Halladay wins 20th, Phillies increase NL East lead

Roy Halladay became Philadelphia's first 20-game winner in 28 years, Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer and the Phillies increased their lead in the NL East to five games with their ninth straight win, 5-3, over the Atlanta Braves last night in Philadelphia.

Halladay (20-10) allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings to reach 20 wins for the third time in his career. Hall of Famer Steve Carlton was the last to do it for the Phillies when he won 23 in 1982. Robin Roberts, another Hall of Famer, was the last righthander to win 20 for Philadelphia, in 1955.

"It's definitely special but the best part about it is it's been secondary for me," Halladay said. "Being able to get to the playoffs is the priority."

The Phillies reduced their magic number to clinch the division to six.

Reds 4, Brewers 3

Edinson Volquez allowed one run in eight innings for visiting Cincinnati. The Reds moved eight games ahead of St. Louis, which lost in Pittsburgh, and reduced their magic number to four to clinch the NL Central.

Giants 1, Cubs 0

Matt Cain and three relievers combined on a two-hitter in Chicago and Buster Posey homered for NL West-leading San Francisco. Cain and Chicago starter Carlos Zambrano each pitched six scoreless innings.

D-backs 3, Rockies 1

Kelly Johnson hit a two-run homer to back Joe Saunders' eight-inning gem as host Arizona dropped Colorado farther back in the NL West. Pinch hitter Ryan Spilborghs' run-scoring single in the eighth was all the Rockies could get off Saunders (3-6) and they dropped 2 1/2 games behind San Francisco.

Hamilton's ribs broken

Josh Hamilton hopes to return to the Rangers' lineup before the end of the regular season despite tests revealing the Texas slugger has two broken ribs.

Hamilton is the majors' leading hitter (.361) and a top AL MVP candidate, but the outfielder hasn't played for the AL West-leading Rangers since crashing into a wall while making a catch Sept. 4 at Minnesota.

Hamilton was diagnosed with a "small stable fracture in the seventh and eighth ribs" that two previous X-rays and an MRI didn't reveal Monday.

Hamilton had already been dealing with stiffness in his back when he crashed into the wall 2 1/2 weeks ago.

Cardinals release Lopez

Cardinals infielder Felipe Lopez was released, a day after he was late arriving for a game against Florida.

Lopez accompanied the Cardinals to Pittsburgh to begin a three-game series, but was told before the game by manager Tony La Russa and general manager John Mozeliak that he was being let go.

"He's healthy. He's just not going to get starts and not going to come off the bench," La Russa said. "He was told and he said, 'OK.' There was no reason for him to be around, so . . ."- AP