National League
The Expos era in Montreal ended with a 9-1 loss to Florida on Wednesday night, a game delayed for 10 minutes when players were pulled off the field after a fan threw a golf ball that landed near second base.
A crowd of 31,395 showed up at Olympic Stadium for a final farewell just hours after baseball announced that the 36-year-old franchise will be moved next season to Washington.
"Now it can't be undone," Montreal manager Frank Robinson said. "It's like you want to stand still right now and not rush out of here, savor every moment you can be here."
It was the largest crowd of the year and about four times the season average.
Fans were warned in the third inning that the game would be forfeited if anything else was thrown onto the field. Three plastic bottles were tossed into left field in the sixth, one near Florida's Miguel Cabrera. But the teams remained on the field.
"I think there were some minor things that happened, which is understandable," Montreal first baseman Brad Wilkerson said. "But I think, for the most part, give credit to the fans for being smart about things, coming out and watching a ballgame, and cheering and not doing anything too serious."
With two outs in the ninth, a fan jumped onto the field near Florida's on-deck circle and was quickly escorted off by two security guards.
After Terrmel Sledge popped up for the final out, Marlins coach Perry Hill took the ball from third baseman Mike Mordecai and tossed it across the field to Expos manager Frank Robinson. Montreal coach Claude Raymond was joined by all the Expos as they waved goodbye to fans.
Reds 4, Cubs 3, 12 innings
In Chicago, Austin Kearns tied the game with a two-out double in the ninth inning, then hit a two-run homer in the 12th as Cincinnati dealt Chicago a key loss in the wild-card race.
The Cubs began the day tied for the National League wild-card lead with the Giants and one-half game ahead of Houston. San Francisco played at San Diego later and St. Louis was at Houston.
Chicago, which has lost four of its last five, has four games remaining -- one more with the Reds set for yesterday before concluding the regular season with a three-game series at Wrigley Field against National League East champion Atlanta.
Kearns, who also made a great catch in right to rob Sammy Sosa of extra bases, hit a two-run homer off Jon Leicester (5-1) after a walk to D'Angelo Jimenez.
John Riedling (5-3), who retired Ben Grieve with Sosa at third in the 11th, got the win.
Braves 6, Mets 3
In Atlanta, Bobby Cox became just the ninth manager in baseball history to win 2,000 games when Atlanta scored four runs in the seventh to beat New York.
Of the eight managers who previously reached 2,000 wins, seven are in the Hall of Fame. The lone exception is Tony La Russa, still managing the St. Louis Cardinals. Cox's overall record is 2,000-1,530, and he has guided Atlanta to 13 straight division titles.
The Braves broke a 2-all tie in the seventh. Andruw Jones doubled in the go-ahead run, and 46-year-old Julio Franco drove in another with a pinch-hit single off Eric Heilman (1-3).
After Mike Stanton took over for Heilman, Marcus Giles hit a hard grounder that barely got under the glove of Kaz Matsui.
Other results: Phillies 8, Pirates 4, 1st game; Brewers 4, Diamondbacks; Astros 6, Cardinals 4; Rockies 4, Dodgers 1; Padres 4, Giants 3, 10 innings.
American League
With a doubleheader sweep of the Minnesota Twins, the New York Yankees moved to the verge of clinching their seventh straight AL East title.
Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez rallied the Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the AL Central champions in the opener. Jon Lieber then won his fifth consecutive victory in the second game, with New York beating the Twins 5-4 behind Hideki Matsui's second homer of the day and 30th of the season, a three-run drive in the first.
Other results: Devil Rays 9, Red Sox 4; Orioles 7, Blue Jays 6, 1st game; Orioles 4, Blue Jays 0, 2nd game; White Sox 11, Tigers 2; Indians 5, Royals 2; Angels 8, Rangers 7, 11 innings; Mariners 4, Athletics 2
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