AMERICAN LEAGUE
Angels 4, Athletics 3
OAKLAND -- Bengie Molina homered to back 6 2/3 solid innings from Ervin Santana, as the LA Angels of Anaheim clinched the AL West title with a 4-3 victory over the Athletics. It was a spectacular run to the AL West title, as the Angels won for the 10th time in their last 11 games on Tuesday. On Tuesday night, it was Santana (11-8) who carried the Angels, as he allowed seven hits and two runs with a walk and seven strikeouts. Francisco Rodriguez threw the final inning for his 43rd save, and he was mobbed at the mound by teammates when pinch-hitter Bobby Kielty flied out to Juan Rivera in left field to end the game. Oakland, which lost for the fifth time in six games, suffered its earliest elimination from playoff contention since 1998.

Red Sox 3-5, Blue Jays 1-7
BOSTON -- Gregg Zaun belted a two-run homer and scored the go-ahead run on Russ Adams' sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, as Toronto rallied to post a 7-5 victory over the Red Sox in the second half of a day/night doubleheader at Fenway Park. Boston won the opener 3-1 on the strength of seven solid innings from Tim Wakefield, but Curt Schilling couldn't hold a pair of three-run advantages Tuesday night, meaning the Red Sox are left tied atop the AL East with the Yankees with only five games remaining. New York lost, 17-9, at Baltimore Tuesday night. Following this four-game series at Fenway Park, the Red Sox host the Yankees for three contests this weekend to conclude the regular season. The Yankees, Red Sox and Indians are in a three-way tie for the American League wild card spot. Cleveland lost, 5-4, at home to Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

Orioles 17, Yankees 9
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Melvin Mora homered and knocked in five runs while Jay Gibbons went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI as Baltimore out slugged the New York Yankees, 17-9, in the second of a four-game series at Camden Yards. Miguel Tejada and Bernie Castro also finished with three hits, with Tejada driving in three runs as the Orioles finally put the brakes on a nine-game skid. Gary Sheffield slugged two home runs, including a grand slam in the fourth inning, and racked up six RBI for the Yankees, whose loss put them in a tie with Boston atop the American League East with five games remaining in the regular season. The Red Sox split a doubleheader with Toronto on Tuesday. New York and Boston are also tied with Cleveland in the AL wild card race.

Devil Rays 5, Indians 4
CLEVELAND -- Julio Lugo belted a three-run homer to help lead the Tampa Bay Devil Rays past the Indians, 5-4, damaging Cleveland's hopes of gaining ground in the AL Central. Despite the loss, the Indians remained two games behind the Chicago White Sox for the lead in the division. Cleveland also remained tied with the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees for the AL wild card lead. Lugo finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Alex Gonzalez also homered for Tampa Bay, which took the opener of this three-game set by winning for the fifth time in eight contests. Aaron Boone went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Casey Blake also knocked in a run for Cleveland, which lost for only the third time in 13 games.

Tigers 3, White Sox 2
DETROIT -- Nate Robertson surrendered one run over 6 1/3 innings, and Omar Infante and Craig Monroe both homered as Detroit defeated Chicago, 3-2, in the second contest of a four-game set at Comerica Park. The White Sox, who maintained a two-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central, lost their second straight after a three-game winning streak. The Indians and White Sox meet for a three-game series at Jacobs Field this weekend to conclude the regular season. Robertson (7-15), who snapped a personal five-start losing streak gave up five hits while striking out five and walking five for the Tigers, who have won four straight. Paul Konerko went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Chicago, while Carl Everett also had two hits.

Rangers 3, Mariners 2
SEATTLE -- Esteban German's RBI double in the top of the 11th inning gave the Texas Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners in the first of three games at Safeco Field. Mark Teixeira and Kevin Mench also knocked in runs for Texas, winners in eight of its last 12 games. Jose Lopez had a career-high four hits and Jeremy Reed added an RBI for Seattle, which has now lost nine of its last 12 games. Felix Hernandez pitched strong for Seattle as he took a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning, but couldn't hold on for the win. The 19-year-old righthander pitched nine innings, allowing two runs on five hits, while striking out seven.

Twins 3, Royals 1
MINNEAPOLIS -- Johan Santana pitched seven strong innings to pick up his 15th win of the season, as the Minnesota Twins edged the Kansas City Royals, 3-1, at the Metrodome. Santana (15-7), last year's AL Cy Young winner, allowed just one run on six hits while striking out six and walking two. Mauer went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Twins, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Matt Diaz went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI for the Royals, who have dropped four of their last six and are now just one loss away from tying a franchise mark for most losses in a season (104), set by last year's club.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Braves 12, Rockies 3
ATLANTA -- Marcus Giles hit two home runs and finished with three RBI as the Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies, 12-3, and clinched their 14th consecutive division title Tuesday night. The Braves had a magic number of one going into Tuesday and found out they had locked up the NL East title following the fifth inning of their game when the Philadelphia Phillies lost at home to the New York Mets. Brayan Pena added a three-run double while Chipper Jones knocked in two runs to help the Braves secure yet another postseason berth. Garrett Atkins doubled in a pair of runs while Cory Sullivan and Matt Holliday each went 2-for-4 for the Rockies, who temporarily delayed the Braves' celebration plans with a 6-5 triumph in Monday's series opener.

Astros 3, Cardinals 1
ST. LOUIS -- Jason Lane belted a two-run homer and Craig Biggio added a solo shot, as the Houston Astros downed the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1, in the opener of a brief two-game set at Busch Stadium. The Astros, who have won five of their last seven games, moved closer to wrapping up the NL wild card. Houston now holds a 2 1/2 game lead over Philadelphia, which lost to the Mets on Tuesday, with five games to play for the Astros and four left for the Phillies. Larry Walker ended 3-for-4 with a run scored for the NL Central-champion Cardinals, who have dropped six of their last eight games. David Eckstein added two hits in the setback.

Mets 3, Phillies 2
PHILADELPHIA -- Jose Reyes went 4-for-5 with two runs scored as the New York Mets edged the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2, in the middle test of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. The loss was the second straight for the Phillies and seriously damaged their already dwindling playoff chances. Philadelphia, which has just four games remaining, is now 2 1/2 games behind Houston for the NL wild card. The Astros won in St. Louis on Tuesday. Carlos Beltran drove in two runs for the Mets, who have won five straight and eight of their last nine games. The Phillies managed just four hits en route to their third loss in four games. Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins went 1-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to a franchise-record 32 games, breaking the mark set by Ed Delahanty in 1899.

Padres 9, Giants 6
SAN DIEGO -- Ramon Hernandez belted a grand slam and finished with a career-high seven runs batted in to power the San Diego Padres past the San Francisco Giants, 9-6, in the second test of an important four- game series at Petco Park. The Padres ended a three-game losing streak to restore their lead in the NL West to four games over San Francisco. San Diego's magic number is two for winning its first division title since 1998, when the Padres were swept by the Yankees in the World Series. Giants slugger Barry Bonds homered for the 708th time in his career. The three- run blast left him just six behind Babe Ruth for second place on the all- time list. Randy Winn went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored for the Giants, who lost for just the third time in 11 games.

Diamondbacks 2, Dodgers 0
LOS ANGELES -- Brandon Webb pitched seven innings of shutout ball and Chad Tracy provided the offense with a two-run homer in the eighth, as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0, at Dodger Stadium. Tracy finished 2-for-4 for Arizona, which has won six of its last seven and incredibly at 73-84 is still mathematically alive in the NL West race. Webb (14-11) was masterful, surrendering just two hits and one walk while striking out seven. The right-hander did not allow a runner past first base in his entire outing. Hee-Seop Choi went 2-for-3 for the Dodgers, who have lost eight of their last 11 games.

Nationals 11, Marlins 1
MIAMI -- Marlon Byrd went 4-for-5 with a home run and four runs scored for the Washington Nationals, who denied Cy Young candidate Dontrelle Willis his 23rd victory of the season with an 11-1 win at Dolphins Stadium. Willis (22-10) gave up nine runs on nine hits in four innings of work with three walks and three strikeouts. Only five of those runs were earned, however, as the Marlins' defense committed three costly errors behind him. Juan Pierre went 2-for-5 for Florida, which has dropped five straight and 11 of its last 13. The Marlins are now eliminated from playoff contention. Five Nationals players had multi-hit days, including Jamey Carroll, who went 2-for-5 with three RBI for Washington, which has now taken the first two of this three-game series.

Pirates 5, Cubs 3
CHICAGO -- Jason Bay smacked a three-run homer and drove in four runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Chicago Cubs, 5-3, essentially ending Greg Maddux' chance for another 15-win season. Maddux (13-14) took the loss despite going the distance. He allowed five runs on eight hits and struck out six while walking just one. The loss all but guarantees that Maddux will not extend his major league record streak of at least 15 wins to 18 consecutive seasons. Bay finished with two hits, while Freddy Sanchez scored twice for Pittsburgh, which won for only the second time in eight games. Nomar Garciaparra had a two-run home run for Chicago, which lost for only the second time in five games.

Brewers 6, Reds 2
MILWAUKEE -- Brady Clark and J.J. Hardy had two RBI apiece and Rick Helling struck out eight in six innings of work as the Brewers defeated Cincinnati, 6-2, at Miller Park. The Brewers won for the sixth time in their last eight games and moved above .500 (79-78) for the first time since May 27 (24-23). Helling (3-1) gave up just three hits and one run and Derrick Turnbow got the last out to earn his 37th save. Brandon Claussen (10-10) took the loss after going 5 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and five runs -- four earned -- while walking five and striking out five for the Reds, who lost for the eighth time in their last 11 games. Felipe Lopez went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored for Cincinnati.