Sunday NL wild card standings: Dodgers move closer

The Dodgers got what they needed on Saturday, as they rode the hot bat of Matt Kemp to a win, while the Cardinals lost. It moved the Dodgers to within two games of St. Louis for the second wild card in the National League.

The Dodgers now need six of eight outcomes to go their way just to force a tie with St. Louis, which doesn't seem as bad as the 13-for-17 outcomes they needed four days ago. Here are the standings:

Here is a recap of the relevant Saturday's game action:

Dodgers 3, Rockies 0: Matt Kemp hit a pair of home runs to lead the Dodgers to their fourth straight win. Not to be forgotten, Joe Blanton threw six scoreless innings for the victory.

Nationals 6, Cardinals 4 (10): Mike Morse hit one of the weirdest grand slams you will ever see in the first inning, but St. Louis clawed their way back to tie, including one run in the ninth to send the game into extra frames. But in the 10th inning Kurt Suzuki hit a two-run double to lead Washington to victory.

Brewers 9, Astros 5: Corey Hart homered twice, Aramis Ramirez homered once, and Marco Estrada struck out 11 in eight scoreless innings, keeping Milwaukee alive another day. The Brewers were up 9-0 in the ninth inning before Houston Dolly Parton'd their way to five runs, but that ain't no way to make a living.

Here is Sunday's schedule:

• 11:10 a.m. - Houston (Jordan Lyles) at Milwaukee (Michael Fiers)
• 11:15 a.m. - Washington (Ross Detwiler) at St. Louis (Lance Lynn)
• 1:10 p.m. - Colorado (Jorge De La Rosa) at Los Angeles (Josh Beckett)