Braves Clinch 13th Consecutive Division Title

The Atlanta Braves clinched their 13th consecutive division title Friday night, winning the NL East with an 8-7 victory over the Florida Marlins at Atlanta.

Marcus Giles’ go-ahead single capped a three-run rally in the eighth inning, and John Smoltz closed it out. Smoltz is the only Brave player to be a member of all 13 division championship teams.

The right-hander pitched the ninth for his 41st save in 46 chances. He got Jeff Conine to ground into a game-ending double play.

Atlanta’s record streak began with the 1991 West Division championship and excludes the 1994 strike-shortened season. But the Braves have only one World Series ring to show for it, defeating Cleveland in 1995.

The Braves became the third major league team to clinch their division, joining St. Louis in the NL Central and Minnesota in the AL Central. The New York Yankees have secured at least a wild-card spot.

Giles hit a two-run single off Marlin closer Armando Benitez, who took over for Guillermo Mota (9-7) in the eighth.

Alex Gonzalez hit two home runs, including a go-ahead shot in the sixth inning, and Paul Lo Duca hit a three-run double for the Marlins.

Trailing 7-5, the Braves loaded the bases with none out against Mota in the eighth inning. Julio Franco walked, Andruw Jones singled and Charles Thomas, trying to lay down a sacrifice bunt, was credited with an infield hit when neither Mota nor third baseman Mike Lowell could field the ball.

Mota struck out pinch-hitter Eli Marrero and gave up a sacrifice fly to Rafael Furcal, cutting the lead to 7-6.

Marlin Manager Jack McKeon brought in Benitez. After Thomas stole second, Giles blooped the two-run single in front of Juan Encarnacion in right field. It was Benitez’s fourth blown save in 48 chances.

Chicago 2, New York 1 -- Derrek Lee hit an RBI single in the top of the 10th inning, leading the Cubs to their fourth win in a row and 13th in 16 games. They are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Giants in the wild-card race. The Cubs (87-66) moved more than 20 games over .500 for the first time since Oct. 1, 1989, when they finished 93-69.

Houston 1, Milwaukee 0 -- Craig Biggio’s sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning lifted the Astros, who remained 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the wild-card race. Roger Clemens was denied his 19th victory and took a no-decision but struck out a season-high 12 to surpass 200 for the 12th time in his career. He gave up five hits in 7 1/3 innings and lowered his earned-run average from 3.00 to 2.89.

San Diego 6, Arizona 5 -- Pinch-runner Khalil Greene scored the winning run on third baseman Chad Tracy’s fielding error with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Padres kept their slim playoff hopes alive. They remained 4 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the wild-card race and 5 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the West Division.

St. Louis 5, Colorado 4 -- Right-hander Jeff Suppan (16-9) improved to 10-0 on the road by defeating the Rockies. Throwing first-pitch strikes to 19 of 31 batters, he struck out five. He gave up six hits -- two homers -- and three runs in 7 2/3 innings.

Cincinnati 14, Pittsburgh 8 -- Austin Kearns had a career-high four hits, including a homer, and drove in five runs at Pittsburgh to help Aaron Harang (10-9) become the first Red pitcher with 10 wins since Jimmy Haynes had 15 and Ryan Dempster 10 in 2002.

Montreal 8, Philadelphia 1 -- Sun Woo-Kim (4-5) came within an out of his first complete game and shutout and also hit a two-run double at Montreal. He yielded seven hits and one run in his longest outing in 26 starts.

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The Rockies released left-hander Jeff Fassero after he and Manager Clint Hurdle disagreed about his ability to start Sunday against the Cardinals. It would have been his first appearance since Sept. 13. Fassero said he needed to get some work in relief before he made the start.