ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves are doing their best to give away what looked like a certain playoff berth just a few weeks ago.

Derek Lowe had another miserable outing, surrendering five runs in four-plus innings, and the Philadelphia Phillies romped to a 7-1 victory Tuesday night that left the Braves on the brink going to the final day of the regular season.

Chase Utley, Hunter Pence and Jimmy Rollins homered for the playoff-bound Phillies to back a three-hit outing by Roy Oswalt (9-10), who tuned up for the playoffs with a strong performance in a largely disappointing season.

The Braves lost their fourth in a row and eighth in 11 games, sending them to the final day of the regular season tied with the St. Louis Cardinals, who beat Houston 13-6.

Cardinals 13, Astros 6: At Houston, the Cardinals are tied with Atlanta for the NL wild-card lead after getting a clutch two-run triple from Ryan Theriot in the seventh inning of a victory over the Astros.

If the teams are tied after Wednesday’s games, St. Louis will host a one-game playoff on Thursday night.

The Cardinals trailed 5-0 early and appeared to be headed for a second straight loss to the Astros. But St. Louis scored five times in the fourth and erased a 6-5 deficit with a four-run seventh.

Lance Berkman hit a two-out single and scored on Allen Craig’s tying double. Yadier Molina walked before Theriot’s triple made it 8-6.

Rays 5, Yankees 3: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Matt Joyce and Ben Zobrist homered, helping the surging Tampa Bay Rays continue their improbable chase for the AL wild card with a victory over the New York Yankees.

The Rays, seeking their third playoff berth in four seasons, began the night tied with Boston after making up nine games in the standings since Sept. 4. The two teams remained tied after Boston edged Baltimore 8-7.

Joyce’s three-run homer off former teammate Rafael Soriano (2-3) was the All-Star’s first in more than three weeks and wiped out a 3-2 deficit in the seventh. Zobrist hit a two-run drive off Bartolo Colon in the second, and the Rays kept the score close by turning the third triple play in franchise history after falling behind in the sixth.

Red Sox 8, Orioles 7: At Baltimore, the Red Sox maintained a share of the AL wild-card lead, using four home runs to beat the Orioles and set up a dramatic conclusion to the regular season.

The skidding Red Sox were 6-19 in September before rebounding to edge the last-place Orioles.

After blowing a nine-game lead in the span of 23 days, the Red Sox will send Jon Lester (15-9) to the mound against Baltimore on Wednesday night in an effort to get into the postseason for the fourth time in five years. Lester, Boston’s winningest pitcher, will be throwing on three days’ rest.

Giants 7, Rockies 0: At San Francisco, Madison Bumgarner and two relievers combined on a three-hitter, Brandon Belt homered into McCovey Cove and the Giants beat the Rockies.

Conor Gillaspie, making a rare start at third base in place of Pablo Sandoval, hit an inside-the-park home run in the seventh while Brandon Crawford added two hits and an RBI for the Giants, who have won two straight following a four-game losing streak.

That’s little consolation for the defending World Series champs, who will still miss the postseason a year after claiming their first title in 54 years.

Athletics 7, Mariners 0: At Seattle, Trevor Cahill and two relievers held Seattle to just four hits while Josh Willingham and Scott Sizemore hit home runs in the Athletics rout of the Mariners.

After allowing a pair of singles in the first inning, Cahill (12-14) retired the next 13 batters in a row. No base-runner advanced past second base. He struck out seven and walked one.

Cahill’s 40 career wins in his first three seasons are second most in Oakland history — behind Vida Blue’s 42 — for a pitcher before his 24th birthday.

Mariners starter Blake Beavan (5-6) gave up seven runs and eight hits in five innings. He walked the second batter of the game, Coco Crisp, to end his streak without issuing a walk at 24 1/3 innings.

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