Braves Hit Back in Wild Card Race as Yankees Pull Away

The Atlanta Braves rebounded from gut-wrenching defeat with a 4-0 shutout victory over the Florida Marlins on Tuesday to stabilize their position in the National League Wild Card race.

The Braves, heartbroken on Monday when Florida's Omar Infante blasted a walk-off two-run homer to seal a 6-5 win, responded with a strong pitching effort as Randall Delgado tossed five scoreless innings before the bullpen held the Marlins hit-less in the final four.

Having lost seven of their previous 10 games, the timely win left Atlanta with a three-game lead in the Wild Card race, but the St. Louis Cardinals can trim that back with victory over the New York Mets later on Tuesday.

In Chicago, the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cubs 5-1 to grab a six-game lead in the NL Central with just seven games left, while the New York Yankees grabbed a stranglehold on the American League East with a 5-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees (93-60) are now six games up on the tumbling Boston Red Sox who fell 7-5 to Baltimore but kept their two-game Wild Card edge on the Rays.

In Toronto, the Los Angeles Angels kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 10-6 win over the Blue Jays that pulled them within four games of the AL Wild Card lead. The Angels are 4.5 games behind in the AL West, trailing Texas who were playing late against Oakland.