ATLANTA – If the Braves somehow make the playoffs, this is the one they’ll remember.

Overcoming two large deficits, Atlanta pulled out a 9-8 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Matt Diaz’s three-run double with two outs in the ninth inning Wednesday.

The Braves, who trailed 5-0 and 8-2, made a game of it with four runs in the eighth – though their chances looked slim when Brett Myers (3-6) retired the first two hitters in the ninth. But Jeff Francoeur and Martin Prado hustled to beat out infield hits, and Yunel Escobar walked to load the bases.

That brought up Diaz, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh. He went the opposite way with a liner that skidded off the glove of right fielder Chris Roberson and landed at the base of the wall.

Roberson hit the relay man, but the throw home was up the first-base line. Escobar slid across with the improbable winning run while the Braves celebrated as though they had just won a championship.

Diaz was mobbed behind the pitcher’s mound after giving the Braves just their second win in six games on a crucial homestand against their top two rivals in the NL East.

Reds 7, Mets 0.

CINCINNATI – Brandon Phillips broke the Cincinnati Reds’ record for homers by a second baseman, hitting a two-run shot during a 7-0 victory that ended the New York Mets’ five-game winning streak.

Right-hander Tom Shearn (2-0), a 30-year-old rookie relishing his long-awaited trip to the big leagues, gave up only three hits in six innings to a Mets lineup missing five of its regulars.

Nationals 6, Marlins 4

WASHINGTON – Wily Mo Pena singled to break a tie in the seventh, leading Washington to a 6-4 win over the Florida Marlins, the Nationals’ fifth straight win.

Austin Kearns had three hits, including his 13th home run of the year, and the Nationals handed the Marlins their 17th loss in the past 21 games. Florida fell three games behind Washington in the NL East basement.

Brewers 14, Astros 2

MILWAUKEE – Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Corey Hart each hit a three-run homer, and the Milwaukee Brewers connected five times in all to beat the Houston Astros 14-2.

Yovani Gallardo (7-4) pitched seven shutout innings and Milwaukee won for the fifth time in six games. The Brewers began the day a half-game behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

The Brewers have had trouble holding leads this year, but this one was never in doubt as they set a season high for runs. Fielder hit his NL-leading 41st homer in the first inning, Braun hit his 28th in the second and Hart hit his 20th in the fourth.

Cubs 8, Dodgers 2

CHICAGO – Ted Lilly got his first win in nearly a month and Aramis Ramirez homered to help the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-2.

The Cubs remained a half game ahead of Milwaukee in the NL Central. The Dodgers started the night in third place in the NL West, three games behind San Diego and Arizona.

Giants 5, Rockies 3

DENVER – Barry Bonds hit his 762nd home run to back Kevin Correia’s strong outing, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3 to avoid a sweep.

It was a costly loss for the Rockies, who began the day four games behind San Diego and Arizona in the NL West and the wild-card race. Colorado lost for only the second time in seven games. The Padres come to Denver for a three-game series starting Friday night.

Pirates 8, Cardinals 2

ST. LOUIS – Mark Mulder was no savior in his first outing in more than a year, roughed up by the Pittsburgh Pirates in an 8-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The left-hander who won 16 games in 2005 but was 6-7 with a 7.14 ERA in an injury-plagued 2006 lasted four innings and gave up six runs on eight hits.

Indians 6, Twins 2

MINNEAPOLIS – The surging Cleveland Indians completed another sweep of Minnesota and left the Twins barely clinging to their playoff hopes.

Victor Martinez had two hits and two RBIs to back a quality start from Fausto Carmona, and Cleveland beat Minnesota 6-2 for its second sweep of the Twins in the last 10 games.

Carmona (15-8) allowed two runs and eight hits in 7 1-3 innings to help the AL Central leaders to their 11th win in 12 games.

Athletics 6, Angels 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Joe Blanton settled down after a rocky start and Mark Ellis hit a three-run homer, leading the Oakland Athletics to a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Donnie Murphy had a career-high three hits and two RBIs for Oakland, including a homer leading off the seventh inning to chase Joe Saunders. Ellis also singled in a run.

Yankees 10, Mariners 2

NEW YORK – Alex Rodriguez had a night befitting legends.

The Yankees planned to take him out of the starting lineup because of his sprained right ankle, but A-Rod talked his way in. Then he homered twice in an eight-run seventh inning to lead New York over Seattle 10-2 and help the Yankees open a three-game lead over the Mariners in the AL wild-card race.

Rodriguez arrived at Yankee Stadium limping following a collision with Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre on Tuesday, and the team’s medical staff sent him downtown for an MRI exam. Rodriguez pronounced himself “ready to roll” and was upset that he had to go for the scan.

Devil Rays, 17 Orioles 2

ST PETERSBURG, Fla. – Carlos Pena homered twice, including a grand slam, and drove in a team-record seven runs as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays hammered the stumbling Baltimore Orioles 17-2.

Pena hit his fifth career grand slam and second this year, and Delmon Young had a three-run shot during an eight-run fourth. Pena added his 37th homer of the season, a two-run shot off Brian Burres in a three-run sixth. The Devil Rays scored in six of eight innings.

Rangers 3, Royals 2

ARLINGTON, Texas – Vicente Padilla pitched two-hit shutout ball for six innings, Hank Blalock had two hits and two RBIs, and the Texas Rangers hung on to beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2.

Michael Young added two hits, and Frank Catalanotto reached base three times to help the Rangers win for the ninth time in their last 11 games.

Padilla (5-9) struck out five and walked two as the Royals got only one runner as far as third base against him.

Tigers 2, White Sox 1

DETROIT – Timo Perez’s single off the right-center field wall with two outs in the 11th inning gave the Detroit Tigers a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox.

Mike Hessman homered for Detroit, which stayed seven games behind the first-place Cleveland Indians in the AL Central and 31/2 back of the New York Yankees in the wild-card race.