A-Rod Rocks 30th; Rookie Pence Leads NL at .342

American League Boston 5 Detroit 6 - The Tigers completed the 3-game sweep of Boston, leaving the Red Sox a little bruised heading into the break, though still 10 games clear of the Yankees and Blue Jays in the AL East. The Tigers took sole possession of first place in the Central by a game of Cleveland, who lost a squeaker at Toronto. Detroit has won five straight. With all the milestones being reached this season, Gary Sheffield may want to add his name to the watch list. He needs 24 more homers for 500, crashing his 21st of the season in the Detroit win. LA Angels 0 NY Yankees 12 - It's only fitting that Alex Rodriguez (right) would make one more appearance as the star of the day just prior to the All-Star break. Rodriguez joined teammates Hikedi Matsui and Robinson Cano in 3-run homer derby against the Angels on Sunday. Never outdone, A-Rod also added a run-scoring single and was aboard for Matsui's homer, to lead the Bombers with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. At the break, A-Rod has posted MVP-like numbers: .317, 30 home runs and 86 RBI. Keep the record books handy and the doors to the Hall of Fame wide open. Rodriguez, a native New Yorker who will turn 32 on July 27, needs just six more homers to reach 500, and 67 more RBI to make it an even 1500. Just for good measure, check out the 250 stolen bases, .306 lifetime batting average and .577 slugging percentage. Barry, are you paying attention? Cleveland 0 Toronto 1 - Josh Towers worked a perfect game into the 6th inning, threw 3-hit, shutout ball for 8 innings, but didn't get the decision as Alex Rios' single with one out in the ninth sent Reed Johnson to the plate with the winning run. The Jays took 2 of 3 from the Indians and have won 3 of their last 4. Seattle 7 Oakland 3 - The Mariners banged out 16 hits to pull to within 2 1/2 of first place LA in the AL West. Seattle's won 3 straight and 4 of their last 5. Other AL Scores Minnesota 3 Chi White Sox 6 Tampa Bay 4 Kansas City 12 - T. Pena Jr., 3-5, 4 RBI Baltimore 1 Texas 2 National League NY Mets 3 Houston 8 - The Astros earned a split in their 4-game series with the Mets, who limp into the break just 2 games clear of Atlanta and 4 1/2 ahead of Philly. After sweeping the aforementioned Phillies, the Mets went 2-6 and clearly need some pitching to go with their awesome lineup. Jose Reyes swiped another pair of bases, to up his MLB-leading theft total to 46. Houston Rookie Hunter Pence (right) went 2-5 to take over the NL batting average lead at .342. Arizona 3 Cincinnati 4, 11 innings - Scott Hatteberg singled home Edwin Encarnacion with the game-winner as the Reds completed their sweep of the Diamondbacks. The Reds have won four straight while the D-Backs have dropped their last 5. Chi Cubs 2 Pittsburgh 6 - Jason Bay busted his 13th home run off Cubs' starter Carlos Zambrano, helping the Pirates take 2 of 3 from the 2nd-place Cubbies. Chicago didn't lose any ground on the Brewers, and remain 4 1/2 back. Just a hunch, but it looks like things are going to get a whole lot more interesting in the funky NL Central. With just the Cubs and Brewers over .500, the other four teams are still within hailing distance. Even the last place Reds, who have won 4 straight, are just 13 behind. Florida 3 LA Dodgers 9 - Catcher Russell Martin, voted into his first All-Star game earlier in the week, singled and homered in two at-bats, driving in 3 and scoring 3 times, to draw the Dodgers back to 1-game behind the Padres in the NL West. Atlanta 5 San Diego 4 - The Braves survived a 3-run, 9th inning rally by the Padres to hold onto an important win heading into the break. The Braves took two of three in San Diego and trail the Mets by a mere 2 games in the NL East. Catcher Brian McCann socked a two-run homer in the first and drove in 2 more with a single in the 6th, helping the Braves to their 4th win in their last 5. Other NL Scores San Francisco 0 St. Louis 7 - T. Wellemeyer (W, 3-1), 5 IP, 2 H, O ER Philadelphia 8 Colorado 4 Milwaukee 2 Washington 7