The Arizona Diamondbacks force their NLDS with Milwaukee to a decisive Game 5 with a 10 – 6 win at home today. The D-Backs use four home runs – a grand slam by Ryan Roberts, two long balls by Chris Young and one by Aaron Hill – to power their way to the win. They jump to a 5 – 0 lead off Randy Wolf in the 1st inning on Roberts’ slam, their second in as many games; the only other team to hit grand slams in back-to-back postseason games was the 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers. Arizona never looks back after its quick start, although starter Joe Saunders struggles and is lifted after three innings; his replacement, Micah Owings, is the winner.

During the fifth turn of Game 4 of the NLDS against the Cardinals, a squirrel runs across home plate just as Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt begins to deliver a pitch to Skip Schumaker. Umpire Angel Hernandez calls the pitch a ball, much to the chagrin of the right-hander and Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel, who believe that “no pitch” should be called due to the distraction caused by the grey rodent, immortalized by the Redbirds fans as the “rally squirrel.”