Phillies clinch National League crown

The Philadelphia Phillies secured a second straight trip to the World Series by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4.

The Phillies clinched the best-of-seven National League Championship Series 4-1.

Jayson Werth slammed two homers and drove in four runs while Pedro Feliz and Shane Victorino also connected as the Phillies became the first team to reach back-to-back World Series since the New York Yankees eight years ago.

Andre Ethier, James Loney and Orlando Hudson also homered for the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park as the teams combined to tie the record of seven home runs in a post-season match.

Right-fielder Werth had headed into the game with only one hit in 14 at-bats, but added three more hits to complete the NLCS with three home runs and six RBI to help Philadelphia become the first team since the Atlanta Braves in 1995-96 to claim two consecutive NL pennants.

The Phillies will begin their bid for a third World Series crown next Wednesday at New York or Los Angeles. The Yankees lead the Angels 3-1 in the American League Championship Series, which resumes on Thursday night at Angel Stadium.

Los Angeles Dodgers level series

An error-strewn eighth inning by the Philadelphia Phillies paved the way for the Los Angeles Dodgers to win 2-1.

The Dodgers have now pulled level in the National League Championship Series with a 2-1 win in Game Two at Dodger Stadium

Andre Ethier walked in the go-ahead run on a 3-2 pitch from JA Happ moments after second baseman Chase Utley's throwing error had pulled the Dodgers level.

Ryan Howard's home run for the Phillies in the fourth off Dodgers' starter Vicente Padilla was the only score in the game until the crazy eighth inning unfolded.

In a low-scoring encounter, most of the intrigue came from the match-up between Padilla and Phillies starting pitcher Pedro Martinez, both of whom were playing against their former teams.

Martinez pitched seven scoreless innings while Padilla allowed only Howard's homer over seven and one-third innings.

The best-of-seven series now moves east to Philadelphia for Game Three on Sunday.

With the experienced starting pitchers dominating, the tie was finally broken in the fourth when Howard hit an opposite-field home run off Padilla's curveball.

Chan Ho Park replaced Martinez in the eighth, and that was when the problems set in for the reigning World Series champions.

Russell Martin sent a double-play ball to third baseman Pedro Feliz, who got the man out at second base, but Utley made a hash of the relay to first, throwing into the crowd and allowing pinch-runner Juan Pierre to score the game-tying run.

With Martin safe at first, pinch-hitter Jim Thome hit a single before Rafael Furcal was walked by Ryan Madson. Happ then came on to face Ethier, who drew the bases-loaded walk to tee up the win.

Yankees take victory in ALCS opener

The New York Yankees took full advantage of some slack work by the Los Angeles Angels to ease to a 4-1 win in the opening game of the American League Championship Series.

The chilly conditions at Yankee Stadium seemed to work against the Angels who made three crucial errors to gift the hosts the upper hand in the best-of-seven series.

CC Sabathia frustrated the Angels to an even greater degree than the wintry conditions, the Yankees starter putting in a sterling effort across eight innings that resulted in just four hits and a run.

The only blot on Sabathia copy book came in the fourth inning when Vladimir Guerrero hit a deep drive to left-centre field to make second base. Kendry Morales then connected for a two-out hit to score Guerrero.

New York wasted no time in jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first.

Derek Jeter moved onto third base after Johnny Damon's single. A throwing error by left fielder Juan Rivera allowed Damon to advance before Alex Rodriguez's sacrifice fly scored Jeter.

Hideki Matsui's pop-up then inexplicably fell harmlessly between Angels' third baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar, which allowed Damon to score.

Damon began the fifth with a double before coming home on Matsui's hit to left, while Jeter hit a run-scoring single in the sixth after more help from the Angels fielders, this time Torii Hunter allowing the ball to sneak past.

The ALCS stays in New York for Game Two on Saturday night.

Phillies advace to championship series

Ryan Howard hit a ninth-inning two-run double as the Philadelphia Phillies clinched the NLDS with a 5-4 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Howard's efforts pulled the Phillies level at 4-4 after an eighth-inning burst by the Rockies threatened to take the series to a fifth game, and victory was secured when Jayson Werth singled to score Howard.

The Game Four victory sealed a 3-1 series triumph for the World Series champions who now face the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second consecutive season in the National League Championship Series.

The Phillies' Shane Victorino opened the scoring in the first with a home run - his first since September 13 - while Werth made it 2-0 when he hit a solo homer in the sixth.

Todd Helton got home for the Rockies in the sixth to make it 2-1 while pinch-hitter Jason Giambi singled to score Dexter Fowler to tie the game at 2-2.

Yorvit Torrealba's two-run double in the bottom of the eighth then seemingly set the Rockies on course for a deciding Game Five in Philadelphia as the hosts moved into a 4-2 lead.

But the Phillies had other ideas and mounted a dramatic fightback in the ninth against closer Huston Street.

Howard tied the score with two strikes when he doubled up against the right-field wall to score Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley, while Werth made sure the Phillies progressed as he singled to right-centre field to score Howard.

Lee leads Phillies to opening win

World Series champions the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 5-1 in the opening game of their play-off series.

Starter Cliff Lee was the stand-out performer, pitching eight straight scoreless innings before conceding one run in the ninth.

Opposite number Ubaldo Jimenez matched him in the first four innings, but Philadelphia picked up two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to move clear.

Raul Ibanez had two hits and two RBIs for the Phillies.

The New York Yankees brought the Minnesota Twins back down to earth with a bump by winning the first game of their America League series 7-2.

Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui hit home runs and Alex Rodriguez chipped in with two RBI to help the Yankees to victory.

The Twins yesterday earned thrilling 6-5 win in the 12th inning over the Detroit Tigers in their one-game tie-breaker for the AL Central crown.

And they held their own in the early stages against New York before their opponents seized control in the fifth inning.

The Twins trailed by just one run going into the fifth, but the Yankees then hit three without reply to extend their lead from 3-2 to 6-2.

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St Louis Cardinals 5-3 in their NLDS opener.

Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to put the Dodgers 2-1 in front, a lead they did not relinquish for the remainder of the match.

Rafael Furcal also impressed with three hits and an RBI, while Chris Carpenter allowed four runs in five innings for St Louis.

Twins seal play-offs berth

Alexi Casilla's helped the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 6-5 in their one-game tie-breaker for the American League Central crown.

The victory gave Minnesota a fifth AL title in eight years and booked their place in the play-offs where they will play the New York Yankees.

Tied at 5-5 after 11 innings, Casilla's hit allowed Carlos Gomez to score the decisive run from second base.

After two scoreless opening innings, Detroit, who had a three game lead going into final week of the season, took a 3-1 lead after the third, only for the Twins to move 4-3 ahead thanks to Orlando Cabrera's two-run homer in the seventh.

Magglio Ordonez's leadoff homer in the eighth levelled the match at 4-4 and a run apiece in the 10th meant the two sides could still not be separated.

It fell to Casilla, a pinch-runner for Brendan Harris in the 10th, to deliver the telling contribution as Minnesota became the first team to come back from three games down with four to play.

White Sox suffer vital loss

Minnesota all but put the Chicago White Sox out of the play-off picture with a 8-6 win.

The victory kept the Twins within reach of the Tigers in the American League Central.

Nick Punto had three RBIs and scored two runs for the Twins and Brian Duensing improved to 5-0 as a starter.

Jermaine Dye hit two homers as the White Sox went down to a fourth straight defeat.

Detroit clinched its three-game set in Cleveland as the Tigers beat the Indians 11-3.

A two-homer, four-RBI night from Carlos Guillen sealed it for Detroit, who had a four-run first inning off Justin Masterson. Miguel Cabrera added a two-run home run in the fourth.

The New York Yankees celebrated their play-off spot by rounding out a series win with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

The Bombers got key two-out hits from Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera as the Angels were held to two runs by AJ Burnett.

The Boston Red Sox moved to within five wins off the play-offs as they beat the Kansas City Royals 9-2.

Josh Beckett starred for the Sox as the Royals only scored two runs on 12 hits off his pitching.

A homer from Travis Snider showed up a good night at the plate for the Toronto Blues Jays who finished off a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 7-3 win.

Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie had a rough time as he surrendered six runs as seven of the Blue Jays' nine starters had hits.

BJ Upton had a game-winning two-run single in the eighth as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Seattle Mariners 5-4.

Five runs in the fourth inning for the Oakland Athletics were not quite enough as the Texas Rangers won 9-8.

Philadelphia saw their National League East title hopes held up as the Florida Marlins scored twice in the ninth inning.

Brett Carroll's walk-off RBI single sealed the win after Jorge Cantu's RBI single had tied the game.

Joey Votto led the Cincinnati Reds to a 12-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, collecting two doubles and scoring three times.

Reds' Homer Bailey pitched six strong innings, giving up just two runs on four hits, and collected his sixth win of the year.

Prince Fielder hit his 42nd homer of the season, a two-run shot, and Jody Gerut added a solo shot as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2.

Jeff Samardzija, making only his second Major League start, homered for his first career hit for the Cubs as rookie pitcher Chris Narveson continued to reward the Brewers, going a career-high five and two thirds innings.

Bud Norris pitched six scoreless frames as the Houston Astros ended their losing streak at nine games with a 3-0 win over the St Louis Cardinals.

John Smoltz had thrown six solid innings for the Cardinals but Carlos Lee drove in two runs for the Astros.

The San Diego Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies 6-3 as Will Venable drove in four runs to end help the Padres' three-game series in Colorado.

The Atlanta Braves were too strong for the New York Mets as they closed out the series finale 5-2.

The San Francisco Giants were 5-2 winners against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Angels post battling victory

American League West leaders Los Angeles Angels had to battle for a 4-3 win away to the Boston Red Sox.

It was 3-3 in the ninth inning until Howie Kendrick's homer broke the deadlock against opponents who had won their previous seven games and are shaping well in the Wild Card race.

An epic encounter between visitors Chicago and Seattle went into the 14th inning, before the Mariners' tenacity was ultimately rewarded with a 4-3 win.

Three-run homers by Miguel Olivo and Josh Anderson, and Zack Greinke's pitching, helped Kansas City Royals to a surprise 9-2 win over Central leaders Detroit.

Tampa Bay eased to a 3-0 victory away to East strugglers Baltimore.

Oakland established a telling advantage at home to Cleveland and hung on to prevail 5-2.

In the National League, East leaders Philadelphia unsurprisingly beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 - the Phillies' fifth successive victory - and their nearest challengers Florida came unstuck 3-2 away to Cincinnati.

Milwaukee Brewers won 7-4 away to the Chicago Cubs to square their four-game Central series.

After a two-hour rain delay in Atlanta, the Braves and the New York Mets had a tight tussle which eventually went the way of the hosts 7-3.

Jays triumph in fiery clash

Lost tempers marred Toronto Blue Jays' 10-4 win against the New York Yankees in the American League.

An eighth-inning brawl broke out at Yankee Stadium, after the hosts' Jorge Posada and the Blue Jays' Jesse Carlson collided and then came to blows.

Carlson took a punch to his head, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi was cut on his ear. But once the scuffle was over - with Carlson and Posada ejected - it was the Blue Jays who regained their composure and retained their advantage on the way to victory.

There was a home run for David Ortiz as the Boston Red Sox got the better of the Los Angeles Angels 4-1, and Jason Berken's pitching was the key as Baltimore Orioles scored a 10-5 win against Tampa Bay.

Kansas City Royals romped to an 11-1 win over Central rivals Detroit, the fourth consecutive time they have beaten the Tigers.

Elsewhere, there was a Central scrap between Cleveland and Minnesota which finished 5-4 to the Twins - while Oakland emerged 6-1 winners of their all-West fixture against Texas.

It finished 6-3 to Chicago White Sox against Seattle.

In the National League, Adam LaRoche hit two home runs as Atlanta Braves beat New York Mets 6-0 - and Cliff Lee was the man in form for Philadelphia, who beat the Washington Nationals 5-0.

Central rivals Cincinnati and Houston were locked in a tight tussle which eventually went to the Reds 5-4, after Paul Janish hit three doubles and scored two runs.

Chicago Cubs had significantly more breathing space, beating Milwaukee 13-7.

Dan Uggla's two-run homer helped the Florida Marlins beat St Louis 2-1.

Central strugglers Pittsburgh lost 5-4 to West leaders LA Dodgers after 13 innings while Arizona were 4-2 winners against San Diego.

San Francisco beat Colorado 10-2 in the NL West.

White Sox edge out Rex Sox

Chicago White Sox overcame Boston Red Sox 5-1 in the American league as Mark Buehrle ended his miserable eight-start drought.

Buehrle had been without a win since pitching a perfect game in July but he bounced back today as Carlos Quentin homered with his side taking three of four from the American League wildcard leaders.

Billy Butler produced two home runs and four RBIs as Kansas City Royals won 6-3 at home to Los Angeles Angels to bring a nine-game losing run to a welcome end.

New York Yankees won both legs of a double-header at home to Tampa Bay Rays, edging the first game 4-1 and the breezing the second 11-1.

In-form Joe Mauer produced another three hits as his Minnesota Twins ran out 6-3 winners against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.

Texas Rangers' game at Cleveland Indians was rained off.

In the National League, Manny Ramirez made it 17 home runs for the season so far before being ejected as Los Angeles Dodgers beat Arizona 7-2, the Diamondbacks' fifth loss in a row.

Ramirez smashed a long one off Max Scherzer in the second inning, but showed his displeasure after striking out in the third and was ejected.

Ian Stewart's tie-breaking home in the eighth helped Colorado Rockies to a 4-3 home win over Cincinnati Reds to deny the visitors an eighth straight victory.

Houston Astros were 4-3 home winners against Philadelphia Phillies thanks largely to Hunter Pence's homer and three-run contribution. Pence smashed a two-run homer and RBI double.

Chris Carpenter's one-hitter was the highlight as St Louis Cardinals beat Milwaukee Brewers 3-0. Carpenter conceded only a clean double to Jody Gerut in the fifth and struck out 10 in the victory.

Pittsburgh's woes continued as they lost 4-2 against Chicago Cubs on Derrek Lee's home-run double. The defeat was the Pirates' 10th in 11 games as they were condemned to an unwanted record of 17 successive losing seasons.

San Francisco Giants were 9-4 winners as Brad Penny's home debut impressed the crowd. Juan Uribe hit two homers and recorded five runs against San Diego Padres.

Spilborghs spurs Rockies to victory

Ryan Spilborghs hit the first walk-off grand slam in Rockies history as Colorado edged out San Francisco in 14 innings.

The match was tied at 1-1 when the Giants scored three runs in the top of the 14th but the home side hit back, led by Spilborghs, to secure a 6-4 win and move within three games of the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

Philadelphia maintained their big lead at the top of the National League East with a 6-2 win over the New York Mets.

Cliff Lee continued his superb start to life with the Phillies, giving up two unearned runs over seven innings, while Ryan Howard hit two homers for the world champions.

The Washington Nationals slumped to another defeat, a six-run sixth inning turning the game as the Milwaukee Brewers ran out 7-1 winners.

The Boston Red Sox kept up their American League East push with a 12-8 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Mike Lowell's three-run homer proved the final straw for White Sox starter Jose Contreras, whose two-out error earlier in the third inning put his side on the back foot.

The defeat saw the White Sox fall three and a half games behind Detroit in the American League Central.

Minnesota closed to within one game of Chicago after Alexi Casilla and Jason Kubel both scored in the sixth inning to seal a narrow 2-1 win over Baltimore.

Luis Valbuena hit a second decisive homer in three days as Cleveland defeated Kansas City 10-6, with Travis Hafner also hitting a three-run shot.

Ian Snell was the hero for Seattle, allowing Oakland only one hit in the fifth inning as they pulled further clear of the American League West basement boys with a 3-1 victory. Ken Griffey Jr smashed a two-run homer for the Mariners.

Miguel Cabrera homered and hit five RBI as the Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-7 in their series opener.

Roy Halladay gave up eight runs in six innings as Toronto lost a high-scoring encounter 12-7 to the Tampa Bay Rays, for whom Jeff Niemann also struggled.

Yankees dismantle Red Sox

New York Yankees crushed Boston Red Sox with a powerful display of hitting seeing them to a 20-11 win in the American League.

Victory keeps the Yankees seven wins clear of their Eastern League opponents, who nevertheless look good bets to win the wild card race.

Alex Rodriguez inspired the Yankees, going four for four, as Brad Penny was hit out of the game before the fifth inning.

Tampa Bay Rays survived a late comeback from Texas Rangers to win their meeting 5-3, with successive fifth-inning homers from Ben Zobrist and Carlos Pena giving them the cushion.

Baltimore upset an off-form Chicago White Sox to take a 5-1 victory, Brian Roberts homering twice.

West Division leaders LA Angels also slipped up, going down 5-4 at the Toronto Bluejays.

Sean O'Sullivan started things off in the worst possible fashion for the Angels, giving up four runs in the bottom of the first.

Mike Napoli made it close with a three-run homer at the death but it was not enough to force extras.

Seattle Mariners saw off Cleveland Indians 9-4, Minnesota defeated Kansas City 5-4 in the tenth and San Diego ran in four unanswered to take the prized scalp of St Louis Cardinals.

In the Central Division Detroit stay clear at the top after a 3-2 win over Oakland.

In the National League, West Division leaders Philadelphia Phillies went down 4-2 to the New York Mets.

Cole Hamels shipped all four runs against in the second and third innings.

Houston's Jeff Keppinger scored the only run of the game against a lacklustre Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco finished 6-3 winners over Colorado Rockies.

Milwaukee continued to heap misery on the hapless Washington Nationals, with a 7-3 reverse their 79th of the campaign.

Central Division back markers Pittsburgh defeated nearest rivals Cincinnati Reds to close the gap between the sides to one win and Chicago Cubs were on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat against LA Dodgers.

Florida Marlins overtook Atlanta Braves with victory in their Central Division match-up, a 5-2 win enough to bring them to second in the standings behind the Phillies.

Podsednik snatches win for White Sox

Chicago White Sox beat the American League Central Division strugglers Kansas City Royals and are one win behind leaders Detroit.

Scott Podsednik hit a dramatic match-winning RBI single for the White Sox.

Both teams found the scoring relatively easy, with Royals' Mike Jacobs stepping off the bench to tie the scores at 7-7 in the eighth.

That left the stage clear for Podsednik's intervention in the bottom of the eighth to seal the win off John Bale.

Brett Tomko returned to haunt the New York Yankees, pitching five innings for no runs only a month after being released by them.

Tomko's efforts helped his new club, Oakland Athletics, to a 3-0 win with a three-run fourth inning the turning point.

AL West leaders LA Angels took an 8-5 win against AL East's bottom club, Baltimore Orioles, for their 71st win of the season.

Vladimir Guerrero, who homered twice and also weighed in with five RBIs, and Kendry Morales, with a two-run homer, starred for the Angels, who gave Orioles rookie David Hernandez a tough time on the mound.

Minnesota Twins were undone by some loose pitching from Francisco Liriano as Texas Rangers collected an 8-5 win, their 67th of the campaign.

Liriano gave up seven runs in two luckless innings before being withdrawn. Marlon Byrd (three runs) and David Murphy (two runs) led the assault, with pitcher Tommy Hunter finding his form to close out the win.

In the National League, Ryan Church was the star of a six-run third inning as the Atlanta Braves cruised past NL West strugglers Arizona Diamondbacks 9-4.

Church hit a three-run double in the decisive third, while rookie pitcher Tommy Hanson struck out seven.

In New York, San Francisco Giants hammered the Mets to level their four-match series 2-2 with a massive 10-1 win.

Aaron Redmond enjoyed himself, with a homer and four hits, while Randy Winn added three hits of his own.

Gary Sheffield gave the Mets a crumb of consolation with a solitary RBI single.

Chicago Cubs saw victory slip away in the bottom of the ninth as San Diego Padres snatched an unlikely win.

With the game scoreless until the eighth inning, the Cubs snuck into a 1-0 lead only for San Diego to hit back with a Chase Headley double and Kyle Banks' three-run homer to make it 4-1 to the Padres.

Central strugglers Pittsburgh recorded a 9-5 home win over Milwaukee Brewers.

The result meant a long overdue victory for the hosts, who had won just once in their previous 13 outings.

Andy LaRoche, Garrett Jones and Ronny Cedeno all hit homers for the victors.

St Louis Cardinals edged LA Dodgers 3-2, with Rick Ankiel and Albert Pujols providing the runs and closer Ryan Franklin finishing the job.

Braves cut Phillies' NL East lead

Atlanta Braves moved within five games of National League East leaders Philadelphia with a 4-3 victory at Turner Field.

Omar Infante's walk-off RBI single secured the win for the home side, who ended the world champions' four-game winning streak and tied the series at 1-1 with one to play on Sunday.

West Division leaders Los Angeles Dodgers lost by the same scoreline at Arizona, their third defeat in a row. Gerardo Parra notched the game-winning single for the Diamondbacks.

San Francisco remain in post-season contention as they won the second of their four-match series at the New York Mets 5-4, with Bengie Molina scoring the vital single in the first extra inning. Colorado are also in the hunt behind the Dodgers but their game at Florida was postponed due to rain.

Matt Holliday hit a two-run blast for St Louis as they won their eighth straight home match, seeing off the San Diego Padres 7-4.

Tom Gorzelanny struck out eight for Chicago Cubs against his old club Pittsburgh in a 3-1 win which keeps them close behind the Cardinals. Jeff Baker scored one home run and drove in two.

Washington have the worst record in the Major League but reeled off their second straight victory to beat Cincinnati 10-6, scoring six runs in the third inning, while Milwaukee moved further clear of Central rivals Houston thanks to a 6-2 win over the Astros.

In the American League, New York Yankees were 5-2 victors over the Seattle Mariners for their 74th regular season win. Nick Swisher scored a two-run homer for New York in the second inning.

The Yankees' victory was enough to extend their lead in the East over Boston, who suffered a series-levelling 7-2 defeat to Texas at Fenway Park.

The win maintains the Rangers' pressure on the Los Angeles Angels in the West, who won 5-1 at Baltimore to level the four-match series at 1-1.

The leading duo in the Central are Detroit and the Chicago White Sox and both claimed convincing wins on Saturday, with the Tigers winning 10-3 at home to Kansas City and Chicago won 8-1 at Oakland. The win was memorable for a Jim Thome home run, his 563rd career homer to draw level with Reggie Jackson in 12th on the all-time scorers' list.

Tampa Bay beat Toronto 8-3 while Minnesota lost 7-3 at home to Cleveland.

Francisco seals Phillies win

Philadelphia strengthened their grip on the NL East with a hard-fought 4-3 win at the Cubs in a match which ran to 12 innings.

Ben Francisco's home run was decisive and took the Phillies to 62-48 for the season and well placed to reach the play-offs.

Florida remain close on the Phillies' heels after an 11-inning 9-8 victory over Houston at the Astrodome.

Washington's eight-game winning streak was emphatically halted by Atlanta. The Braves opened the series with an 8-1 win with pitcher Tommy Hanson allowing only one run and recording nine strikeouts.

In the Central Division, the Cubs' defeat in Philadelphia was not seized upon by divisional leaders St Louis, who lost 5-4 to Cincinnati after the Cardinals' stand-in pitcher Mitchell Boggs conceded three runs in the first inning.

West Division leaders the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their advantage with a 9-1 success at the San Francisco Giants. Four of the runs came in the fourth inning, Andre Ethier claiming a two-run double with Manny Ramirez and James Loney claiming RBI hits. The win took them to a 69-45 record for the season and well on course for the play-offs.

San Diego, bottom in the West, were 13-6 victors at home to Milwaukee, while Pittsburgh, propping up the Central, triumphed 7-3 at Colorado Rockies. Arizona defeated the New York Mets 6-2 as Max Scherzer finished with eight strikeouts.

In the American League, New York Yankees atoned for Monday's blip by levelling the home series against the Toronto Blue Jays, a win which reasserted their supremacy at the top of the East Division.

The Yankees turned the game around in the eighth inning with back-to-back home runs from Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada to claim a 7-5 victory. Posada's homer was initially disputed but the officials ruled it good after deciding it had not been interfered with by a fan as the ball cleared the right-field wall.

Boston kept the pressure on by going 2-0 up in their series against Detroit with a 7-5 win. Two home runs from Mike Lowell ensured they stayed second behind the Yankees in the East.

Detroit's defeat allowed the Chicago White Sox to gain ground in the Central Division race as Alexei Ramirez's three-run homer in the ninth helped them recover to win 3-1 at Seattle.

Los Angeles Angels remain top dogs in the West after a 6-0 win at home to Tampa Bay. Angels pitcher Ervin Santana kept the Rays at bay as all the hosts' runs came in the fifth and sixth innings.

Cleveland Indians claimed their 10th win in 13 matches with a 5-0 victory at Texas Rangers thanks to some solid pitching from Aaron Laffey and a two-run double from Luis Valbuena, while Baltimore levelled their series against Oakland at 1-1 with a 3-2 victory and Kansas City thrashed Minnesota 14-6.

Nats continue winning streak

The Washington Nationals continued their fine run with an eighth straight victory in the National League on Sunday.

Elijah Dukes drove in three runs, Adam Dunn hit his 30th homer of the season and Ryan Zimmerman had three hits as the Nationals, bottom-ranked in the National League East, defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-2.

Philadelphia Phillies remain atop the NL East despite a 12-3 loss to the second-ranked Florida Marlins.

Hanley Ramirez had four hits and three RBI while Josh Johnson pitched six impressive innings to secure a three-game sweep for the Marlins and move them within four games of the Phillies.

A two-run homer from Skip Schumaker in the eighth sealed a 7-3 win and a sweep for the NL Central-leading St Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Los Angeles Dodgers remain first in the NL West despite an 8-2 loss against the Atlanta Braves.

Also in the National League on Sunday, the Colorado Rockies were 11-5 winners against the Chicago Cubs, the Houston Astros avoided a four-game sweep by defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0, the Cincinnati Reds prevailed 5-2 against the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets downed the San Diego Padres 5-1.

In American League action, the New York Yankees extended their advantage at the AL East summit to 6 1/2 games over the Boston Red Sox with a 5-2 win against their division rivals.

Alex Rodriguez went deep in the seventh before back-to-back homers in the eighth from Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira completed a four-game home sweep for the Yankees.

Taylor Teagarden homered in the eighth and Marlon Byrd connected in the ninth to seal a 7-0 win and the series for the Texas Rangers against the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels.

The Detroit Tigers, leaders of the AL Central, edged a tight encounter against the Minnesota Twins 8-7, Placido Polanco hitting the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning.

Also in the AL, the Toronto Blue Jays overcame the Baltimore Orioles 7-3, the Cleveland Indians were 8-4 winners against the Chicago White Sox, the Oakland Athletics saw off the Kansas City Royals 6-3 and the Seattle Mariners trounced the Tamba Bay Rays 11-2.

Yankees stretch lead in East

Melky Cabrera and Jorge Posada hit three-run homers as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 13-6.

The pair went deep in an eight-run fourth, adding to Johnny Damon's homer in the third, before Mark Teixeira sealed matters for the American League East leaders in the seventh.

The Yankees' fourth consecutive victory increased their lead over the Red Sox to three games.

Brandon Inge's two-run homer in a four-run second inning lifted the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers to a 7-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Rick Porcello allowed four hits in 5 2/3 innings for the Tigers while Alex Avila, son of Detroit assistant general manager Al Avila, had two hits on debut.

Jeff Mathis, Vladimir Guerrero, Bobby Abreu and all homered as the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-5.

Six runs in the first three innings did the damage for the Angels as the White Sox fell two games behind Detroit.

Hunter gave up three runs in seven innings while Hank Blalock and Michael Young went deep as the Texas Rangers overcame the Oakland Athletics 6-4.

The Rangers remain four games adrift of the Angels in the AL West.

Trevor Crowe and Jhonny Peralta drove in one RBI apiece to guide the Cleveland Indians to a narrow 2-1 triumph over the Minnesota Twins.

Minnesota have now lost five of six on the back of a four-game winning streak.

The Kansas City Royals' Billy Butler capped a five-run first inning with a homer en route an 8-2 thrashing of the Seattle Mariners.

A-Rod homer wins it for Yankees

The New York Yankees moved 4 1/2 games clear at the top of the American League East courtesy of a 2-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Alex Rodriguez smashed a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the 15th off Junichi Tazawa to break the stalemate and secure a memorable win.

The Los Angeles Angels remain atop the AL West despite an 11-6 drubbing at the hands of the Texas Rangers.

A six-run first inning set the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers on course for a 10-8 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Kelly Shoppach's two-run homer lifted the Cleveland Indians to a 6-2 triumph at the Chicago White Sox while Cliff Pennington had three hits as the Oakland Athletics overcame the Kansas City Royals 9-4.

The Baltimore Orioles rallied for a 7-5 victory at the Toronto Blue Jays, while the Seattle Mariners were 7-6 winners against the Tampa Bay Rays.

In the National League, the Colorado Rockies had a three-run first inning against the Chicago Cubs and Chris Iannetta sealed matters with a homer in the fourth en route to a 6-2 triumph.

Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa went deep as the St Louis Cardinals, the NL Central leaders, edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4.

Jason Michaels hit two homers, including a three-run sixth-inning shot, and Miguel Tejada also connected in a 6-3 victory for the Houston Astros against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Nick Johnson and Cody Ross homered in the first and second innings respectively, both off Joe Blanton, as the Florida Marlins snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory against the National League East-leading Philadelphia Phillies.

Elijah Dukes drove in three runs as the Washington Nationals battled back to secure a sixth straight victory, 7-6 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Finally, the San Diego Padres enjoyed a 6-2 stroll against the New York Mets, the Cincinnati Reds were 10-5 winners at the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-5 in 12 innings.

Lee dominant in Home debut

Cliff Lee threw seven solid innings for the Philadelphia Phillies in a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Lee allowed one run and six hits while Jimmy Rollins had three hits and scored two runs and Paul Bako hit a home run for the National League East leaders.

The Phillies lead the NL East by seven games from the Florida Marlins and 7 1/2 from the third-ranked Atlanta Braves, who went down 5-4 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night.

Andre Ethier delivered a walk-off three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth to secure the triumph.

The Washington Nationals produced a four-run eighth to help secure a 12-8 victory and sweep Florida for the first time since 2007.

The Marlins had led 6-0 but Ryan Zimmerman and Elijah Dukes homered as the Nats stormed back to clinch an unlikely win.

Mark Reynolds, Stephen Drew and MLB debutant Trent Oeltjen all homered as the Arizona Diamondbacks secured their fifth straight win - 11-6 over the Pittsburgh Pirates in extra innings.

Alex Romero's two-run double in a five-run 12th set Arizona on course for a victory which condemned the Pirates to a 10th defeat in 12 games.

The San Diego Padres triumphed 8-3 over the New York Mets, Adrian Gonzalez connecting in the third for the victors.

Trio guide Yankees to win

Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui guided the New York Yankees to victory over the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3.

The Yankees' victory marked a first win in six starts for Andy Pettitte, who allowed one run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Nick Markakis and Cesar Izturis each had three hits and three RBI as the Baltimore Orioles beat Central leaders Detroit Tigers 8-2.

Left-hander Brian Matusz, the fourth overall selection in the 2008 draft, threw five solid innings on his major league debut for Baltimore.

Minnesota Twins ended a three-game losing streak in style with an emphatic 10-1 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Carlos Gomez and Jason Kubel homered while Scott Baker pitched seven scoreless innings for the victors.

Los Angeles Angels, the AL West leaders, had their eight-game winning streak on the road was ended in Chicago by the White Sox.

Scott Podsednik's RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning sealed the win for the White Sox, for whom Gordon Beckham and Carlos Quentin hit homers.

Ichiro Suzuki's first-inning homer off Luke Hochevar set the tone for the Seattle Mariners in a hard-fought 7-6 win over the Kansas City Royals.

The Mariners' victory snapped a five-game losing run against the Royals.

Tampa Bay Rays required 13 innings and two home runs from Evan Longoria to sink the Boston Red Sox 4-2 at Tropicana Field.

Finally, Kurt Suzuki hit a home run, Mark Ellis drove in three RBI and Gio Gonzalez threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings as the Oakland Athletics trounced the Texas Rangers 6-0.