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PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Howard hit an RBI double in the 10th inning soon after Cliff Lee fell one strike short of his seventh shutout, and Philadelphia beat Florida 2-1 on Thursday night to sweep a doubleheader.

The Phillies, who won the opener 3-1, reduced their magic number for clinching a fifth straight NL East title to two.

Jose Lopez spoiled Lee's shutout bid when he hit a tying home run on an 0-2 pitch in the ninth.

Lee struck out 12 and allowed five hits in nine innings.

John Mayberry Jr. gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead with a homer in the sixth inning.

Michael Schwimer (1-0) tossed a scoreless 10th for his first career win.

Michael Martinez walked to lead off the 10th against Burke Badenhop (2-2). Howard then lined a 3-1 pitch deep to left-centre and Martinez scored easily.

In the opener, Kyle Kendrick threw five sharp innings for the Phillies.

Kendrick (8-6) didn't allow a hit until Logan Morrison homered to lead off the fifth. He gave up one run and one hit, striking out six.

The major league-leading Phillies (97-51) moved within five wins of setting a season franchise record.

Alex Sanabia allowed one run and six hits in six innings in Game 2. Anibal Sanchez (8-8) pitched six strong innings, but was the hard-luck loser in the opener. He gave up two runs and four hits, striking out seven.

Nationals 10, Mets 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Ian Desmond had a career-high five hits and Tommy Milone earned his first major league win, leading Washington to a four-game sweep.

Desmond drove in three runs and Ryan Zimmerman had two RBIs for the Nationals, who won their fifth straight overall and moved past the Mets into third place in the NL East. The franchise has not finished third or higher since 2002, when it played in Montreal and ended the season in second place.

Making his third major league start, Milone (1-0) allowed one run and three hits in 5 2-3 innings.

Wilson Ramos added three hits for Washington.

New York has lost six straight, one shy of its longest streak this season, finished 1-8 on the homestand and were outscored 48-26.

Chris Schwinden (0-2) tossed five solid innings in his second big league start.

Reds 8, Cubs 6, 11 innings

CINCINNATI (AP) — Jay Bruce hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning for Cincinnati.

Toronto's Joey Votto led off the 11th against James Russell (1-6) with a double. Bruce connected on the next pitch for his 31st homer, giving the Reds their third straight win over Chicago after losing the opener of the four-game series.

Nick Masset (3-5) pitched the 11th for the win.

The Cubs handed Francisco Cordero his first blown save since July 10 — a stretch if 16 straight — by scoring twice in the ninth to make it 6-all.

Reds starter Homer Bailey, who hadn't allowed more than two home runs in any of his previous 19 starts this season, gave up two — to Carlos Pena and Marlon Byrd — in a span of four batters in the first inning.

Rangers 7, Indians 4

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Michael Young hit a three-run double to go over 100 RBIs for the second time in his career and the AL West-leading Rangers completed a three-game series sweep of Cleveland.

Cleveland's loss cut Detroit's magic number for clinching the AL Central to one. The Tigers played later at Oakland.

Josh Hamilton homered for the third straight game and Adrian Beltre also homered in extending his career-best hitting streak to 19 games.

Texas stretched its division lead over the idle Los Angeles Angels to 3 1/2 games.

Royals 7, White Sox 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Melky Cabrera had four hits, including a home run, and Billy Butler hit a three-run homer to lead the Royals to a victory over the White Sox.

The loss officially eliminated the White Sox from the playoffs.

The Royals' five-game winning streak is their longest since they won five straight from Sept. 7-11, 2009.

Cabrera's four-hit game matched a career high and his double in the sixth was his 40th as an outfielder — he has one as a DH. The Royals are the first team in major league history to have three outfielders with 40 or more doubles. Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur both have 45.

Butler's 19th home run in the sixth inning came off Mark Buehrle (11-9), who has lost five of his last six starts.

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