Phillies win, keep pressure on Mets

Jayson Werth is nearing the day when he won't have to check if his name is on the lineup card.

Werth hit a three-run homer, Jimmy Rollins had three hits and three steals, and the Phillies beat the Florida Marlins, 8-6, last night in Philadelphia.

The Phillies closed within 1 1/2 games of the NL East-leading New York Mets. They remain two behind in the loss column.

"Every game is a must-win," manager Charlie Manuel said. "We have to win more games than they do."

Joe Blanton (2-0) pitched five shaky innings to earn his first win since Aug. 2. Blanton gave up four runs and five hits in his 10th start since Philadelphia acquired him from Oakland.

Chad Durbin tossed two scoreless innings to protect a one-run lead. Three relievers got outs in the eighth and Brad Lidge finished for his 35th save in as many chances.

Lidge put the tying runs on base before escaping the jam by striking out Wes Helms and Jorge Cantu to end it.

Werth drove reliever Joe Nelson's first pitch to straightaway center to put the Phillies ahead, 8-4, in the seventh. He earned a curtain call from an appreciative crowd for hitting his 22d homer.

The righthanded-hitting Werth began the season platooning with Geoff Jenkins in right field. He became an everyday player after Jenkins went on the disabled list last month, and has proved he can be an effective full-time player.

"My numbers against righthanders aren't that bad, but sometimes it's hard to shake a label," said Werth, a career .251 hitter against righties.

Angels 12, Yankees 1 - Ivan Rodriguez and Torii Hunter were ejected after a bench-clearing scuffle in the sixth inning, when host Los Angeles scored six runs en route to a victory that reduced its magic number to two for clinching the AL West title.

Reds 5, Brewers 4 - Jeff Keppinger's double capped a three-run, ninth-inning rally off Milwaukee closer Salomon Torres to spark visiting Cincinnati. With the loss, the Brewers' lead in the NL wild-card race was reduced to three games over the Phillies. The teams begin a four-game series Thursday in Philadelphia.

Padres 4, Dodgers 0 - Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer off former teammate Greg Maddux and last-place San Diego snapped visiting Los Angeles' eight-game winning streak.

The Dodgers maintained their 1 1/2-game lead over Arizona, which lost to San Francisco.

Giants 6, Diamondbacks 2 - Tim Lincecum struck out nine, Bengie Molina hit a three-run homer, and host San Francisco sent slumping Arizona to its fourth straight defeat.

Tigers 14, Athletics 8 - Gary Sheffield's second home run of the night - a grand slam - was the 250,000th homer in major league history, and host Detroit rolled past Oakland.

Orioles 14, Indians 3 - Aubrey Huff hit a grand slam to cap a seven-run sixth inning and host Baltimore ended an eight-game losing streak.

Astros 3, Pirates 2 - Pinch hitter Mark Saccomanno homered on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues to lift host Houston, which has won 11 of 12 to move 10 games over .500 for the first time this season.

Rain forced the postponement of last night's Blue Jays-White Sox game at Chicago's US Cellular Field. It will be made up as part of a split doubleheader beginning at 2:05 p.m. today.