Associated Press
HOUSTON ó Chipper Jones walked in his only at-bat against Houston on Sunday and earned his first National League batting title, edging St. Louis’ Albert Pujols.
Brad Ausmus hit a two-run homer in his final game with Houston, and Wandy Rodriguez (9-7) struck out six in seven strong innings of a 3-1 win before Jose Valverde shut out the Braves in the ninth to tie a franchise record with his 44th save.
Jones finished with a career-high .364 average; Pujols went 1-for-2 on Sunday to finish at .357. Jones’ average was the highest for an NL batting champ since Barry Bonds won with a .370 average in 2002.
“It’s a tremendous feather in the cap, from an individual standpoint,” Jones said. “It’s one of those things that brings instant credibility. Hopefully, I already had it around the league. But once you have the label of batting champion, you’re respected and recognized by that.”
Phillies 8, Nationals 3
PHILADELPHIA ó Lou Marson and Matt Stairs hit back-to-back homers for the NL East-champion Phillies, who rested their regulars in a win over Washington.
Cole Hamels was scheduled to pitch, but took the day off to rest for his Game 1 start in the division series.
The Nationals (59-102) finished with the worst record in the majors and said they will not bring back five coaches next year.
Diamondbacks 2, Rockies 1
PHOENIX ó Randy Johnson pitched a two-hitter in what might have been his final appearance with the Diamondbacks.
The 45-year-old Johnson, a five-time Cy Young Award winner whose contract expires after this season, earned his 295th career win.
Giants 3, Dodgers 1
SAN FRANCISCO ó Giants ace Tim Lincecum matched his career high with 13 strikeouts to finish with a majors-best 265 in a win over the NL West champion Dodgers.
Los Angeles concluded its division championship season at 84-78 and will face the NL Central champion Chicago Cubs starting Wednesday at Wrigley Field.
Cardinals 11, Reds 4
ST. LOUIS ó Felipe Lopez drove in three runs and Brad Thompson threw five effective innings.
Ryan Ludwick had his 37th homer and Troy Glaus added his 27th.