ATLANTA—Brooks Conrad bobbled a grounder. Then he dropped a popup. Finally, a hard shot skidded under his glove in the ninth inning, his third error of the game allowing the San Francisco Giants to rally for a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.The Braves were within one out of taking control of the NL Division Series, but a 30-year-old journeyman infielder who wouldn’t have been playing if not for season-ending injuries to Chipper Jones and Martin Prado simply couldn’t catch the ball.Buster Posey’s grounder went right under Conrad’s glove, his worst miscue yet in a performance that might speed up the retirement of Braves manager Bobby Cox.Freddy Sanchez raced around with the go-ahead run, and Brian Wilson shut down the Braves in the ninth to give the Giants a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 series.San Francisco can close it out Monday night. For Conrad, the memories of this game will linger for a lifetime.Atlanta did nothing against Jonathan Sanchez, managing only two hits in 7 1/3 innings, and the Giants led 1-0 on an unearned run provided by Conrad’s second error, that dropped popup in short right field in the second.But when pinch-hitter Eric Hinske lined a two-run homer off Sergio Romo in the eighth, the Braves took a 2-1 lead.Unfortunately for Atlanta, there was no Billy Wagner to close it out. He was removed from the roster before the game with a pulled muscle on his left side.Rookie reliever Craig Kimbrel was within one out of a save before the Giants rallied. Aubrey Huff tied it with a run-scoring single off Mike Dunn. Then, Posey hit a grounder to just the right man.It skidded right through Conrad and into center field.The wild finish overshadowed Jonathan Sanchez’s brilliant performance — he didn’t allow a hit until the sixth — and Hinske’s dramatic homer, which carried the Braves to within one strike of having a chance to close out the series at Turner Field.Conrad’s blunders cost them.He was one of the last guys to make the Braves roster out of spring training and spent his first full year in the big leagues. Conrad was primarily a backup, though he did provide one of the season’s most dramatic moments with a pinch-hit grand slam that capped a seven-run ninth inning and a 10-9 victory over Cincinnati in May.Then Jones hurt his knee, and an injury finished off Prado for the season, too. Down the stretch, the Braves were forced to go with Conrad at third base.His defense was so shaky that Cox swapped him with Omar Infante before the crucial last game of the regular season with the Braves trying to wrap up the wild card, moving Conrad to second because he was having trouble making accurate throws from third.His arm wasn’t the problem in Game 3.Now, the Braves will need to win the final two games to extend Cox’s career to at least the NL championship series. One of baseball’s winningest managers is retiring at the end of a season that is one loss from being over.

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CINCINNATI—Cole Hamels completed what Roy Halladay started, putting the Philadelphia Phillies back in the NL Championship Series.Another ace, another dominating performance.Hamels struck out nine in a five-hitter, Chase Utley hit a home run and the Phillies beat the Reds 2-0 on Sunday night to finish off the franchise’s first playoff sweep.Philadelphia, trying to become the first NL team in 66 years to win three consecutive pennants, will host San Francisco or Atlanta in the NLCS opener on Saturday. The Giants beat the Braves 3-2 on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-5 division series.Halladay opened this matchup with the second no-hitter in postseason history. With Hamels and Roy Oswalt also rested and ready to go for the next round, look out.The Reds, making their first postseason appearance in 15 years, committed six errors in the last two games of the series after finishing second in the NL with a club-record .988 fielding percentage during the regular season.The NL’s top offense also stalled in three playoff games, managing only 11 hits.Hamels got Joey Votto to ground into a double play after Brandon Phillips’ leadoff single in the ninth, then struck out Scott Rolen to end the game. The lanky left-hander threw 119 pitches in his first postseason complete game, 82 for strikes.After Rolen struck out for the eighth time in the series, Hamels pumped his fist and the Phillies celebrated with a few chest bumps and a handshake line before returning to the locker room for more champagne.Of course, it all looked very routine — Charlie Manuel’s team has practiced this a lot over the past couple of years.Utley, greeted with loud boos and chants of “Cheater! Cheater!” before each at-bat, connected against Johnny Cueto in the fifth, giving the Phillies a 2-0 lead. It was his 10th career postseason homer, moving him past teammate Jayson Werth and into first on the club’s career list.Utley started Philadelphia’s winning rally in Game 2 when he was hit by a pitch from hard-throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman in the seventh inning. The All-Star second baseman acknowledged after the game he wasn’t sure if the ball hit him, and a record crowd of 44,599 at Great American Ball Park made it clear what it thought of the play. Umpires reviewed Utley’s drive to right-center to see if a fan interfered with the ball, but the replays were conclusive and the call was quickly upheld.No cheating here. Just another timely drive for the NL East champs.The Reds never regained their footing after Halladay shut them down in the series opener. The surprising NL Central winners led 4-0 in Game 2 but quickly fell apart, committing four errors in a gut-wrenching 7-4 loss that put them on the brink of elimination.Hamels took it from there.The 2008 World Series MVP, quite the luxury to have as a No. 3 starter in the postseason, increased his perfect mark against Cincinnati to 7-0 in eight career starts. He also improved to 6-3 in 11 postseason outings.Hamels allowed only two runners to reach second and none of the Reds got to third. He also got some help from his defense in the first when center fielder Shane Victorino sprinted into the gap in left-center to grab Phillips’ liner with speedy Drew Stubbs on first. Cincinnati’s fielders were not so helpful to Cueto.Shortstop Orlando Cabrera, a late addition to the lineup, made an errant throw in the first that allowed Placido Polanco to score an unearned run, quieting the towel-waving crowd desperate for something to cheer about. Third baseman Scott Rolen mishandled Carlos Ruiz’s grounder in the sixth but Homer Bailey got Hamels to fly out to end the inning.Cincinnati chased nemesis Oswalt early in Game 2, but was still impressed with the Phillies’ trio of starters.Hamels closed the regular season with a flourish, going 5-1 in his final seven starts, and picked up right where he left off. He walked none and was in complete control throughout.

NOTES—The last four NL Central Champions have now been swept in the NLDS(2007 Cubs by Arizona, 2008 Cubs by the Dodgers, 2009 Cardinals by the Dodgers and 2010 Reds by the Phillies)…..Hall of Fame 2B Joe Morgan, wearing his No. 8 Reds jersey, got a standing ovation when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Morgan was the NL MVP when the Reds won the World Series in 1975 and 1976. … It was an unseasonably warm 77 degrees at first pitch.