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Mets blank the Marlins, win NL East

New York Mets players celebrate with teammate David Wright, right, after clinching the National League East Division title with a win over the Florida Marlins on Monday in their baseball game at Shea Stadium in New York. PHOTO: AP

The New York Mets ended nearly two decades of disappointment in their division and days of delay, clinching the National League East for the first time since 1988 by beating the Florida Marlins 4-0 on Monday.

Jose Valentin, one of their unexpected stars, homered twice and Steve Trachsel, their longest-tenured player, combined with three relievers on a four-hitter.

Trachsel (15-7) joined Gary Gentry (1969), Tom Seaver (1973), Dwight Gooden (1986) and Ron Darling (1988) as the only pitchers to win division clinchers for the Mets.

Astros 5, Reds 3

At Houston, Roy Oswalt pitched 6 2-3 innings to continue his mastery of Cincinnati.

Oswalt (14-8) allowed two runs and eight hits to improve his career record to 17-1 against Cincinnati. He struck out eight and didn't walk a batter before departing with muscle spasms in his neck.

Oswalt, who is 5-0 with a no-decision in his last six starts for Houston, had just given up a pinch-hit home run to Ray Olmedo and a single to Ryan Freel in the seventh when he called team officials to the mound before leaving the game.

Dan Wheeler allowed pinch-hitter Todd Hollandsworth's solo homer in the ninth before finishing for his sixth save in eight chances.

Cubs 11, Phillies 6

At Philadelphia, Aramis Ramirez homered twice and then drove in a career-best seven runs and Chicago held off Philadelphia.

Pinch-hitter Jose Hernandez hit a grand slam in the fourth inning to bring Philadelphia within two runs after trailing 8-0, but five Cubs relievers held the Phillies scoreless over the last five innings.

Ramirez went 4-for-5 and Juan Pierre and Scott Moore hit solo homers for Chicago, which has the NL's worst record.

Braves 6, Nationals 1

At Washington, Andruw Jones hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the sixth inning and Kyle Davies won for the first time since April 30 to lead Atlanta over Washington.

Jones also doubled and scored three runs for Atlanta, which won for the fourth time in five games. Daryle Ward added a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the eighth inning in his first appearance against the Nationals since they traded him to the Braves on Aug. 31.

Davies (3-5) allowed one run and four hits, struck out five and walked two. He was removed after allowing a leadoff single in the sixth inning.

Brewers 4, Cardinals 3

At Milwaukee, Tony Graffanino singled in the winning run in the ninth inning to lift Milwaukee over St. Louis.

Albert Pujols hit a three-run drive for his 46th homer for the Cardinals, who are seeking their third straight NL Central title and at least a share of the division's top spot for the sixth time in seven seasons.

Pujols, who also doubled and singled, spoiled Milwaukee starter Chris Capuano's shutout bid with his line drive over the left-field wall with two out in the seventh.

Damian Miller singled off Braden Looper (9-2) to start the ninth for Milwaukee. Drew Anderson pinch ran for him and advanced on Jeff Cirillo's sacrifice. Graffanino, who had two doubles and a sacrifice fly, singled to left and Anderson beat the throw home.

Rockies 20, Giants 8

At Denver, Jeff Baker hit two three-run homers, Garrett Atkins also drove in six runs and Justin Hampson won in his first major league start as Colorado beat San Francisco.

The Rockies, who had a season-high 19 hits, tied the club record for runs, reaching 20 for the third time, the last on Sept. 20, last year, against San Diego.

Hampson (1-0) had made two relief appearances since being called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Sept. 7. He went five innings in his first start, giving up 10 hits and six runs.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez hit two-run homers and the New York Yankees held on for a 7-6 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

New York could wrap up its ninth successive American League East division title during this week's seven-game road trip to Toronto and Tampa Bay.

Jeter hit a two-run homer, his 14th, off A.J. Burnett (8-8) in the seventh to give New York a 4-3 lead.

The Yankees added three runs in the ninth but Toronto matched that in the bottom half, forcing New York to use four pitchers in the final inning. Jose Veras got the last out for the first save of his career.

Rangers 8, Mariners 1

At Arlington, Texas, Kevin Millwood allowed one run over seven innings for his 16th victory and Michael Young had his third straight multihit game for Texas.

Millwood (16-10) won his fourth straight game at home, where he struggled early in the season after the Rangers signed the free agent to a US$60 million, five-year deal. It is the fourth time the right-hander has won 16 games, the most since he was 18-8 for Atlanta in 2002.

Young went 2-for-4 with his 49th double to increase his major league-leading total to 205 hits. That's two more than Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki, who went 0-for-4.

Orioles 4, Devil Rays 1

At St. Petersburg, Florida, Corey Patterson hit a three-run homer and Erik Bedard won his third consecutive start, helping Baltimore beat Tampa Bay.

Bedard (15-9) allowed one run, four hits and one walk and struck out 10 in seven innings. In his last three starts, the left-hander has given up three runs and 10 hits over 20 innings.

Patterson hit his 14th homer of the season off Tim Corcoran (4-9) in the second inning to put Baltimore up 3-1. David Newhan made it 4-1 with a sacrifice fly in the fourth.

Tigers 8, White Sox 2

At Chicago, Kenny Rogers pitched six shutout innings for his 16th win, Magglio Ordonez homered twice against his former team and Detroit increased its AL Central lead by beating Chicago.

The Tigers lead Minnesota, which was idle, by 1.5 games in the division and are six games ahead of the defending World Series champion White Sox, whose return to the playoffs is in deep jeopardy after a sixth loss in eight games.

Rogers (16-6) allowed just four hits, escaped several jams, and is 5-1 over his last nine starts.

Jim Thome's 40th homer, a solo shot off Fernando Rodney in the eighth, ended the Tigers' shutout bid. Pinch-hitter Josh Fields homered in the ninth in his first big league at-bat for the White Sox.
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