Carmona keeps Indians hot; Ramirez powers Cubs

American League Tampa Bay 1 Boston 0 - Scott Kasmir (12-8) outdueled Curt Schilling, blanking the Red Sox on 5 hits and 2 walks over 7 innings, getting 10 outs on strikes. Toiling for one of the worst teams in the AL, Kasmir has had an excellent season, with an ERA of 3.65 and 209 strikeouts in 189 2/3 innings. For Boston, the loss enabled the idle Yankees to close to within 5 games in the AL East race. The Sox host New York for a 3-game series beginning Friday. It will be the final regular season meeting between the two top contenders in the division. Cleveland 6 Chi White Sox 2 - Fausto Carmona (right) allowed just 3 hits and 1 earned run over 7 innings improving his record to 16-8 as the Indians streak towards the post-season with their 16th win in their last 20 games. The Tribe maintained their 6-game lead over Detroit in the AL Central race, reducing their magic number to 13. Toronto 4 Detroit 5 - Magglio Ordonez would easily be the AL MVP if it wasn't for some fellow in New York named Rodriguez having a career year. Maggs went 4-5 and drove in the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the 9th, increasing his league-leading batting average to .359 while notching his 127th and 128th RBI. Other AL Scores Minnesota 4 Kansas City 2 Oakland 9 Seattle 3 National League St. Louis 3 Chi Cubs 12 - Aramis Ramirez (right) went 4-5 with a pair of solo home runs (22) to lead the Cubs back into a tie for first place in the NL Central with Milwaukee. Chicago pounded out 17 hits against five St. Louis pitchers. The Cardinals remain 3 games off the pace in the division. Milwaukee 0 Pittsburgh 9 - Tony Armas blanked the Brewers on 3 hits over 6 innings as the Pirates made Milwaukee's stint in first place a short one-day stay. Atlanta 2 NY Mets 3 Arizona 5 San Francisco 3 - It's getting late for teams trying to catch the division leaders in the East and West. The Mets won their 4th straight and maintained their 6-game lead over the Phillies, while the Diamondbacks won their 6th straight and improved to a 3 1/2-game lead over San Diego. Colorado 5 Philadelphia 6, 10 innings - This was a huge win for Philly, putting them just 1 1/2 games behind idle San Diego in the wild care race. Ryan Howard knocked in Chase Utley in the 10th for the game-winner and also hit his 38th home run earlier in the game. Howard's 2 RBI night gave him 115 and the league lead. In the same game, the Rockies' Matt Holliday knocked a 2-run homer and trails Howard in the RBI chase with 113. Other NL Scores Washington 5 Florida 4