Mets Close Shea in Collapse

By Associated Press

NEW YORK — Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala served up back-to- back homers in the eighth inning that put the Marlins ahead, and the Mets missed the playoffs after another September slide and a loss in the final game at Shea Stadium.

It was an eerily similar scenario to last year, when New York lost at home to Florida on the final day of season, ending their playoff hopes.

Pinch-hitter Wes Helms homered off Schoeneweis (2-6) to start the eighth, snapping a 2-all tie. Dan Uggla connected against Ayala.

Joe Nelson (3-1) struck out two in a perfect seventh and Matt Lindstrom earned his fifth save.

Missing injured closer Billy Wagner for the final two months, the Mets finished with 29 blown saves, including 16 since the All-Star break — most in the National League, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

PHILLIES 8, NATIONALS 3: At Philadelphia, 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 on Wednesday.

GIANTS 3, DODGERS 1: At San Francisco, 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.

ASTROS 3, BRAVES 1: At Houston, 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 before Jose Valverde shut out the Braves in the ninth to tie a franchise record with his 44th save.

CARDINALS 11, REDS 4: At St. Louis, Felipe Lopez drove in three runs and Brad Thompson threw five effective innings, helping the Cardinals end the year on a season-best six-game winning streak. Ryan Ludwick had his 37th home run of the season to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead after one inning.

DIAMONDBACKS 2, ROCKIES 1: At Phoenix, 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.

PIRATES 6, PADRES 1: San Diego, Adam LaRoche and Steve Pearce hit consecutive homers in the fourth inning and the Pirates won a matchup of last-place clubs. The Padres brought up the rear in the West at 63-99, their worst finish since 1993.

American League

TWINS 6, ROYALS 0: At Minneapolis, Scott Baker scattered four singles over seven shutout innings, pitching the Twins past the Kansas City Royals to preserve their half-game lead in the AL Central. The White Sox snapped their five-game losing streak by beating Cleveland 5-1, pushing the season into an extra day. On Monday, Detroit visits Chicago for a makeup game. If the White Sox (87-74) win, they’ll host the Twins on Tuesday in a one-game playoff to determine the division title and the first-round opponent for the Tampa Bay Rays.

WHITE SOX 5, INDIANS 1: At Chicago, Mark Buehrle won on three days’ rest, Paul Konerko hit his fourth homer in three games and Jermaine Dye had a two-run single to lead the White Sox. Buehrle (15- 12), coming off a 121-pitch outing, made his third start on short rest this season and his second in September. He allowed one run and nine hits in seven innings, struck out six and walked one, throwing 111 pitches.

Chicago backed him with four double plays, and Indians third baseman Jamey Carroll made a key error that allowed the go-ahead run to score in a three-run second inning.

Jhonny Peralta’s second-inning homer put Cleveland ahead. But Bryan Bullington (0-2), starting because 22-game winner Cliff Lee was scratched with a stiff neck, couldn’t hold it.

Konerko’s second-inning homer tied it, and Chicago loaded the bases when Ken Griffey Jr. doubled, Alexei Ramirez walked and A.J. Pierzynski singled.

YANKEES 6, RED SOX 2

BOSTON 4, YANKEES 3: At Boston, Mike Mussina wrapped up a postgame television interview on the field, then returned to the New York Yankees clubhouse. In a season with little to celebrate, his teammates gave him a rousing welcome — one he had waited his entire 18-year career to receive. Mussina had just become the oldest pitcher to win 20 games in a season for the first time as the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 6-2 Sunday in the opener of a rain- delayed day-night doubleheader.

"This is one of those things that I think will take a while to sink in," said Mussina, who has won at least 18 games five other times.

The playoff-bound Red Sox won the second game 4-3 on Jonathan Van Every’s bases-loaded single with two outs in the 10th off Jose Veras (5-3). Devern Hansack (1-0) pitched the 10th for the win as Boston prevented the Yankees (89-73) from reaching 90 wins for the seventh straight season. New York finished five games back of the wild-card Red Sox and missed the postseason for the first time since 1993.

ANGELS 7, RANGERS 0: At Anaheim, Calif., the Angels posted their team-record 100th win, with Joe Saunders pitching six sharp innings and Mike Napoli homering in their final postseason tuneup. The Angels (100-62) take baseball’s best record into the first round of the playoffs against the World Series champion Boston Red Sox beginning Wednesday in Anaheim.

RAYS 8, TIGERS 7: At Detroit, Ben Zobrist hit a go-ahead single in a four-run eighth and had a solo homer in the 11th, lifting the playoff-bound Rays to a win over the Tigers. Rays manager Joe Maddon said he would start right-hander James Shields, who started and threw only an inning Sunday, or lefty Scott Kazmir in the first two games of the ALDS, but he would not say who would be on the mound for Game 1.

Edwin Jackson (14-11) gave up two runs and four hits over two innings. Jason Hammell had his seconds save in as many opportunities.

Chris Lambert (1-2) pitched a perfect 10th inning, then allowed Zobrist to hit his fourth homer of the series to win the game.

BLUE JAYS 10, ORIOLES 1: At Baltimore, Vernon Wells went 4-for- 4, homered twice and had five RBIs for Toronto. Jesse Litsch (13-9) gave up one run and three hits in seven innings. The right-hander went 4-1 in September and finished with a solid 3.58 ERA.

Returning to the mound after missing nearly a month with a shoulder injury, Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie (10-12) gave up three runs and six hits in four innings. He opened the season with a loss to Tampa Bay and finished it with a typical defeat — Baltimore scored a total of 21 runs in his 12 losses.

MARINERS 4, ATHLETICS 3: At Seattle, Ichiro Suzuki had two hits and scored the decisive run for Seattle. The reloaded Mariners expected to win the AL West this season, or at least make the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Instead, they fired their manager and general manager, became the first team with a $100 million payroll to lose 100 games and endured their worst season (61- 101) since losing 102 games in 1983.