The New York Mets’ hunt for the NL East crown has been slowed by also-ran teams in the Central and West.
Continuing a season-long slump against the last-place Padres’ pitching, New York lost 4-2 at home on Wednesday night to drop three games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the East race.
Jody Gerut hit Pedro Martinez’s opening pitch for the first of San Diego’s three homers and Mets third baseman David Wright committed an error that allowed the go-ahead run to score and made a baserunning mistake for the second straight night.
“This time of year everyone’s a little tired but I think I can help this team and that’s not a concern,” said Wright, who has missed one game this season.
Counting a three-game sweep last weekend at Houston, the fourth-place team in the Central, the Mets have lost four of five against clubs that are a combined 31 games under .500.
Brian Giles and Chase Headley also went deep for the Padres, who have hit six homers in this series and 27 in 19 games since the All-Star break. San Diego has taken five of six from New York this season, building off a four-game home sweep in June that featured three straight 2-1 victories.
New York closed within two games of Philadelphia on Tuesday after holding on to beat the Padres 6-5, but gave back that ground a day later to the Phillies, who knocked off the Florida Marlins 5-0 on Wednesday. Florida is 2 1/2 behind Philadelphia and a half-game in front of the Mets.
In other NL games Wednesday, it was: Milwaukee 6, Cincinnati 3; Chicago 11, Houston 4; Pittsburgh 2, Arizona 0; San Francisco 3, Atlanta 2; and St. Louis 9, Los Angeles 6. The Washington at Colorado game was postponed due to rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Thursday.
Cha Seung Baek (4-5) baffled the Mets again, allowing two runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA in two starts against New York this season.
New York left at least one runner on in the first eight innings and stranded 10 runners total, dropping to 12-3 in its last 15 games at Shea Stadium.
“They pitched pretty well, especially in situations where they shut us down,” manager Jerry Manuel said.
Baek struck out five and gave up eight hits, improving to 3-0 with a 2.90 ERA in five road starts since he was acquired from the Mariners on May 28.
“I feel great at Petco,” said Baek, 0-5 with a 6.39 ERA in six starts at the Padres’ home this season. “I don’t know (the reason for the difference).”
Martinez (3-3) settled down after allowing first-inning homers to Gerut and Giles, and left with runners at second and third and one out in the seventh.
Phillies 5, Marlins 0
Kyle Kendrick pitched six effective innings, Ryan Howard homered for host Philadelphia.
Kendrick (10-5) allowed four hits and pitched around five walks to win at home for the first time since June 2. He matched his win total from his rookie year last season.
Chad Durbin tossed two scoreless innings and Ryan Madson finished the five-hitter.
Anibal Sanchez (1-1) gave up four runs – three earned – and five hits in five innings.
Pirates 2, Diamondbacks 0
Jeff Karstens set down his first 23 batters before Chris Young’s two-out double in the eighth inning and finished with a two-hitter for visiting Pittsburgh.
Karstens (2-0) has tossed 15 scoreless innings – against a pair of first-place teams – since coming to Pittsburgh from the New York Yankees on July 26.
Freddy Sanchez homered in the fourth off Randy Johnson (9-8), who had his five-game winning streak snapped.
Cubs 11, Astros 4
Mark DeRosa hit a grand slam, and Alfonso Soriano had a three-run homer during an eight-run third inning that carried host Chicago past Houston.
DeRosa’s fourth career slam propelled the Cubs to their ninth win in 11 games. Soriano, who hit his second three-run shot in two days, has 20 hits, six homers and 14 RBIs in his last 11 games.
The Cubs roughed up Brandon Backe (6-11), who allowed a career-high 11 runs and nine hits in 3 1-3 innings. He walked six.
Jason Marquis (7-7) hit an RBI double and won for the first time since June 21.
Brewers 6, Reds 3
At Cincinnati, struggling leadoff hitter Rickie Weeks matched his career high with four hits to help Milwaukee earn the series victory.
Jeff Suppan (7-7) handled the Reds for the third time this season, allowing an RBI groundout and a two-run homer by Jay Bruce. Salomon Torres earned his 22nd save.
Weeks drove in a pair of runs with his second single off Homer Bailey (0-6).
Cardinals 9, Dodgers 6
Ryan Ludwick homered in his fifth straight game to tie a team record and Albert Pujols hit a grand slam for St. Louis.
Pujols’ sixth career slam and Ludwick’s drive during a five-run fourth chased Derek Lowe (8-10), who gave up eight runs and 13 hits. Pujols finished 4-for-4 and Ludwick was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
Manny Ramirez hit his 513th homer to break a tie with Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews for 20th place on the career list. Ramirez is batting .600 (12-for-20) with three homers and six RBIs in five games since joining the Dodgers.
Joel Pineiro (4-5) pitched seven innings for his first victory in five starts.
Giants 3, Braves 2
Tim Lincecum (12-3) pitched eight innings for his first win in more than three weeks and Aaron Rowand homered and drove in three runs to lead host San Francisco.
Randy Winn added four hits, including the 1,500th of his career, as the Giants won for the fourth time in six games.
Brian Wilson pitched a perfect ninth for his NL-leading 32nd save.
Chuck James (2-5) took the loss.
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