Nats and Reds clinch…Giants’ magic number shrinks

UNDATED (AP) — Washington will get its first taste of postseason baseball in 79 years come October.

The NL-leading Nationals clinched a playoff berth with last night’s 4-1 victory over the visiting L.A. Dodgers. Ross Detwiler and three relievers combined on a four-hitter.

The Nationals are the first baseball team in our nation’s capital to reach the postseason since the Senators’ appearance in the 1933 World Serries.

The Nats’ magic number for clinching the NL East is eight.

In the rest of the NL:

— The Cincinnati Reds became the first team in the majors to clinch a playoff spot this season, beating the Chicago Cubs 5-3 while manager Dusty Baker remained in a Chicago hospital after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, though he’s expected to return to Cincinnati on Friday. Johnny Cueto improved to 18-9. The Reds’ magic number for clinching the NL Central is two.

__ The Milwaukee Brewers just keep winning to stay two and a-half games back in the wild card hunt. The Brewers rallied with four in the eighth and another run in the ninth to beat fading Pittsburgh 9-7. Aramis Ramirez homered and drove in three.

__ Pinch hitter Carlos Beltran snapped a sixth-inning tie with a two-run double and Allen Craig hit a three-run home run, powering the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-4 victory that completed a season sweep at home over the Houston Astros. The Cards are 2½ games up for the second NL wild card with 12 games remaining. That’s Houston’s 102nd loss.

— Jesus Guzman homered and Clayton Richard won his 14th game as the San Diego Padres held on to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.

__ Philadelphia scored eight runs in the first inning and coasted to a 16-1 laugher over the New York Mets behind a 21-hit attack. Ryan Howard hit his 12th homer, a grand slam in the ninth, and drove in five. The Mets used 10 pitchers to no avail.

Over in the AL:

— Streaking Ichiro Suzuki hit a go-ahead, two-run double in a seven-run fourth inning capped by Nick Swisher’s grand slam, and the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-7. That gives the Yanks a one-game AL East lead over idle Baltimore. Suzuki was 9 for 12 with three doubles, a homer, four RBIs and four steals in the three-game sweep.

— B.J. Upton hit a game-ending, three-run homer off Vicente Padilla, capping Tampa Bay’s six-run ninth inning and lifting the Rays to a sorely needed 7-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The Rays remain five and a-half back of Oakland for the second wild card slot.

— The AL West-leading Texas Rangers increased their lead to four games by beating the L.A. Angels 3-1. The game was tied 1-1 until Adrian Beltre belted his 34th homer, a two-run shot in the ninth.

— The AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox again failed to come up with a clutch hit in a 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Eric Hosmer singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning. The White Sox stayed two games ahead of Detroit.

__ Seth Smith homered, doubled and drove in four runs, and the Oakland Athletics avoided a three-game sweep by beating the Detroit Tigers 12-4 in a matchup of AL playoff contenders. That ends the A’s three-game losing streak.

— Casey Kotchman singled with the bases-loaded in the 10th inning, giving the Cleveland Indians a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Giants pass road test

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The banged-up New York Giants went to Carolina and battered the Panthers 36-7 in the NFL’s Week 3 opener.

Eli Manning completed 27 of 35 passes for 288 yards and a touchdown while Andre Brown ran for a career-high 113 yards and two TDs while subbing for injured starter Ahmad Bradshaw.

And Ramses Barden made up for ther absence of injured wide receiver Domenik Hixon by catching nine passes for a career-high 138 yards in his first NFL start.

The defending champion Giants improve to 2-1 while the Panthers fall to 1-2.

Revis green lighted…Rams deny dirty hits on RGIII

UNDATED (AP) — New York Jets defensive back Darrelle Revis has been cleared for contact for the first time since suffering a concussion in the team’s season opener.

Coach Rex Ryan is optimistic about the All-Pro cornerback’s chances of playing Sunday against the Dolphins.

In other football news:

— The St. Louis Rams are brushing aside comments questioning their style of play by Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III. Griffin told reporters Wednesday the Rams were “dirty” and “unprofessional” during their 31-28 victory on Sunday. He claimed he was hit after plays and in other unnecessary ways during the game. The Rams denied breaking any rules.

— Minnesota Vikings linebacker Erin Henderson has missed his second straight day of practice because of a concussion. Coach Leslie Frazier said the team had “no indications” he had a head injury last Sunday. Henderson didn’t complain about symptoms until Wednesday, when he told Frazier he “did not feel right.”

Co-leaders at Fed Ex Cup finale

ATLANTA (AP) — Tiger Woods and Justin Rose share a one-stroke lead heading into today’s second round of the Tour Championship.

Woods shrugged off recent talk that he’s intimidated by Rory McIlroy and carded a 4-under-par 66 in yesterday’s opening round. Playing partner McIlroy saved par on the final hole for a 69.

Scott Piercy, Bo Van Pelt, Steve Stricker and Matt Kuchar carded 67s their first trip around the East Lake course in Atlanta.

Red Raiders’ Gillispie resigns

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Billy Gillispie’s reign as Texas Tech men’s basketball coach is over after one disappointing season. The 52-year-old Gillispie has resigned due to health reasons.

Gillispie’s departure comes less than a month after Texas Tech said it was looking into allegations of player mistreatment by the veteran coach and that it had reported practice-time violations to the NCAA. Chris Walker is in charge until the Red Raiders name an interim coach.

Gillispie recently spent six days in a Lubbock hospital, and doctors later ordered him to avoid stress for 30 days.

He coached one year at Texas Tech, finishing the 2011-12 season with an 8-23 record and one Big 12 victory.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland 4 Minnesota 3, 10 Innings
Oakland 12 Detroit 4
N-Y Yankees 10 Toronto 7
Tampa Bay 7 Boston 4
Kansas City 4 Chi White Sox 3
Texas 3 L.A. Angels 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis 5 Houston 4
Cincinnati 5 Chi Cubs 3
San Diego 6 Arizona 5
San Francisco 9 Colorado 2
Milwaukee 9 Pittsburgh 7
Washington 4 L.A. Dodgers 1
Philadelphia 16 N-Y Mets 1

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
N-Y Giants 36 Carolina 7

TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
(24) Boise State 7 Brigham Young 6