Division-Title Run Hits 14 for Braves

The Atlanta Braves tried to hold off the celebration. It didn’t work.

The Braves wrapped up their 14th straight division championship Tuesday night while playing the Colorado Rockies, the NL East title assured midway through the game when the second-place Phillies lost to the New York Mets.

Clinching in style, Marcus Giles hit a pair of homers, Adam LaRoche also homered and the Braves routed the Rockies, 12-3, at Atlanta.

Still, the way it worked out was a bit strange.

The Braves had just finished off a four-run fifth inning, giving them a 7-1 lead, when Philadelphia’s Bobby Abreu struck out to complete a 3-2 loss to the Mets.

A smattering of fans apparently learned of the Phillies’ loss via cellphone or other means, clapping as soon as Abreu struck out. “Let’s go Mets!” one man yelled.

The public address announcer, however, waited about an inning before revealing the score to the crowd. But when he did, the celebration was on. The crowd of 25,306 gave the Braves a standing ovation, and several fans broke out signs. “In case you didn’t know -- 14 in a row,” one said.

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Houston 3, St. Louis 1 -- Roy Oswalt won for the fourth time this month, helping the Astros extend their wild-card lead to 2 1/2 games over the Phillies.

Jason Lane hit a two-run homer at St. Louis and Craig Biggio hit his career-high 25th.

New York 3, Philadelphia 2 -- Jose Reyes was four for five with three extra-base hits at Philadelphia to lead the Mets, who were eliminated from playoff contention with Houston’s victory over St. Louis.

Jimmy Rollins extended his hitting streak to a team-record 32 games with a single in the seventh for Philadelphia.

Washington 11, Florida 1 -- Dontrelle Willis gave up a career-high nine runs -- four unearned -- at Miami and the Marlins were mathematically eliminated from the wild-card race and fell into a tie with the Nationals for last place in the NL East.

Pittsburgh 5, Chicago 3 -- Jason Bay’s three-run homer lifted the Pirates at Chicago and put Cub pitcher Greg Maddux (13-14) in jeopardy of finishing with a losing record for the first time in 18 years.

Milwaukee 6, Cincinnati 2 -- Rick Helling gave up three hits over six innings at Milwaukee and the Brewers climbed above .500 for the first time in four months.