National League races are red hot

American League LA Angels 8 Seattle 2 - The Angels completed their sweep of the Mariners and distanced themselves by 5 games in the division. The win was largely a team effort, as 7 different players drove in at least one run as the Angels pounded out 17 hits. Vladimir Guerrero socked his 22nd home run - a solo shot - and Garret Anderson stroked four hits in five at-bats. Starter Jered Weaver allowed just 1 run over 8 innings, striking out 5 without walking any. Boston 3 NY Yankees 4 - Alex Rodriguez cracked his 44th homer, but the real story was Roger Clemens (right), the ageless veteran who outdueled Boston's ace, Josh Beckett, allowing just two hits and one run on a solo homer by David Ortiz. Clemens (6-5) nibbled at the corners and walked five batsmen while fanning just two. The Yankees won their second straight over the Red Sox and can complete the sweep in Thursday's afternoon game. New York is 6 games behind the Sox in the division, but have caught Seattle for the wild card lead. Minnesota 3 Cleveland 4 - The Indians scored all of their runs in the first inning off Twin's starter Johan Santana, and C. C. Sabathia made them stand up, allowing two earned runs over 7 innings for his 15th win against 7 losses. By sweeping the three-game series with the Twins and Detroit falling apart with two straight losses to the lowly Royals, the Indians have suddenly opened up a 4 1/2-game lead in the Central division and dropped the Twins to 8 1/2 back in third place. Other AL Scores Toronto 4 Oakland 5, 11 innings Tampa Bay 5 Baltimore 4, 12 innings Detroit 0 Kansas City 5 Chi White Sox 4 Texas 5, 11 innings National League NY Mets 2 Philadelphia 3 - The Phillies surely have the Mets' attention now, after sweeping the first three games of their 4-game series between the two top NL East contenders. Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell (right) socked solo homers in the first inning off Mets' starter Oliver Perez, but the game winner came when Jamie Moyer scampered home from third on Burrell's sac fly to left. Moyer (12-10) walked to lead off the inning and made third on singles by Rollins and Tao Iguchi. He also earned the win (12-10), with sic innings of mound work, giving up 2 earned runs before handing the ball over to the bullpen. The trio of J. C. Romero, Tom Gordon and Brett Myers each turned in an inning of scoreless relief, with Myers picking up his 15th save. Philly is now 3 games behind the Mets and they'll have one more crack at them with a day game on Thursday to complete the series. The Phillies are 8-5 on the season against the Mets, but, after losing three straight to them at the end of June, have taken six straight from the division leaders. The two teams will conclude their season series with 3 games at New York on September 14, 15 and 16. Arizona 1 San Diego 3 - Greg Maddux allowed one earned run over 7 innings, but didn't get the decision, as the Padres rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 8th to take their third straight from the Diamondbacks and tie them for first place in the NL West. San Diego can complete the sweep and dethrone Arizona with a win on Thursday as the series concludes. Milwaukee 6 Chi Cubs 1 - Ben Sheets (11-4) came off the DL, worked six innings and limited the Cubs to one earned run, as the Brewers evened the series at a game apiece. The Brewers took back second place in the division as the Cardinals lost at Houston. Chicago leads by 1 1/2 over Milwaukee and 2 games over St. Louis. The series concludes tonight at Wrigley field. Other NL Scores Colorado 8 San Francisco 0 Washington 9 LA Dodgers 10, 12 innings Cincinnati 8 Pittsburgh 0 - K. Griffey Jr., 3-run HR (29) Atlanta 7 Florida 4 St. Louis 0 Houston 7