NL Wild Card Friday Standings: Dodgers Hopes Fading

Thursday was not a good day for the Dodgers. Not only did they drop their series in Washington D.C. to the Nationals, but their closest competitors all won, making their chase for the second wild card that much more difficult.

With their loss to the Nationals and the Brewers' win over Pittsburgh, the Dodgers not only are behind St. Louis but now trail Milwaukee as well, just one more obstacle on an increasingly treacherous course for Los Angeles.

Here is a recap of Thursday's game action:

Nationals 4, Dodgers 1: Aside from the first road home run of the season from Mark Ellis, the Dodgers didn't put up much of a fight against Washington, who clinched a playoff spot with the win. The Dodgers managed just four hits against Ross Detwiler and company in defeat.

Cardinals 5, Astros 4: A two-run, pinch-hit double by Carlos Beltran in the sixth inning broke a tie and sent St. Louis on their way to a home sweep of the lowly Astros, who lost their 102nd game of the season. Houston as an outside shot at becoming the first team to lose 110 games since the 2004 Diamondbacks, who finished 51-111.

Brewers 9, Pirates 7: The battle of teams streaking in opposite directions had a wild finale. Milwaukee scored four runs in the eighth inning and one more run in the ninth to complete the sweep in a game that saw each team blow a three-run lead at some point. The Brewers have won 23 of their last 29, while the Pirates have dropped 21 of their last 28. Pittsburgh is now under .500, and must finish at least 7-6 to avoid a record 20th straight losing season.

Phillies 16, Mets 1: Philadelphia scored eight runs in the first inning and seven more in the ninth to complete their three-game sweep at Citi Field in New York. The Mets are 4-24 (.143) at Citi Field since the All-Star break, vying for the worst post-break home record since the All-Star Game began in 1933. The previous record, per Elias via Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, is held by the 1979 Mets, who were 6-32 (.158) at home after the break.

Padres 6, Diamondbacks 5: San Diego hit four doubles and got a home run by Jesus Guzman to back Clayton Richard, who pitched six innings for his 14th win of the season for the Padres, to knock Arizona back under .500.

Friday's schedule features some different matchups, including Chris Carpenter making his season debut for the Cardinals at Wrigley Field against the Cubs, and the Dodgers moving to Cincinnati to battle the National League Central-leading Reds:

• 11:20 a.m. - St. Louis (Carpenter) at Chicago (Chris Volstad)
• 4:05 p.m. - Atlanta (Tommy Hanson) at Philadelphia (Kyle Kendrick)
• 4:05 p.m. - Milwaukee (Shaun Marcum) at Washington (Edwin Jackson)
• 4:10 p.m. - Los Angeles (Joe Blanton) at Cincinnati (Bronson Arroyo)
• 5:05 p.m. - Pittsburgh (Jeff Locke) at Houston (Edgar Gonzalez)
• 5:10 p.m. - Arizona (Wade Miley) at Colorado (Drew Pomeranz)