MILWAUKEE (AP) -Chris Young came within four outs of a perfect game, retiring the first 23 Milwaukee batters in order before Gabe Kapler homered, and the San Diego Padres beat the Brewers 10-1 on Sunday.
Young (5-5) got Prince Fielder and Corey Hart to pop out in the eighth before Kapler hit Young's 76th pitch of the game - a 1-0 fastball - into the left-field bleachers.
Chase Headley hit his ninth homer and Kevin Kouzmanoff hit his 21st for San Diego, which had 14 hits and broke the game open with five unearned runs off Manny Parra (10-7) in the third.
If Young had succeeded, it would have been the 18th perfect game in MLB history, and first since Arizona's Randy Johnson accomplished the feat on May 18, 2004 with a 2-0 victory over the Braves.
The Brewers remained four games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central after the Cubs lost 4-3 to the Reds. Milwaukee began the day with a 4 1/2-game lead over the Phillies in the wild card race and has have lost five of seven in its chase to make the postseason for the first time since 1982.
Reds 4, Cubs 3
CINCINNATI (AP) - Jolbert Cabrera hit a game-ending RBI single off Chicago closer Kerry Wood to complete Cincinnati's three-run ninth inning.
Edwin Encarnacion started the rally with a leadoff single into center field and hustled to second when the ball got past a charging Jim Edmonds. After Jay Bruce walked, Encarnacion was cut down at third when Ryan Hanigan bunted into a forceout but Wood (4-4) walked pinch-hitter Javier Valentin to load the bases.
Pinch-hitter Chris Dickerson followed with a chopper up the middle that glanced off the glove of shortstop Ronny Cedeno and into short center field for what originally was ruled a two-base error that allowed the tying runs to score. The official scorer later changed the error to a hit.
Cabrera then ripped a single into left field, giving Wood his sixth blown save.
Francisco Cordero (5-4) pitched a scoreless ninth to help send the Cubs to their seventh loss in their last eight games.
Phillies 6, Mets 2, 1st game
NEW YORK (AP) - Jamie Moyer shut down the slumping Mets on two singles that didn't leave the infield, Greg Dobbs hit a three-run homer off Pedro Martinez, and Philadelphia trimmed their NL East deficit to one game in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
