The disheartening loss, which eroded the Braves' lead down to games, proved to be a turning point for both teams. The Cardinals went on to win the last two games of the series, lowering the team's Wild Card advantage to games with 15 games to play. The Braves played decently in the subsequent homestand, going 3–3 against the Florida Marlins and New York Mets; however, the Cardinals, who went on a seven-game roadtrip to play the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies, went 5–2 over the same stretch. With nine games to play for both teams, the Braves' lead still held at three games. The Braves exited the homestand for a three-game series in Sun Life Stadium against the Florida Marlins. In the first game of the series on September 19, the team found themselves in a quick 0–2 hole. The offense rallied in the seventh inning, however, and lead the Marlins 5–4 going into the bottom of the ninth. Again closer Craig Kimbrel entered to give the team a much needed win. With two outs and no one on base, Emilio Bonifacio hit a slow grounder to Braves veteran third baseman Chipper Jones. Apparently losing the ball in the lights, Jones committed a fielding error that allowed Bonifacio to reach base. Two pitches later, Omar Infante, who the Braves had traded to the Marlins in the previous offseason, hit a two-run home run to left field that gave the Marlins a 6–5 win, stunning the Braves. The club split the final two games of the series, putting them at 88–68 on the season. The Cardinals, however, took two of three from the Mets at home, shrinking the Braves' lead even further to a mere two games. With just two series remaining apiece for both the Braves and Cardinals, the Braves traveled to Nationals Park to play the Washington Nationals in their final road series of the season while the Cardinals remained at Busch Stadium for their final home series of the year. Braves veteran ace Tim Hudson pitched well enough to give the Braves a win in the first game of their series, while the Cardinals struggled against Ryan Dempster and the Chicago Cubs. After the Cardinals loss, the Milwaukee Brewers officially clinched the National League Central. With five games to play, the Braves' lead returned to three games. The final two games of the Nationals series proved to be