Cubbies deal blow to Cards; Rockies clinch

Kyle Hendricks went eight innings in another strong start, Kris Bryant homered and the Chicago Cubs moved closer to the NL Central championship and dealt another hit to St. Louis' playoff hopes, beating the Cardinals 8-4 on Friday.

The Cubs came into the final weekend of the regular season with a franchise-record fourth straight trip to the postseason assured and their third division title in a row in sight. They began the day with a one-game lead over Milwaukee, with the Brewers playing Detroit on Friday night.

St. Louis dropped its fourth in a row after being swept by Milwaukee. The Cardinals came in trailing Los Angeles by a game for the second wild card, with the Dodgers visiting San Francisco.

Hendricks (14-11) gave up two runs and seven hits. The right-hander is 5-1 with a 1.52 ERA in his past seven outings.

Bryant made it 3-0 with a long solo drive to center against Adam Wainwright for just his second homer in 27 games.

ROCKIES IN PLAYOFFS

DENVER — Charlie Blackmon's bushy beard dripped with bubbly, while Carlos Gonzalez cheerfully soaked up all the spray coming at him from every direction. Nolan Arenado posed for picture after picture as teammates got selfies with him.

Think this party scene was wild, hold on. The Colorado Rockies are hoping to exchange those hats that read, “Postseason,” for ones that say, “NL West Champions.”

Now that would really be a party.

The NL West-leading Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.

David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies entered the night with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown.

“It's a playoff atmosphere,” Arenado said. “The good thing about us is we've been in a playoff atmosphere before. We know how to handle it.”

Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.