John Lackey, Addison Russell Lead Cubs To NL Central Title; Xander Bogaerts Powers Red Sox

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 27, 2017

American League

Bogaerts: 3-5, HR, 4 RBI

Xander Bogaerts went 3-for-5, scored twice and drove in four runs as the Boston Red Sox outslugged the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-7, taking one step closer to winning the AL East division.

Bogaerts' third inning, three-run homer - his 10th of the season - capped a five-run rally by the Red Sox which largely put the Blue Jays away. In the second inning, Bogaerts singled in the tying run at 3-3, and scored the go-ahead run on Dustin Pedroia's single. The Blue Jays re-tied the game with a run in the top of the third, but the bottom of the frame proved decisive.

Boston's win kept them three games up on the Yankees in the division race. With four left to play, the magic number is two for the Red Sox, who open a four-game series at home with the Houston Astros, who are still fighting with Cleveland for the league's best record. Houston is one game behind the Indians in the race, so the upcoming series at Boston should be hard-fought.

Russell: 3-run homer

National League

John Lackey held St. Louis to one run over six innings and Addison Russell's seventh inning, three-run homer off Cardinal starter, Michael Wacha, led the Cubs back to the post-season.

The 5-1 win in St. Louis clinched the second consecutive NL Central pennant for the Cubs. In 2016, they won the division by 17 1/2 games and rode their wave of success all the way to a World Series championship over Cleveland.

Lackey: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER

Lackey (12-11) has not been consistent all season, but dueled until Russell broke up Wacha's shutout performance. The Cubs added two more runs in the frame, both debited to the S.t Louis starter. Lackey allowed only two hits, the Cardinals scratching out their lone run in the second inning as Paul DeJong doubled home Jedd Gyorko.

Russell's home run was his 12th of the season, but none were bigger than Wednesday's game-winner for the Cubs' third-year shortstop.

The Cubs will enter the post-season with the third-best record of the division winners meaning they'll play the them with the second-best record, the Washington Nationals, and will open the series on the road. The Dodgers - who clinched the league's best record and home field advantage - will face the winner of the wild card game.

Chicago finishes up its series in St. Louis on Thursday and end the regular season with a three-game home stand with Cincinnati.

John Lackey, Mike Napoli Get Red Sox Past Detroit, 1-0; Matt Holliday Pushes Dodgers to the Brink in 4-2 St. Louis Win

Players of the Day for Tuesday, October 15, 2013

American League

Mike Napoli

John Lackey

John Lackey gave the Red Sox his best, blanking the Detroit Tigers for 6 2/3 innings, and Mike Napoli delivered the only run of the game with a one-out, seventh-inning solo shot as Boston took a 2-1 lead in the AL championship series with a 1-0 victory in Detroit.

Lackey notched his second post-season win for the Red Sox in as many starts, improving his career marks to 5-4 with a 3.10 ERA in 14 starts. Giving up just four hits, Lackey fanned eight and did not walk a batter. Leaving in the bottom of the seventh with one aboard and two down, a trio of relievers finished his work, culminating with a four-out save by Koji Uehara, his third save of the post-season.

Napoli's homer came off Detroit starter, Justin Verlander, who went eight innings, giving up four hits and striking out 10. Torii Hunter and Victor Martinez both went 2-for-4 for the Tigers - all singles - but the 3-4 batters, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder produced only one hit between them, an inconsequential single by Fielder, a combined 1-for-8.

The series resumes Wednesday in Detroit at 8:07 pm EDT.

National League

Matt Holliday

After fouling out in the first inning, slugger Matt Holliday was still searching for his first hit of the series, 0-for-13 against the Dodgers in the NLCS.

When he came up in the third with a run already in, two outs and Matt Carpenter on third, Holliday didn't waste any time, mashing the first pitch from Ricky Nolasco into the far reaches of Dodger Stadium beyond left field, a 423-foot blast that put the Cardinals ahead 3-1.

Holliday's homer set the stage for the Cardinals' third win in four games over the Dodgers, putting LA on the brink of elimination in the best-of-seven series with a 4-2 victory and a three-games-to-one lead.

LA struck back with a pair of runs off starter Lance Lynn in the fourth, but it was all they could muster and proved insufficient, as Lynn picked up his second win of the series, going 5 1/3, and three relievers completed the job, blanking the Dodgers the rest of the way.

Shane Robinson added a solo homer in the seventh as a pinch-hitter, giving the Cards a cushion down the stretch.

Andre Ethier and Yasiel Puig each went 2-for-3, but the Dodgers largely failed to get runners home despite eight hits and three walks (all off Lynn), grounding into three double plays. Nick Punto was picked off at second base by reliever Carlos Martinez in the seventh. LA stranded five and were 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

St. Louis will be looking to qualify for the World Series in game five Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles, Game time is 4:07 pm EDT.

Today's Trivia: Who holds the record for most stolen bases in a single World Series? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: Mickey Mantle holds the career mark, scoring 42 runs in multiple World Series as a member of the New York Yankees.

John Lackey's Complete Game Gets Red Sox into Playoffs; Hanley Ramirez Homers Twice as Dodgers Clinch NL West

Players of the Day for Thursday, September 19, 2013

American League

Boston took a step closer to the post-season, clinching a playoff berth with a 3-1 win over the visiting Orioles, the Red Sox getting a gem of a performance from starting pitcher, John Lackey.

Lackey: 2H, CG

Tossing a no-hitter through 7 1/3 innings, Lackey's quest for immortality was cut short by a massive, no-doubt-about-it, solo homer by Adam Jones, over the Green Monster in left field and into the parking lot.

Lackey got through the remainder of the inning unscathed, and nursed the two-run lead until the end, allowing a one-out single by J.J. Hardy in the eighth before retiring the final five batters for the complete game win.

Fanning eight and walking a pair of batters, Lackey threw 82 of 113 pitches for strikes, improving to 10-12 on the year. It was Lackey's second complete game of the season and the 16th of his career.

The Red Sox need only one more win or a Tampa Bay loss to clinch the AL East, which they lead by nine games over the Rays. The Red Sox are also looking to establish home field for the playoffs with the best record in the league. They are 93-61. Oakland, leading the AL West by 6 1/2 games, is 90-63. Detroit leads the AL Central with an 89-64 record.

Texas and Tampa Bay are tied once again for the wild card spots, ending their four-game series with an 8-2 Texas win, earning a 2-2 split for the series. With Cleveland's 2-1 win over Houston and Baltimore's loss, the Indians are 1/2 game back, the Orioles two games out, in the wild card. Kansas City was idle, three back and and the fading Yankees, 6-2 losers to the Blue Jays, are 3 1/2 out.

Tampa Bay opens a huge, four-game series with Baltimore in Tampa on Friday, while the Rangers start a three-game set at Kansas City. The final seven games for Texas are at home: three against Houston and four with the Angels.

Cleveland appears to have the easiest schedule remaining. They host Houston for three more games, then take on the White Sox for two games at home before traveling to Minnesota for a four-game series to close out the regular season.

The Yankees start a three-game series at home with the Giants, then remain at Yankee Stadium for three with the Rays. They close out the season with three games at Houston.

National League

Ramirez: 2HR, 4RBI

Clinching their first NL West pennant since 2009, the LA Dodgers rode the bat of Hanley Ramirez to a 7-6 victory over the Diamondbacks in Arizona.

Ramirez opened the scoring with a three-run blast in the third inning, but the D'Backs countered with six run in the bottom half of the inning off LA starter, Ricky Nolasco.

In the seventh, Ramirez tied the game with his second homer of the night, a solo shot that evened the score at 6-all, the game-winner coming an inning later, off the bat of A.J. Ellis, who socked a solo shot into the left field stands.

Ramirez added a pair of singles to finish 4-for-5 for the night, raising his batting average to .351, though he lacks the number of plate appearances to qualify as the league leader. He has only 291 at-bats this season, but has 20 homers and 57 RBI. The NL batting leader is Colorado's Michael Cuddyer, hitting .331. Atlanta's Chris Johnson is second, at .327. Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates is third, with a .325 average.

With the pennant in hand, the Dodgers now have the luxury of casting into the playoffs, though they may have sights set on getting the best record in the league and home field for the playoffs. Atlanta leads, at 90-62; St, Louis leads the Central with an 89-64 record. The Dodgers are 88-65, and close out the season with a trio of three-game series, starting with the Padres and Giants on the road, before returning home to close out with three against the Rockies.

Today's Trivia: Since George Brett led the AL in batting with a .329 average in 1990, only twice has the AL batting crown been won by a player with a lower average. Who were these two hitters and in what years did they win their batting titles? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: Al Oliver won the NL batting title in 1982; Tim Raines won it in 1986.

Lackey Shuts down Former Team; Orlando Cabrera Walks Off Mets

Players of the Day for Wednesday, May 5, 2010 American League During the off-season, John Lackey took the free agency route from the West coast to the East, going from the LA Angels - where he had been a starter for all of his 8-year major league career - to the Red Sox. On Wednesday, the 6'6" righty got the chance to welcome his old teammates into Fenway Park and he made the most of it, limiting the Angels to 2 hits over 7 innings in a 3-1 Boston win. Lackey allowed one earned run, ironically off the bat of the Angels worst hitter. Third baseman Brandon Wood, batting .185 in the #9 slot, took one of Lackey's mistakes over the Green Monster in left field for a solo homer. That was just about the only mistake Lackey made on the day, improving to 3-1, walking 2 and striking out 4. The only other hit he allowed was a leadoff single in the second by Kendry Morales. The Sox surely need Lackey's strong arm as they chase the Rays and Yankees in the AL East race. Boston trails Tampa Bay by 6 1/2. The Yankees are in second place, one game behind the Rays. LA might end up with regrets over letting their ace go. The Angels are struggling, at 12-17, three games behind the A's in the AL West. National League Cincinnati shortstop Orlando Cabrera has been around. In 16 major league seasons, the sure-handed fielder has played for 7 different clubs, the last six years in the American League. Now back in the NL, where he began his career with the Montreal Expos, Cabrera is still proving a valuable commodity in the field as well as at the plate. In Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Mets, Cabrera provided the winning margin with his 3rd homer of the year, a tenth-inning walk-off solo shot to left off Mets' reliever Pedro Feliciano. Cabrera was the first batter Feliciano faced, and his last. Cabrera went 3-for-5, having hit a pair of singles before his heroic game-ender. In the 4th inning, he singled home the Reds second run. Cincy's win kept them in second place in the Central, 4 games behind the Cardinals, 4-0 losers to Philadelphia. In the AL East, the Mets dropped to 1 1/2 behind the Phillies.

Rockies Even Series; Cardinals Self-Destruct in 9th; Angels Blank Boston

Players of the Day for Thursday, October 8, 2009 - Playoffs American League LA Angels 5 Boston Red Sox 0 - Proving agin his vaue as a big game pitcher, John Lackey shut down the Red Sox on 4 hits over 7 1/3 innings, boosting the Angels to a 1-0 lead in their best-of-five playoff series. Lackey, who neither overpowered hitter nor threw a predominance of strikes (115 pitches, 67 strikes), baffled the Boston regulars with an assortment of pitches at varying speeds. The Red Sox didn't get a hit until there were two outs in the third inning, and Lackey put them down in order in the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 7th innings. Issuing only one walk, Lackey struck out four, got 10 outs n ground balls and 6 on flies. Torii Hunter cranked out a 3-run homer in the 5th and the Angels added another 2 runs in the 7th, making the most of their 7 hits, 5 walks and 3 Boston errors. The two teams meet again on Friday for Game 2. Boston's Josh Beckett faces Jared Weaver beginning at 9:37 pm EDT. National League LA Dodgers 3 St. Louis Cardinals 2 - Matt Holliday muffed what should have been the final out of the game - a sinking liner off the bat of James Loney, and the Dodgers rallied against Cardinal reliever Ryan Franklin - who issued two walks and allowed two hits in 1/3 of an inning - to steal Game 2 and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. Holliday had homered in the second inning to give the Cards a 1-0 lead, but Andre Ethier belted a solo shot off Adam Wainwright in the 4th to tie the score. A Colby Rasmus double in the 7th gave the Cardinals a one-run lead which Wainright protected, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the 8th before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Apparently losing the ball in the lights or in the sea of white hankies being waved by the Dodger faithful, Holliday's two-base error gave the Dodgers life, but the performance of Franklin afterwards was truly catastrophic for St. Louis. LA tied the score when Rafael Belliard - after a walk to Casey Blake put runners on first and second - singled home Juan Pierre, who was sent in to run for Loney. After a passed ball put runners on 2nd and 3rd, catcher Russell Martin was walked before Mark Loretta (right) singled home the winning run. All of the carnage occurred with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, a truly miraculous recovery for the Dodgers in a game the Cardinals seemingly had won. Getting the final out under pressure conditions proved to be too much for Franklin - one of the most reliable closers all season long - after Holliday's gaffe. The series shifts to St. louis for game 3 on Saturday, with the Dodgers on the brink of advancing to the next round. Vicente Padilla is slated to start for the Dodgers. Joel Piniero takes the hill for St. Louis. Game time is 6:07 pm EDT. Colorado Rockies 5 Philadelphia Phillies 4 - Yorvit Torrealba's two-run homer in the 4th inning gave Colorado a 3-0 lead against Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels and a parade of five Rockies' relievers kept the Phillies in check to even their series at one game apiece. The Phillies cut the lead to one run with 3 in the 6th, and again, after Colorado had tacked on another run, on Jayson Werth's solo homer to right-center in the 8th, but the Colorado staff remained resolute and Huston Street slammed the door shut in the 9th. Game 3 is slated for Saturday at Coor's Field in Colorado. Pedro martinez is slated to start for Philly, with Jason Hammels up for the Rockies. Game time is 9:37 pm EDT.

Lackey On Fire for Angels; McCann Keeps Braves' Hopes Alive

Players of the Day for Thursday, September 11, 2009 American League By just about any account, it looks as though the California Angels are going to win the AL West division, again. The Angels have won the division title four of the last five years (2nd in 2006) and are seeking their third straight. What the Angels continually demonstrate is a solid balance of great fielding, good hitting and often exceptional pitching, and the latter was what they got Thursday night as John Lackey shut down the Mariners on five hits for a complete game, 3-0 shutout. The win put the Angels' magic number at 19, 5 games ahead of the Texas Rangers. Lackey walked one batter and struck out 7, including getting Seattle's leadoff hitter, Ichiro Suzuki, twice. That's a rare accomplishment, as Ichiro, one of the best contact hitters in either league, has struck out only 60 times in 553 at-bats this year. Lackey improved to 10-7 with his second straight 9-inning performance. In his last start, on September 5, he allowed 6 hits and one earned run against the Royals, but did not receive a decision as the Angels won, 3-1, in 11 innings. The start prior to that, he gave up 5 hits and no earned runs in 8 innings in a 9-1 Angels win over Oakland. That's one earned run in his last 26 innings, or an ERA of 0.35. National League The Atlanta Braves continue their quest for the post-season, and even though it appears that they will simply run out of time, they carry on tenaciously. In their latest win, a 9-7 victory over Roy Oswalt and the Houston Astros, catcher Brian McCann delivered clutch hitting by going 4-for-5, driving in a pair of runs and scoring twice, including a ground-rule RBI double in the 2nd and a run-scoring single in the 5th, which completed the Braves' scoring. Oswalt (8-6), lasted only two innings against the Atlanta assault, giving up 10 hits and six earned. McCann is batting .277, with 18 home runs and 77 RBI, an integral part of the Atlanta offense, in addition to handling the fine Braves' pitching staff. The win kept Atlanta's wild card dreams alive, as they trail the Rockies by 8 1/2 games. At 72-68, the Braves will likely have a winning season, but they are also just as likely to be eliminated from post-season competition by the end of next week.

Lackey's 3-Hitter Lifts Angels; Fox A Solid Cubs Rookie

Players of the Day for Sunday, July 19, 2009 American League Despite a 5-4 record this season, John Lackey is a guy you have to respect every time he takes the mound. On Sunday, Lackey went up the hill at Oakland and dueled with A's starter Brett Anderson through 9 scoreless innings until Bobby Abreu sent a ball over the right field barrier for a 1-0 Angels win. Lackey pitched through the 9th, allowing just 3 hits and one walk, striking out 6. Brian Fuentes came on to finish up, allowing one hit, for his league-leading 28th save. The win kept the Angels three games ahead of the Texas Rangers and 4 up on Seattle. With the Angels getting healthy and pitchers like Lackey and Fuentes doing their thing, the race for the division flag may become an exercise in futility for their opponents in very short order. National League Here's a late entrant for NL Rookie of the Year: Jake Fox of the Chicago Cubs. With Milton Bradley failing to produce, Fox has been getting more playing time and he's responded in positive fashion with a .326 batting average, 5 homers and 19 RBI in just 86 at-bats. In Chicago's 11-3 win at Washington Sunday, Fox was filling in for Aramis Ramirez, who was taking a regular day off, and he made the most of it, going 3-for-5, with a 3-run homer, two singles, 4 RBI and 3 runs. The win moved the Cubs up to second place in the NLCentral, as the Cardinals remained 2 games in front with a win, while the Brewers dropped to 3 back, losing to the Reds, who are 5 1/2 back. In between are the Astros, 4 games behind. The NL Central continues to be the most contentious race in the majors, with 5 teams vying for the flag.

Indians, Angels clinch; Cubs open daylight in NL Central

American League Oakland 2 Cleveland 6 - The Indians became the first AL team to clinch their division, their first since 2001, as Grady Sizemore (right) went 4-4 and drove in a pair of runs. Jake Westbrook earned the win, striking out a career-high 9 in 7 2/3 innings. Westbrook, who missed much of the season with injuries, completes what may be the most potent starting four pitchers in the AL, including Paul Byrd (15-7), Cy Young candidate C. C. Sabathia (18-7) and rookie Fausto Carmona (18-8). Seattle 4 LA Angels 7 - Shortly after Cleveland clinched, the Angels did the same in the AL West, topping Seattle in their final home game. The Angels have the best home record in the majors, at 54-27, and play their final 6 games at Texas and Oakland. Though the Angels have already wrapped up the division, those games, and those final games for Cleveland, still have meaning, as the race for the best record in the league, and home field advantage in the playoffs, is still up for grabs. Who wants it most is a vexing question, as the top AL team will play the wild card entry, which is looking more and more like the New York Yankees, one of the hottest teams in the majors since late May. All three division leaders have 92 wins. The Angels and Red Sox have just 6 games left. Cleveland has 7 remaining. John Lackey (18-9) got the win in the clincher for LA, allowing 2 earned runs on 7 hits over 7 innings, fanning 7. Toronto 5 NY Yankees 7 - New York kept pace with the Red Sox, still 1 1/2 back, as Mike Mussina won his third straight, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits over 7 innings. The Yankees still need any combination of two wins or two Tiger losses to wrap up the wild card. Other AL Scores Kansas City 2 Detroit 7 Boston 4 Tampa Bay 5 Chi White Sox 1 Minnesota 7 Baltimore 0 Texas 3 National League Pittsburgh 0 Chi Cubs 8 - Carlos Zambrano (17-13) (right) hurled six innings of shutout ball and Derek Lee drove in 3 runs with a double and his 20th home run (a 2-run shot), leading the Cubs to their 4th straight win and a 3 1/2-game lead in the NL Central race. With Milwaukee losing their second straight at Atlanta, Chicago's path t o the playoffs will go through Florida and Cincinnati, where they play a pair of 3-game series to close out the season. Their magic number reduced to 4, the Cubs hope to clinch the division before the weekend in order to rest their starting pitchers. NY Mets 7 Florida 6, 11 innings - The Mets' bullpen failed again,

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allowing Florida to tie the game with 2 runs in the 8th and one in the ninth before the Mets finally ended it on David Wright's single in the 11th, which sent Jose Reyes home with the winning run. New York improved their lead to 2 1/2 games over the Phillies and reduced their magic number to 5. Colorado 7 San Diego 3 - The Rockies gained on everybody, as Philly and Arizona both lost with Colorado drawing to 1 1/2-games of wild card leader San Diego. The Rockies are also just 4 back of Arizona, and while there are only 6 games left, the final 3 games for Arizona are at Colorado. Other NL Scores Philadelphia 3 Washington 5 Milwaukee 4 Atlanta 7 Cincinnati 4 San Francisco 5 LA Dodgers 7 Arizona 1 Houston 3 St. Louis 4

Lackey blanks Mariners; Utley returns to menace Mets

American League Minnesota 3 Cleveland 8 - The Indians put a stamp on their season with a signature win over the Twins, improving their record against Central division teams to 32-20. Paul Byrd improved to 13-5 and Victor Martinez sparked the offense with a 2-run homer (20) in the 3rd inning. The Indians retained their 2 1/2 game lead over Detroit and sunk the Twins back to 6 1/2 out in the division. LA Angels 6 Seattle 0 - John Lackey (right) owns the Seattle Mariners. The veteran righty set the tone for the showdown in the AL West with a complete-game, 7-hit shutout over the Mariners, matching his July 31 effort - an 8-0 win at Seattle. Lackey improved to 16-8 while fanning 5 without walking a batter. Garret Anderson provided all the offense needed with a 2nd inning solo homer and a two-run double in the third. The Angels lead Seattle by 3 games in the division. NY Yankees 0 Detroit 16 - Justin Verlander (14-5) blanked the Yankees on 3 hits over 7 innings while his teammates were pounding his mound counterpart, Mike Mussina, scoring 6 runs on 9 hits over the first 3 innings. For Mussina, who will turn 39 in December, it was his third straight troubling outing and the signs that something's missing are apparent. Over his last three starts, he's managed to last a total of only 9 2/3 innings, allowing 25 hits and 19 earned runs. He's walked five batters and stuck out only 3 over that span as his ERA has ballooned from 4.50 to 5.53. His only wins over contending teams were a pair of 7 2/3 inning games against Arizona and Cleveland and he's lasted 5 innings or less in 9 of his 23 starts. Possibly the most telling stat is his strikeout to walk ratio, which, over his entire career, has been 3.54-1. This season, that's slipped to 2.62-1. The arm is obviously tired and the Yankees are pondering whether to take Mussina out of the rotation and onto the DL, put him in the bullpen or release him outright. None of the options are good as the Yankees fall further out of the playoff picture and are in need of quality starts. The Bombers are 8 games behind the Red Sox and begin a three-game series with them tonight. They are still chasing Seattle for the wild card spot, 2 games back with Detroit another game behind them. Other AL Scores Tampa Bay 4 Chi White Sox 5 Toronto 6 Oakland 2, 12 innings National League NY Mets 2 Philadelphia 9 - Chase Utley (right) returned from a month on the DL just in time to make the Mets miserable. The gritty second baseman, who was sidelined with a broken finger, rapped his 18th home run, singled, doubled and drove in 2 runs to get the Phillies off to a flying start in their four-game showdown series with the first-place Mets. The win put the Phillies 5 games behind New York and 3 games behind San Diego in the wild card race. Arizona 1 San Diego 3 - The Padres aren't ready to concede anything to the Diamondbacks and apparently don't want to settle for a wild card spot in the playoffs. Jake Peavy (15-5) allowed just three hits over 7 innings, one of them a solo homer by Eric Byrnes, striking out 11 to extend his NL-best K total to 197. Geoff Blum stroked a 2-run homer in the 7th inning and Milton Bradley added a solo shot in the 8th for all of the Padres' runs. San Diego trails Arizona by 2 games in the division and host the D-Backs for 3 more games through Thursday. Other NL Scores Atlanta 13 Florida 2 - B. McCann, GS HR (16) Washington 4 LA Dodgers 5 Colorado 1 San Francisco 4

Bonds, A-Rod, Glavine, No, No, Almost

American League Chi White Sox 3 NY Yankees 16 - The Bombers lived up to their nickname, blasting 8 balls out of the yard, tying a franchise record set in 1939 by Joe DiMaggio and his teammates. Hideki Matsui knocked out a pair, driving in 3 runs and scoring 4 times. Alex Rodriguez, sitting on 499 career homers was not part of the hit parade. A-Rod went 0-5 and is in an 0-17 slump as he seeks the milestone. The other six homers were hit by Robbie Cano, Bobby Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Jorge Posada, Johnny Damon and Shelly Duncan. The Yankees drew to within 3 games of losing Cleveland in the wild card race, which seems to be the most likely way the Yankees might reach the playoffs this season. New York also trails Seattle by 1 1/2 in the wild card chase and is 7 behind Boston in the AL East. LA Angels 8 Seattle 0 - Payback is a... well, you know the rest. Just one night after being blanked 2-0 by the Mariners, John Lackey (right, 13-6) stepped to the mound and returned the favor with a complete-game, 7 hit shutout. The win increased the Angels' bulge over the Mariners to 4 games. Other AL Scores Texas 3 Cleveland 1 Baltimore 5 Boston 3 Toronto 2 Tampa Bay 0 Kansas City 3 Minnesota 5 Detroit 3 Oakland 7 National League Arizona 4 San Diego 0 - Brandon Webb worked over the Padres hitters for seven innings, allowing just 3 hits while improving to 10-8 and getting the D-Backs into sole possession of first place in the NL West as the Dodgers were being handled by Nick Lowry and the SF Giants. Colorado 6 Florida 3 - Earlier in the evening, the Rockies continued their push toward the top of the division with their 3rd straight win and 5th in their last 7. Matt Holliday

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continued his torrid hitting, going 3-4 and scoring twice. Garrett Atkins provided the big blow, a 3-run double in the third. Philadelphia 3 Chi Cubs 7 - In the 2nd game of the battle between second-place clubs, the Cubs got even with the Phillies, and remained 1 game behind Milwaukee in the NL Central race. In the East, the Phillies and Mets were both losers, so Atlanta moved to within 3 1/2 of the lead, just 1/2 back of the Phillies. NY Mets 2 Milwaukee 4, 13 innings - Tom Glavine pitched well enough to get his 500th win, allowing just 2 hits and 1 earned over 6 innings, but the bullpen gave up the tying run in the 8th and the game winner on Geoff Jenkins' (right) 14th home run in the 13th. Houston 4 Atlanta 12 - The Braves were the main beneficiaries of the Mets and Phillies' largess, picking up a game on each of them. Kelly Johnson went 4-4, including a pair of homers and 5 RBI. Other NL Scores St. Louis 6 Pittsburgh 4 Cincinnati 3 Washington 6 San Francisco 3 LA Dodgers 1 - B. Bonds, 0-2, booed lustily in LA

Lackey Leads Majors With 9th Win; Rookie Lewis Slams Phils

American League LA Angels 3 Baltimore 2 - John Lackey (right) became the majors' first 9-game winner as he and the Angels ended the O's 6-game winning streak Friday at Anaheim. Lackey (9-3) gave up 5 hits and 2 earned runs over 7 1/3 innings and the Angels' bullpen did the rest. Francisco Rodriguez picked up his league-leading 19th save. The Angels lead Seattle by 5 1/2 in the West. Chicago White Sox 3 Toronto 0 - Javier Vazquez allowed just 6 hits over 8 innings to even his record at 3-3 and Bobby Jenks worked the 9th to get his 15th save as the Sox ended their 5 game skid amid hopes that June would turn out better. Chicago ended May with a 12-14 record and are in danger of falling out of the AL Central and Wild Card races. Any ground they make up in June will be against non-divisional opponents. The Sox play only two games at the end of the month against any teams in the AL Central, and those are against last place Kansas City. NY Yankees 9 Boston 5 - The Yankees took the first of a 3-game series at Boston, and now trail the Red Sox by only 12 1/2 games. The Yanks beat up on knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (5-6), who couldn't locate his pitches, allowing 5 hits, 6 walks and 8 earned runs over just 3 2/3rds innings.

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Jorge Posada led the effort with a pair of doubles and 3 RBI. His .358 batting average leads the league. Boston's Kevin Youkilis went 1-3 to keep his 23-game hitting streak going. Cleveland 12 Detroit 11 - In five tries, the Tigers haven't beaten the Indians this year, but they came close Friday night, carrying a 4-run lead into the bottom of the 9th with closer Todd Jones looking to finish off the Tribe. Things didn't quite go right from there, however, as Cleveland scored 5 runs in the frame and extended their AL Central lead to 4 1/2 days over Detroit. The Indians are 19-4 at home. This game was an offensive showcase, with the two teams combining for 31 hits. Cleveland's Victor Martinez had two of the bigger ones - a pair of 2-run homers - with one coming in the decisive 9th inning. Martinez' 4 RBI gave him 48, 2 behind the Tigers' Magglio Ordonez, who leads the AL. Other AL Scores Kansas City 4 Tampa Bay 1 - B. Bannister (W, 1-3) 8 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Minnesota 3 Oakland 2, 10 innings - Twins 4th straight W Texas 9 Seattle 8 - I. Suzuki, 2-5, 3 R, 25-game hitting streak National League Atlanta 8 Chicago Cubs 5 - Unfortunately, the best action in this game occurred in the Chicago clubhouse. Carlos Zambrano, lifted after 5 innings, got into it with his catcher, Michael Barrett, sending Barrett to the hospital with a reported pair f black eyes and a split lip. Zambrano had complained to Barrett about his fielding, after a passed ball and throwing error added to the day's frustration. Of course, Zambrano (5-5) might just as well punched himself out after allowing 13 hits, 2 walks and 6 earned runs without a strikeout. Manager Lou Piniella promised that both players would be reprimanded. MLB will certainly impose fines as well. Both of these players richly deserve some bench time. Zambrano is hoisting around a 5.62 ERA and Barrett isn't exactly scorching the record books with his .241 batting average. San Francisco 13 Philadelphia 0 - Matt Morris gave up just one hit over 6 innings to go to 6-2 as the Giants stormed into Philly for the first of a 4-game series. Ray Durham and Pedro Feliz each cracked 3-run homers, but rookie Fred Lewis (right) outdid them both with a grand slam. Lewis also singled and scored 3 times in 5 at-bats. A leading early candidate for Rookie of the Year honors, Lewis hit for the cycle earlier this season. In 18 games, he's batting .268 with 2 homers, 12 RBI and 2 steals. The Phillies, after getting over the .500 mark for the first time all season, have promptly lost 4 straight to drop back to 26-28. Arizona 5 NY Mets 1 - Brandon Webb kept the Mets at bay on 4 hits - the lone run was unearned - over 8 innings as the Diamondbacks won their 8th straight and remain deadlocked with the Dodgers atop the NL West. Webb (5-3) walked just one batter and struck out 8. Shortstop Stephen Drew put the game out of reach with a 3-run blast in the 8th. For the Mets, Jose Reyes stole his league-leading 30th base and Julio Franco stole his 2nd, leading all 48-year-olds in that - and every other - department. Other NL Scores Washington 4 San Diego 3, 10 innings - C. Guzman, 4-5, 3 R; D. Young, 4-4, 2 RBI LA Dodgers 5 Pittsburgh 4 - Dodgers share 1st in West with D-Backs St. Louis 8 Houston 1 - Cards plate 7 in top of 9th Milwaukee 8 Florida 5 - F. Cordero, 20th Save leads majors Cincinnati 4 Colorado 2 - Ken Griffey Jr., HR (12), career #575

Sweeps Weekend: Mets, Phils, Padres, Angels, Indians, Red Sox Take Key Series

American League John Lackey (right) became baseball's first 8-game winner, frustrating the NY Yankees on over 8 innings and completing LA's 3-game sweep with a 4-3 win in the Bronx. Lackey gave up just 5 hits, 2 walks and 2 earned runs, lowering his ERA to 2.36. The win kept space between the Angels and the Mariners and A's in the AL West as Seattle won and the A's dropped another one to the Orioles. The Yankees fell 12 1/2 behind Boston in the East, just a game out of last place, currently occupied by Tampa Bay. Fausto Carmona won his 6th straight against just one loss, as Cleveland completed a sweep at Detroit with a 5-3 win to wrest control of the AL Central by 2 1/2 games. The Indians came into the series trailing the Tigers by 1/2 game, but put together 7-4 and 6-3 wins prior to Sunday's finale. Carmona allowed 3 earned runs on 9 hits, Rafael Betancourt got through the 8th and Joe Borowski slammed the door without allowing a hit in the ninth for his league-leading 17th save. Ryan Garko belted a 3-run homer in the first and Casey Blake added a solo shot in the 5th. Nick Markakis hit a 3-run homer (7), singled twice and scored 2 times to lead the Orioles to an 8-4 win over visiting Oakland, taking 2 of 3 from the A's and grabbing 2nd place in the AL East as the Yankees and Blue Jays stumbled. Baltimore (23-27) trails the Red Sox by 11 1/2 games. Other AL Scores Tampa Bay 11 Chicago White Sox 5 Boston 6 Texas 5 - Sox sweep Rangers in Texas, 3-0 Minnesota 4 Toronto 2 Seattle 7, Kansas City 4 - I. Suzuki, 2-4, 20-game hitting streak National League Ryan Howard (right), in his third game back off the DL, crushed a pair of 2-run homers in Philly's 13-6 demolition of Atlanta. Howard got his knocks in the 1st and 8th inning. In between he walked, singled and scored another run to finish his day 3-4. The win dropped Atlanta 4 1/2 behind the NY Mets and got Philly to within 6 1/2, just 2 back of the Braves. Phils' starter Cole Hamels improved to 7-2, giving up 3 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 8, retaining the NL lead with 86. Fast on Hamels' heels is Jake Peavy who shut out the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday in San Diego over 7 innings on 2 hits en route to a 3-0 victory. Peavy struck out 8, giving him 85 on the year, upped his record to 7-1 and lowered his major league best ERA to 1.47. The Padres' win was their 3rd straight over Milwaukee, which has lost 5 straight. Peavy and Hamels join John Smoltz for the NL lead in wins. Juan Pierre took one for the team as Cubs' hurler Carlos Marmol plunked him with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 13th inning to force home Ramon Martinez with the winning score as the Dodgers won at home, 2-1, to remained tied with San Diego atop the NL West. Arizona 8 Houston 4 - The Diamondbacks stayed a game back of the NL West leaders, winning their 4th straight and 7th of their last 9. It was Houston's 8th straight loss. The Astros have been outscored 66-16 over than span. Barry Bonds broke out of his 14-game homerless streak with a 2-run job in the 6th inning of Colorado's 6-4 win in San Fran, completing the 3-game sweep for the Rockies. Bonds is 9 shy of Hank Aaron's 755 career home runs. Jason Bay and the Pittsburgh Pirates are tearing apart the Cincinnati pitching staff. On Sunday, Bay stroked his 2nd home run in 3 games at Cincy (all Pittsburgh wins) and drove in 3 to give him 8 RBI over that span. Bay, who was 2-3 with a homer in Friday's 10-4 win and 3-4 in Saturday's 9-5 win, went 3-5, scored 3 and drove in 3 in Sunday's 14-10 romp. The Pirates are licking their chops as they play one more with the Reds on Monday. Cincy, losers of 6 straight, used 3 pitchers on Friday, 5 on Saturday and sent 6 to the mound on Sunday. Those are some tired arms. Other NL Scores Washington 7 St. Louis 2 - R. Langerhans GS HR (1) NY Mets 6 Florida 4 - J. Reyes, SB (28), Mets sweep 3-game road series