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Cubs/Phillies Rained Out; Cards Crushed

>>Cubs, Phillies Rained Out; Double Header Today

The game between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies scheduled for Thursday night was postponed because of rain.

The game never started and will be made up as a part of a doubleheader starting Friday at 5:05 p.m.

Chicago holds a nine-game lead over San Francisco for the second NL wild-card spot.

 width=>>Reds Crush Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals hoped their come-from behind win on Wednesday over the Chicago Cubs would get them back on track.

Instead, they followed with their most one-sided defeat this season.

Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips both homered and drove in three runs as the last-place Cincinnati Reds beat the NL Central-leading Cardinals 11-0 Thursday night.

St. Louis opened its longest trip this season - 10 games in 11 days - with its fourth loss in five games, including a 9-0 defeat to the Cubs on Monday.

Reds star Joey Votto doubled and singled, driving in a run and scoring one, a day after his tantrum at home plate following an ejection.

Jaime Garcia (8-5) lasted a season-low 4 1-3 innings and gave up six runs. He had been 5-0 in seven starts since losing to the Reds on July 28.

John Lamb (1-3), one of three left-handers acquired from Kansas City for Johnny Cueto in late July, shook off control problems for his first major league win. He walked six, struck out six and gave up three hits in five innings.

Four relievers combined to complete St. Louis's 12th shutout loss this year, matching last season's total.

The Reds scored their first two runs on groundouts. Lamb got his first career RBI in the second and Phillips made it 2-0 in the third.

Cincinnati chased Garcia in a four-run fifth that included RBI doubles by Votto and Frazier. Phillips and Bruce each had a sacrifice fly.

Votto's double into the left field corner came on a 3-2 pitch after he fell behind 0-2 and was sent sprawling by a high-and-tight fastball.

Phillips hit 12th homer, a leadoff shot in a three-run seventh. Right fielder Jason Heyward almost made a leaping catch, but he couldn't keep the ball in his glove.

Frazier added his 32nd homer, a two-run line drive in the eighth.

>>Phillies GM Amaro Out

Ruben Amaro Jr. is out as Phillies GM. On Thursday, the team announced they will not extend Amaro's contract as senior vice president and general manager. Assistant GM Scott Proefrock takes over as the interim GM, effective immediately.

Amaro, 50, has been with the Phillies since 1998. He served as assistant GM under Ed Wade and Pat Gillick before taking over as GM following the 2008 season. Amaro played eight seasons in the big leagues as an outfielder, including three with the Phillies, before joining Philadelphia's front office.

The writing has been on the wall for Amaro since the Phillies announced MacPhail was coming on board back in July. Amaro had been on the hot seat for a few years prior to that. The Phillies enjoyed tremendous success from 2009-11 under Amaro, including winning the 2009 NL pennant and 102 games in 2011.

The club has since devolved into the worst teams in baseball thanks to a string of bad contracts, bad trades and bad player development. The Phillies finally embraced a full-on rebuild last offseason and have since traded most of their veteran for prospects.

Among his most notable moves, Amaro traded for Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence, then re-signed Lee as a free agent. He also gave Ryan Howard a five-year, $125 million extension that has been nothing short of a disaster.

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