The Dodgers found the best way to erase the memory of eight straight losses during a pennant race: eight straight wins.
Meanwhile, Chris Young of the Padres flirted with a perfect game from his comfortable perch outside the playoff chase.
Young retired the first 23 Brewers in order before Gabe Kapler homered, and the San Diego Padres beat host Milwaukee 10-1 on Sunday.
At Los Angeles, James Loney had three RBIs and the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of Arizona with a 5-3 victory that gave it a 1 1/2-game lead on the Diamondbacks in the NL West.
“It’s pretty incredible to expect to come back and take those eight losses and turn them around in that big a hurry,” manager Joe Torre said. “It’s one of those Dramamine trips – it’s up and down and you strap yourself in, because that’s what’s going to happen this time of year.”
In other NL games on Sunday, Philadelphia and the New York Mets split a doubleheader. It was Cincinnati 4, the Chicago Cubs 3; Houston 7, Colorado 5; St. Louis 3, Florida 1; San Francisco 11, Pittsburgh 6; and Washington 7, Atlanta 4 in 14 innings.
hit off Young through the first seven innings. In the eighth, he got Prince Fielder and Corey Hart to pop out before throwing a first-pitch ball to Kapler.
Catcher Nick Hundley then called for a slider, but Young wanted to throw his self-described “bread and butter” fastball. Kapler hit it squarely into the left-field bleachers.
“I learned my lesson,” Young said. “He called a slider and I wanted to challenge him with a heater. I didn’t want to fall behind him any farther than that (in the count) so I came after him with the heater and he hit it out.”
The Padres – in last place in the NL West – have never had a no-hitter.
“It would have been a bright spot in an otherwise season that hasn’t gone our way, and especially with a guy that’s had a major setback in the middle of the season and an injury in late July through August,” San Diego manager Bud Black said.
Los Angeles tied a season best with its eighth straight win, following an eight-game skid. Hong-Chih Kuo (5-2) pitched 1 1-3 innings of relief for the victory and Jonathan Broxton got four outs for his 13th save.
“We’re excited, but we’ve just got to continue,” said Nomar Garciaparra, who drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly. “Obviously, they’re the ones we’re competing against trying to win this division. But there’s no time to let up and start patting ourselves on the back. We’ve got a long way to go.”
Diamondbacks, who won their fourth division title last season, had no worse than a share of the division lead for 137 consecutive days this time around, before the Dodgers beat 19-game winner Brandon Webb for the second time in a week on Saturday.
The Dodgers’ final 19 games are against teams that have losing records and are a combined 83 games under .500. They have six left with San Diego (55-88), three with Colorado (67-77), four with Pittsburgh (60-82) and six with San Francisco (62-80).
“There is no psychological advantage,” Torre said. “The only thing is that you can control your own destiny. You don’t need to watch the scoreboard. If you win your share of games, you’re going to finish in first place.”
Reds 4, Cubs 3
At Cincinnati, Jolbert Cabrera hit a game-ending RBI single off closer Kerry Wood (4-4) to complete Cincinnati’s three-run ninth inning.
Edwin Encarnacion started the rally with a leadoff single and hustled to second when the ball got past a charging Jim Edmonds. After Jay Bruce walked, Encarnacion was cut down at third when Ryan Hanigan bunted into a forceout, but Wood walked pinch-hitter Javier Valentin to load the bases.
al scorer later changed the error to a hit. Cabrera then ripped a single into left field, giving Wood his sixth blown save.
Phillies 6, Mets 2, 1st game
Mets 6, Phillies 3, 2nd game
At New York, Carlos Delgado hit two long homers and drove in four runs, backing a big win by Johan Santana (13-7) as the Mets beat Philadelphia for a doubleheader split.
The NL East leaders salvaged the finale of the three-game series, giving them a two-game edge over second-place Philadelphia.
In the first game, Jamie Moyer (13-7) shut down the slumping Mets on two singles that didn’t leave the infield, and Greg Dobbs hit a three-run homer off Pedro Martinez.
Cardinals 3, Mariners 1
At St. Louis, Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer and Adam Wainwright (9-3) worked eight stingy innings in the Cardinals’ victory.
Pujols hit a 2-2 pitch from Josh Johnson (4-1) over the wall in left-center for a 2-0 lead.
Astros 7, Rockies 5
At Denver, pinch-hitters Darin Erstad and David Newhan had back-to-back run-scoring hits in the eighth inning, lifting Houston to its 10th win in 11 games.
The Astros pulled within six games of NL wild card-leading Milwaukee.
Nationals 7, Braves 4, 14 innings
At Atlanta, Elijah Dukes hit a three-run double in the 14th for Washington.
-bats before he faced Jeff Bennett in the 14th.
Giants 11, Pirates 6
At San Francisco, Pablo Sandoval finished with five RBIs and the Giants rode a 10-run inning to a win over Pittsburgh, assuring the Pirates their record-tying 16th straight losing season.
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