Yanks win 7th straight; Holliday homers past Phillies

American League Cleveland 4 Chi White Sox 7 - Jim Thome went 3-4 with 3 RBI and stroked his career 499th home run to help the White Sox avoid being swept by the Indians. The solo shot was Thome's 27th of the season. Teammates Juan Uribe and Paul Konerko also homered. The loss snapped a 4-game Cleveland win streak, but still left them 5 1/2 ahead of Detroit in the division LA Angels 18 Baltimore 6 - The Angels reduced their magic number to 9 as they took advantage of 13 walks issued by Oriole pitchers. Garret Anderson (right) singled, doubled and homered, driving in 5 runs, while Vladimir Guerrero drove in four with a pair of singles in six at-bats. Kelvim Escobar allowed 6 runs over 5 1/3 innings, but still picked up his 17th win against 7 losses. NY Yankees 4 Toronto 1 - Mike Mussina blanked the Blue Jays on 5 hits over 5 2/3 innings and the Yankees won their seventh straight. Following four starts in which Mussina gave up a combined 32 hits and 21 runs in 13 1/3 innings, the outing was a relief for a battle-tested Yankee staff. With a showdown in Boston beginning Friday, the Yankees remain 5 games behind the Sox in the AL East, but have a cozy 4 game edge over Detroit in the wild card race. Tampa Bay 4 Boston 5 - David Ortiz smashed a pair of homers and drove in all the runs for the Red Sox as they took 2 of 3 from Tampa Bay. Texas 1 Detroit 5 - Magglio Ordonez socked a three-run homer (27) to give him 132 RBI on the season. Justin Verlander (17-5) allowed 1 earned on 7 hits over 7 innings with 7 Ks. Other AL Scores Minnesota 3 Kansas City 6 Oakland 5 Seattle 6 National League Atlanta 3 NY Mets 4 - The Mets extended their lead over the Phillies to 7 games, reducing their magic number to 11 as the Mets used six pitchers to take the rubber game in their 3-game series with Atlanta. Billy Wagner got his 34th save with a perfect ninth inning. Colorado 12 Philadelphia 0 - Mark this one down. It may signal the end of the season for the Phillies, who are 7 back of the Mets in their division and trail San Diego by 2 1/2 games in the wild card race with only 17 games remaining. The Rockies piled up 15 hits against 6 Philadelphia pitchers. Matt Holliday (right), who lined into a triple play in the first inning, got instant redemption with a three-run homer in the third, boosting his league-leading RBI total to 119. Chi Cubs 3 Houston 2 - The Cubs re-tied the Brewers for first place in the Central. Rich Hill (9-8) worked 7 innings, allowing 3 hits and an earned run, fanning 7 and walking 3. St. Louis 1 Cincinnati 5 - That's all for the Cards. The reigning world champions lost their 6th straight, all occurring right after allegations of HGH use by pitcher-turned-outfielder Rick Ankiel surfaced last week. The offense has sputtered, scoring just 6 runs over the last three games. Ankiel, who had been red hot, is mired in a 2-for-22 slump. St. Louis trails Chicago and Milwaukee by 4 games. Arizona 9 San Francisco 4 - The Diamondbacks increased their lead over the Padres to 3 1/2 games with another win for Brandon Webb (16-10), who allowed 7 hits and 4 runs over 7 innings. While the D-Backs don't face the Padres again this season, they do have 6 games remaining against Los Angeles and close out the season with 3 at Colorado. Both the Dodgers and Rockies are 6 games back in the NL West standings. Other NL Scores Milwaukee 4 Pittsburgh 7 Washington 4 Florida 5, 12 innings San Diego 1 LA Dodgers 6