Maine's no-hit bid, brawl spark Mets win  —  NEW YORK (AP) — What a way to stop a late-season slide!  —  John Maine flirted with the first no-hitter in Mets history before allowing an infield single to Paul Hoover with two outs in the eighth inning, and New York snapped out of its September doldrums …

Tigers plan to play Guillen at 1B full-time next season; who's at short?  —  CHICAGO — Tigers manager Jim Leyland said Friday that he plans to make Carlos Guillen the Tigers' full-time first baseman, beginning with next season.  —  Guillen, who turns 32 on Sunday, would move to first as he begins …

Phils lose, fall back into 1st-place tie  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies spent all season trying to overtake the New York Mets.  And once they took the lead, they gave it away.  —  So now, the NL East race comes down to this: The Phillies and Mets are tied with one game left.

METS HAVE VIEW FROM THE FLOP  —  ALL CHOKED UP & LOOKING UP AT PHILS  —  In the clubhouse afterward, David Wright confirmed his humiliation.  The choked-up third baseman's words were enough.  —  "Personally I'm embarrassed," Wright said after a fifth straight defeat slid the Mets into second place.

Playoffs to start Wednesday  —  The Red Sox will begin their 2007 postseason on Wednesday, choosing the eight-day Wednesday-Friday format instead of the seven-day Thursday-Friday format.  They were granted the decision by virtue of having the best record in the American League.

Pirates Notebook: New scouting director expected  —  Ed Creech, the Pirates' scouting director since late 2001, is expected to be removed from that post after this season.  —  Two team sources said that, although general manager Neal Huntington has just begun his new job …

Mets Chat Room  —  Welcome back to Mets Chat Room.  —  We're a few minutes from first pitch and there are a hundred thoughts swirling through my head.  The most prevailing is the odds of seeing the Mets after Sunday aren't good.  —  Does anybody expect Washington to beat the Phillies?

Padres lose, fail to clinch wild card  —  MILWAUKEE (AP) — The San Diego Padres are still waiting to clinch a playoff spot — and they can blame a familiar name.  —  Tony Gwynn Jr. hit a tying, two-out triple off Trevor Hoffman in the ninth inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers went on to beat the Padres 4-3 in the 11th on Saturday.

Playoff-bound Cubs rest regulars but win  —  CINCINNATI (AP) — Rich Hill and the Chicago Cubs just wanted to get in a little work.  They almost got in a little history, too.  —  Hill allowed only one hit over six innings — a suitable tuneup for the playoffs — and Matt Murton …

Despite ERA, Myers could have role in '08  —  Left-hander Mike Myers' ERA has swelled by more than 1.5 runs in his 15 appearances since he joined the White Sox last month.  But that hasn't stopped pitching coach Don Cooper from strongly considering Myers as a part of the Sox's bullpen for 2008.

ChiSox give C Pierzynski 2-years, $12.5M  —  The Chicago White Sox and catcher A.J. Pierzynski agreed to a two-year, $12.5 million contract extension Saturday that will keep him with the team through the 2010 season.  Pierzynski will make a base salary of $5.85 in 2008 under the final year of a three-year contract he signed in 2005.

Cooper's Clubhouse  —  The Astros removed the iterim title from Cecil Cooper yesterday, extending his contract through 2009. … The whole stolen base issue is nonsense.  They attempted .60 steals per game under Garner, .62 under Cooper.  They stole at a poor 66% clip under Garner …

Rookie Clement delivers walk-off win  —  First hit of the night a game-winning home run against Texas  —  SEATTLE — Mariners manager John McLaren talked before the game about the thunder in rookie Jeff Clement's bat.  —  For the second time in three days, Clement delivered a stunning clap …

Nationals deserve heartfelt apologies  —  Last weekend may have been Yom Kippur, but today is my personal day of atonement.  Today is when I try to atone for everything I wrote about the Washington Nationals' 2007 season that turned out to be wrong.  —  It may turn into a seven-part series.

Delcarmen now is set up well to succeed  —  His 35th homer of the year - a solo shot in the eighth - earned David Ortiz a pat on the head from Mike Lowell.  Ortiz went 3 for 4, rapping a double to go with his homer.  Lowell was 2 for 4.  (BARRY CHIN/GLOBE STAFF)