves won at Atlanta.

Maddux (15-6) gave up four hits and one run in seven innings to match the record set by Young from 1891-1905.

Smoltz pitched a perfect ninth for his 53rd save in 57 chances, tying the record shared by Randy Myers of the Chicago Cubs in 1993 and San Diego’s Trevor Hoffman in 1998.

Montreal 5, New York 1--The Expos (79-77) have won eight of nine and need three wins in their final six games to guarantee their first winning season since 1996. The loss assured the Mets (74-81), last in the NL East, of their worst record since 1996, when Manager Bobby Valentine took over at the end of a 71-91 season.

St. Louis 7, Houston 3--The Cardinals, who clinched the NL Central on Friday, won two of three from the Astros at St. Louis and finished the season 13-6 against them. In all, they’ve won 15 of their last 18. Chuck Finley (6-4) got his 199th victory.

Pittsburgh 5, Chicago 4--Sammy Sosa singled in three at-bats at Pittsburgh and still needs two homers in the Cubs’ final six games for 500 in his career and 50 for a record-setting fifth consecutive season. Fred McGriff did set a home run record, hitting a two-run shot that made him the first player with a 30-homer season for five teams.

Philadelphia 4, Cincinnati 3--The Reds played their final home game of the season, but couldn’t avoid a three-game sweep in the final series at Cinergy Field, which opened as Riverfront Stadium with a loss in 1970 and ended the same way.