Beltran's 2-out grand slam in ninth inning saves Mets
The New York Mets were one strike from defeat before Carlos Beltran came through with the big hit that had eluded them all night.
Beltran hit a grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning off Kevin Gregg, and New York's shaky bullpen held on for a 5-4 win over host Florida.
Before Beltran's homer, the Mets were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Trailing 2-1, they left the bases loaded in the seventh and stranded two in the eighth.
"We didn't score early, but we scored when the team needed it the most," Beltran said.
Gregg (6-8) retired the first two batters in the ninth, and New York was down to its final strike when Luis Castillo singled on a 1-2 pitch. David Wright also singled, and Carlos Delgado was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Beltran.
"I wasn't looking for anything in particular," Beltran said. "I was thinking, 'I just need to come through right here and at least tie the game.' "
Gregg's first pitch was a hanging splitter, and Beltran pulled it over the right-field wall for his 20th homer.
"I knew it was going to be gone, and I was happy because this is a team we really need to beat," Beltran said.
The grand slam left the third-place Marlins reeling. They've been fading in the NL East and fell 7 games behind the Mets, who increased their lead over second-place Philadelphia to 2 games.
Brewers 3, Pirates 1: Ryan Braun hit a 3-run home run, and Milwaukee handed host Pittsburgh its eighth straight loss.
Dave Bush (9-9) allowed 1 run in 6 innings for Milwaukee, which expanded its lead to 4 games over St. Louis in the NL wild-card race.
Salomon Torres picked up his 26th save for the Brewers, who have won six of seven and improved to 9-1 against Pittsburgh this season.
Astros 3, Cardinals 2: Lance Berkman hit a game-ending solo home run off former teammate Russ Springer to lift host Houston over St. Louis.
Berkman's 27th homer on a 2-1 pitch from Springer (2-1) hit off the facade in left field, and fireworks exploded while he rounded the bases.
Reds 11, Giants 7: San Francisco's Barry Zito (8-16) gave up 7 runs in 3 innings and became the first pitcher to lose 16 games this season.
American League
Rays 14, Orioles 3: Ben Zobrist hit a grand slam, Cliff Floyd drove in 5 runs and AL East-leading Tampa Bay guaranteed its first-ever winning season with a rout of visiting Baltimore. Floyd had a 2-run double, Zobrist hit his slam and Gabe Gross added a solo shot during a 7-run fourth that made it 10-0.
Tampa Bay (82-51) is 4 games ahead of second-place Boston, which beat the White Sox 8-0. The Rays, an AL-best 50-19 at home, had never won more than 70 games in a season before this year.
Yankees 2, Blue Jays 1: Carl Pavano held down Toronto in his first start at Yankee Stadium since Opening Day last year, and New York managed just enough offense to beat A.J. Burnett and visiting Tampa Bay.