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Show Page 15 StatesmanSports Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 Brewers make postseason, White Sox hopes still alive Los Angeles concluded its division championship season at 84-78 and will face the NL Central champion Chicago Cubs starting Wednesday at Wrigley Field. Uncecum (18-5), who also struck out 13 on July 26 against Arizona, recorded strikeouts for the first nine outs of the game - the first time that's happened since the Cubs' Sid Fernandez did so on July 30,1986, at the New York Mets, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Hiroki Kuroda, the Dodgers' Game 3 playoff starter, pitched five scoreless innings with two hits and three strikeouts and didn't walk a batter. Chan Ho Park (4-4) took the loss. Astros 3, Braves 1 MILWAUKEE BREWERS' PRINCE FIELDER has champagne poured onto him after the Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 in a baseball game Sunday in Milwaukee. The Brewers clinched the National League wild card after the New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins after the Brewers' win. AP photo NATIONAL LEAGUE Brewers 3, Cubs 1 MILWAUKEE (AP)-CC Sabathia pitched a four-hitter and Ryan Braun hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning, leading the Milwaukee Brewers over the Chicago Cubs 3-1 Sunday and into the playoffs for the first time since 1982. The Brewers, who fired manager Ned Yost with only two weeks left to go, won the NL wild card less than a half-hour later when the New York Mets lost to Florida 4-2. Milwaukee (90-72) and New York (89-73) went into the final day of the regular season tied. The Brewers will face Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs. The NL Central champion Cubs will play the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sabathia (11-2) pitched his NL-leading seventh complete gc me - those came in just 17 starts after the Brewers got the big lefty in July from Cleveland. The only run he allowed was unearned after an error by first baseman Prince Fielder, and he finished with a 1.65 ERA for the Brewers. The Brewers couldn't get much going offensively until Braun s towering two-run homer off Bob Howry (7-5) broke a 1-all tie. Marlins 4, Mets 2 NEW YORK (AP)-Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala served up back-to-back homers in the eighth inning that put the Marlins ahead, and the Mets missed the playoffs after another September slide and a loss in the final game at Shea Stadium. It was an eerily similar scenario to last year, when New York lost at home to Florida on the final day of season, ending their.playoff hopes. Pinch-hitter Wes Helms homered off Schoeneweis (2-6) to start the eighth, snapping a 2-all tie. Dan Uggla connected against Ayala. Joe Nelson (3-1) struck out two in a perfect seventh and Lindstrom earned his fifth save. Missing injured closer Billy Wagner for the final two months, the Mets finished with 29 blown saves, including 16 since the All-Star break - most in the National League. Phillies 8, Nationals 3 PHILADELPHIA (AP)-Lou Marson and Matt Stairs hit back-to-back homers for the NL East-champion Phillies, who rested their regulars in a win over Washington. Cole Hamels was scheduled to pitch, but took the day off to rest for his Game 1 start in the division series on Wednesday. Manager Charlie Manuel said he was undecided about his Game 2 starter and might wait until Monday to announce one. Les Walrond (1-1) earned his first major league victory, with the loss going to Odalis Perez (712), who left with nausea after 3 2-3 innings. The Nationals (59-102) finished with the worst record in the majors and said they will not bring back five coaches next year. Giants 3, Dodgers 1 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Giants ace Tim Lincecum matched his career high with 13 strikeouts to finish with a majors-best 265 in a win over the NL West champion Dodgers. HOUSTON (AP)-Brad Ausmus hit a two-run homer in his final game with Houston, and Wandy Rodriguez (9-7) struck out six in seven strong innings before Jose Valverde shut out the Braves in the ninth to tie a franchise record with his 44th save. Chipper Jones secured his first NL batting title, walking in his only at-bat. Jones hit a career-high .364 to edge Albert Pujols and become the NLs first switch-hitting batting champion since Terry Pendleton won in his 1991 MVP season for Atlanta. Mike Hampton (3-4) took the loss for the Braves, who finished 72-90 — their worst record since going 65-97 in 1990. The next year, Atlanta began its run of 14 straight division titles. Cardinals 11, Reds 4 ST. LOUIS (AP)-Felipe Lopez drove in three runs and Brad Thompson threw five effective innings, helping the Cardinals end the year on a season-best six game winning streak. Ryan Ludwick had his 37th home run of the season to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead after one inning and Troy Glaus added his 27th homer in a six-run third against Adam Pettyjohn (0-1). Thompson (6-3) gave up three runs - two on a homer by Edwin Encarnacion - on four hits. He got the start after righthander Kyle Lohse was a late scratch. Albert Pujols was pulled for a pinch runner after doubling in a run during the third. He finished l-for-2 and ended the year with team highs in RBIs (116) and batting average (.357). AMERICAN LEAGUE TWINS 6, ROYALS 0 MINNEAPOLIS (AP)-Scott Baker scattered four singles over seven shutout innings, pitching the Twins past the Kansas City Royals 6-0 on Sunday to preserve their half-game lead in the AL Central. The White Sox snapped their five-game losing streak by beating Cleveland 5-1, pushing the season into an extra day. On Monday, Detroit visits Chicago for a makeup game. If the White Sox (87-74) win, they'll host the Twins on Tuesday in a one-game playoff to determine the division title and the first-round opponent for the Tampa Bay Rays. Delmon Young's two-run single and Joe Mauer's two-run triple gave Baker (11-4) some extra insurance, and relievers Jose Mijares and Joe Nathan finished the final two innings to give Minnesota an 88-74 record - far exceeding almost every forecast. Brandon Duckworth (3-3) walked four and hit two more, but he yielded only two hits - one of them an RBI double by Denard Span with two outs and a full count in the second inning. White Sox 5, Indians 1 homer in three games and Jermaine Dye had a two-run single to lead the White Sox. Buehrle (15-12), coming off a 121-pitch outing, made his third start on short rest this season and his second in September. He allowed one run and nine hits in seven innings, struck out six and walked one, throwing 111 pitches. Chicago backed him with four double plays, and Indians third baseman Jamey Carroll made a key error that allowed the go-ahead run to score in a three-run second inning. Jhonny Peraltas secondinning homer put Cleveland ahead. But Bryan Bullington (0-2), starting because 22-game winner Cliff Lee was scratched with a stiff neck, couldn't hold it. Konerko's second-inning homer tied it, and Chicago loaded the bases when Ken Griffey Jr. doubled, Alexei Ramirez walked and A.J. Pierzynski singled. Yankees 6, Red Sox 2,1st game BOSTON (AP)-Mike Mussina became the oldest pitcher to win 20 games in a season for the first time, reaching the milestone in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. The 39-year-old Mussina (20-9), finishing his 18th major league season, allowed three hits in six shutout innings. Previously, the oldest first-time 20-game winner was Jamie Moyer, who was 38 when he went 20-6 for Seattle in 2001. Mussina won his final three starts, allowing one run over 16 innings. His previous high for wins came in 1995 and 1996, when he won 19 games each year for Baltimore. Xavier Nady hit a three-run homer in the fifth off Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-3), who lost for the first time in eight decisions since July 28. CHICAGO (AP)-Mark Buehrle won on three days' rest, j ^ u l Konerko hit his fourth Angels 7, Rangers 0 ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Angels posted their team-record 100th win, with Joe Saunders pitching six sharp innings and Mike Napoli homering in their final postseason tuneup. The Angels (100-62) take baseball's best record into the first round of the playoffs against the World Series champion Boston Red Sox beginning Wednesday in Anaheim. The Angels became the first major league team since the 2005 St. Louis Cardinals to reach 100 wins, and the first AL team to do so since the 2004 New York Yankees. Saunders (17-7) tuned up for the playoffs by allowing two hits, striking out a career-high nine and walking none. The AllStar lefty improved to 3-0 in his last four starts. Napoli went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs. He gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a twoout RBI double in the second and his 20th homer off Kevin Millwood (9-10) in the fifth. Rays 8, Tigers 7,11 innings DETROIT (AP)-Ben Zobrist hit a go-ahead single in a four-run eighth and had a solo homer in the 11th, lifting the playoff-bound Rays to a win over the Tigers. Rays manager Joe Maddon said he would start right-hander James Shields, who started and threw only an inning Sunday, or lefty Scott Kazmir in the first two games of the AIDS, but he would not say who would be on the mound for Game 1. Edwin Jackson (14-11) gave up two runs and four hits over two innings. Jason Hammell had his seconds save in as many opportunities. Chris Lambert (1-2) pitched a perfect 10th inning, then allowed Zobrist to hit his fourth homer of the series to win the game. Diamondbacks 2, Rockies 1 PHOENIX (AP)-Randy Johnson pitched a two-hitter in what might have been his final appearance with the Diamondbacks. The 45-year-old Johnson, a five-time Cy Young Award winner whose contract expires after this season, earned his 295th career win. Comeback: Ags pick up second WAC win 13 continued from page 13 "At that point, you just have to do everything you can, run for every ball as far as you can," Fowles said. "And I'm excited that they let me dump now, because they didn't last year." Fowles had 12 digs and 52 assists in the match, hitting .625. She also had five kills, most of which were dumps. Morrill had a career-high 27 digs, while junior hitter Jessalyn Payne added a career-high 13 kills and five block assists for the Aggies. Lindsay Baldwin led the Wolf Pack with 13 kills, hitting .200 in the match. Kylie Harrington added 10 kills and five digs for Nevada. DuBose said the team was able to keep the pressure on Nevada. He said despite being behind in the match, the Aggies were able to pull through. "We just kept grinding it out, believing we'd find a way to win," he said. "It's a testament to our character that, under pressure, we got better as the match went on." "If nothing else, the fans are getting their money's worth," he said. After Thursday's rally and loss to Fresno State, Fowles said she is glad the team pulled this one out. "It makes us feel a lot better about our team as a whole," she said. "We've been a little rocky here an there, so we're coming together a lot more as a team." The Diamondbacks won it in the ninth when Luis Vizcaino (1-2) issued a bases-loaded walk to Chris Young, who had tied the game with a solo homer in the eighth off Manuel Corpas. Fueled by several standing ovations, Johnson (11-10) returned to his once-dominant form, allowing only an unearned run and two singles to Troy Tulowitzki. He walked one and struck out nine in his second complete game this season. DuBose sent in substitutes often, looking to slow Nevada's momentum. Junior libero/ defensive specialist Shanda Larson was sent in during the fifth set for the first time in the match and DuBose said she did a fantastic job. "She hasn't played in a number of matches," he said. "And then putting her in the fifth game, she did great. She received serve, she made a couple of defensive plays." DuBose also credited Lori Wilson for coming off the bench as a serving specialist. "She came in and just kept the pressure on (Nevada) with the serve and made some plays defensively," DuBose said. Morrill said one of the team's good attributes is that they can depend on anyone to come in and play hard. The Aggies finished the match hitting .210, while Nevada hit .110. USU had the advantage in digs (73-52) and kills (63-49), while Nevada had three more service aces (6-9). By winning the match, USU avoided losing their first two home games in conference play. The team is now 2-1 in the WAC, and will play two more home games next week. "This does give us momentum and a lot of confidence going into our next game," said Morrill. "It's good to be home, it's fun." -joseph.w@aggiemail.usu.edu What do you want right now in life - a way to relieve stress and have some fun? Do you want to learn how to use your body and mind in a more focused and physical way? Do you want to have more self-confidence and a better feeling of security? Then come give Bobby Lawrence Karate a try! It's a friendly, safe environment to learn something new that will help you throughout your life, no matter where you go. Call now and get additional discounts during our 6-year anniversary celebration! Anniversary Week Saturday, September 27 10 am to 2 pm Bobby Lawrence Karate 880 S. 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