CHICAGO (AP) -- Dusty Baker and the Cincinnati Reds moved one step closer to the NL Central title on Tuesday night, thanks to another solid September start by Homer Bailey.
The right-hander pitched effectively into the eighth inning and Ryan Hanigan hit a three-run double to lead Cincinnati to a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
"We had just enough offense to win," Baker said after his 3,000th game as a big league manager. "That was a big double by Hanigan. Just a big victory for us, back to 30 over and one step closer."
The Reds (89-59) have a magic number of four to clinch the division championship over St. Louis. The Cardinals beat Houston 4-1 on Tuesday night.
Bailey (12-9) took a two-hit shutout into the eighth before Darwin Barney had his second single of the night and pinch-hitter Bryan LaHair hit an RBI double to make it 3-1. Sean Marshall then came in and hit pinch-hitter Dave Sappelt before getting a strikeout and grounder to end the threat.
Bailey allowed four hits, struck out four and walked two while improving to 2-0 with a 1.55 ERA in four starts this month. He is 3-0 against the Cubs this season and 5-2 for his career.
BREWERS 6, PIRATES 0
PITTSBURGH -- Yovani Gallardo gave up just two hits over 6 2-3 innings and the surging Milwaukee Brewers dropped the weary Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 on Tuesday night.
Gallardo (16-8) struck out six and walked four to win his eighth straight decision as Milwaukee moved in front of fading Pittsburgh in the jumbled National League wild-card race. The Brewers remained 2 1/2 games back of the Cardinals, who beat Houston 4-1.
CARDINALS 4, ASTROS 1
ST. LOUIS -- Kyle Lohse threw seven scoreless innings for his 15th victory and contributed an RBI double as the Cardinals beat the Astros to stay in front for the second NL wild card.
Fernando Abad (0-5) had a career-best six strikeouts in the Astros' 100th loss. They're 8-8 this month under interim manager Tony DeFrancesco and need nine wins in the final 14 games to avoid topping last season's franchise-record 106 losses.
GIANTS 6, ROCKIES 3
SAN FRANCISCO -- Tim Lincecum pitched San Francisco one win closer to an NL West crown as the Giants lowered their magic number to clinch the division to seven.
Lincecum (10-14) struck out six and walked two in 6 1-3 scoreless innings on a day the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers were postponed by rain in Washington.
MARLINS 4, BRAVES 3, 10 INNINGS
MIAMI (AP) -- Jose Reyes hit a two-out RBI single in the 10th inning, and Miami overcame an awful ninth inning to snap Atlanta's four-game winning streak.
With one out in the 10th, pinch-hitter Rob Brantly was walked by Cory Gearrin (0-1), and Gorkys Hernandez was hit by a pitch. Following a strikeout, Reyes hit a blooper that fell in front of a diving Jason Heyward in right field, and Brantly scored without a play.
DIAMONDBACKS 3, PADRES 2
PHOENIX -- Ian Kennedy pitched eight innings to earn his 14th victory, Miguel Montero drove in two runs with two doubles and the Diamondbacks finally got a home win against the Padres.
San Diego was 6-0 in Arizona this season before dropping the series opener.
WHITE SOX 3, ROYALS 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Gavin Floyd pitched seven crisp innings, Alex Rios hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh and the Sox beat the Royals for their fifth consecutive win.
Alejandro De Aza and Gordon Beckham also went deep for AL Central-leading Chicago, which maintained a three-game advantage over Detroit.
RED SOX 7, RAYS 5
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Felix Doubront limited Tampa Bay's sputtering offense to one hit over six innings and the Boston Red Sox rallied for a victory that dealt another blow to the Rays' fading playoff hopes.
Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, James Loney, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Lavarnway drove in runs for the Red Sox, who beat their AL East rivals for the second straight night, extending Tampa Bay's losing streak to four games and dropping the third-place Rays six games behind the division-leading New York Yankees.
TWINS 6, INDIANS 5, 12 INNINGS
CLEVELAND -- Darin Mastroianni scored the go-ahead run from second base on an infield hit in a two-run 12th inning and the Twins tied the Indians for fourth place in the AL Central.
Mastroianni singled with two outs and stole second off Scott Maine (1-1), the team-record 10th pitcher used by Cleveland. Alexi Casilla then poked a ball between first and second that second baseman Jason Kipnis fielded in short right. But Casilla was safe when first baseman Matt LaPorta fielded Kipnis' throw, but was not on the bag. LaPorta held the ball before reacting too late to throw out Mastroianni at home.
Tyler Robertson (2-2) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the win.
ANGELS 11, RANGERS 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jered Weaver earned his 100th victory, Chris Iannetta had a two-run single and scored on a wild pitch during a crazy eight-run rally in the fourth inning, and the Angels moved up in the AL playoff race with a victory over Texas.
Erick Aybar had three hits and scored two runs for the Angels (81-67).
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