Phillies Win and Keep Hopes Alive

The Philadelphia Phillies prolonged their playoff push by beating the Washington Nationals, 4-3, Friday night at Washington behind rookie Ryan Howard’s 21st homer and Jimmy Rollins’ two hits.

The Phillies moved to within one game of the Houston Astros in the wild-card standings. The Astros lost to the Chicago Cubs, 4-3.

Howard was responsible for Philadelphia’s first run, tying the score at 1-1 with a solo shot to right off Livan Hernandez (15-10) in the second inning.

Rollins extended his hitting streak to 34 games by leading off the third with a flare to shallow left, just beyond the outstretched glove of shortstop Cristian Guzman.

Rollins stole second for his 40th steal of the season -- he later added No. 41 -- and scored on Chase Utley’s single. Utley scored on Pat Burrell’s double, giving the Phillies a 3-1 lead.

New York 3, Colorado 2 -- The Mets guaranteed a winning season in Willie Randolph’s first year as manager, beating the Rockies at Shea Stadium. The Mets (82-78), who won for the 11th time in 14 games, had not finished with a winning record since 2001. Kris Benson (10-8), who won for the first time in six weeks, limited the Rockies to six hits before leaving with one out in the eighth.

Florida 5, Atlanta 2 -- Pinch-hitter Lenny Harris hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning that assured the Marlins of finishing at .500 or better. Florida (81-79) will finish with a .500-or-higher record for the third straight season, a first for the franchise, which started play in 1993.

Milwaukee 6, Pittsburgh 5 -- Damian Miller and Geoff Jenkins hit two-run homers in the seventh inning at Pittsburgh and the Brewers, trailing by five runs while being held hitless for five innings by Oliver Perez, assured themselves of at least a .500 season. The victory ended their streak of 12 consecutive losing seasons that dated to a 92-70 finish while in the American League in 1992.

St. Louis 12, Cincinnati 6 -- Albert Pujols hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to lead the Cardinals at St. Louis. The Cardinals (98-62) need to sweep the season-ending three-game series to reach 100 victories in consecutive seasons for only the second time in franchise history.

Arizona 7, San Francisco 3 -- Alex Cintron hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the top of the eighth and had a three-run double in the ninth, leading the Diamondbacks to their sixth consecutive victory.