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.