MLB ROUNDUP \ Tuesday’s other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 3

BOSTON — Josh Beckett won his major league-leading 17th game and rookie Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits for Boston. Ellsbury homered after Coco Crisp barely beat out the relay to stay out of a double play and avoid the third out in the fourth inning. Ellsbury, who also tripled and singled in the game, hit the next pitch from Halladay (14-7) into the Toronto bullpen to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead. Julio Lugo and Dustin Pedroia followed with back-to-back doubles to make it 4-0. Beckett (17-6) gave up a three-run homer to Matt Stairs in the fifth, but retired the last eight batters he faced before Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 33rd save. Kevin Youkilis hit a solo homer in the eighth to make it 5-3.

Yankees 12, Mariners 3

NEW YORK — Chien-Ming Wang smothered Seattle to get his 17th win, and Jorge Posada homered twice as the Yankees’ slumbering offense woke up. Alex Rodriguez and Bobby Abreu also homered, and Posada, Abreu and Robinson Cano had four hits each for New York, which boosted its AL wild-card lead to two games over the Mariners and 31⁄2 over Detroit. Abreu was in a 2-for-15 slump coming in and Cano was in a 2-for-16 slide. Wang (17-6) allowed one run and five hits in 71⁄3 innings, tying Boston’s Josh Beckett for the major league lead in wins. Horacio Ramirez (8-5) took the loss.

White Sox 3, Tigers 1

DETROIT — Josh Fields and Alex Cintron homered, and Jon Garland scattered seven hits over seven innings as the White Sox beat the Tigers. Garland (9-10) ran his career record to 13-6 against the Tigers, who began the day six games back of Cleveland in the AL Central and 21⁄2 games behind New York in the wild-card race. Garland allowed one run and struck out four without walking a batter. Ehren Wasserman and Matt Thornton pitched a scoreless eighth, and Bobby Jenks worked the ninth for his 37th save in 42 chances. Jeremy Bonderman (11-8) allowed three runs and seven hits in 51⁄3 innings.

Orioles 8, Devil Rays 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Melvin Mora drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and Ramon Hernandez followed with a three-run double as the Orioles beat the Devil Rays. It was Baltimore’s second win in 14 games, and the Orioles have been outscored 132-64 in that stretch. With the score tied at 4, Dan Wheeler (0-3) took over for Devil Rays starter Scott Kazmir. Miguel Tejada greeted him with a single, and with one out, Nick Markakis singled. Mora followed with a single to left to make it 5-4. After a single by Huff, Scott Dohmann relieved and gave up the double to Hernandez. Chad Bradford (3-6) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Mets 11, Reds 7

CINCINNATI — Paul Lo Duca hit a pair of three-run homers and drove in a career-high seven runs, powering the Mets to their fifth straight victory. The NL East leaders have regained control of their division with their longest winning streak of the season. A balanced offense has led the way, piling up 46 runs in the last six games and reaching double-digits three times. No matter who the Reds put on the mound, the Mets hit him. Hard. Lo Duca got it started with his three-run homer in the second inning off Matt Belisle, a drive that was caught by a fan wearing a white Mets jersey in the front row behind the left-field wall. After falling behind 5-3, the Mets sent nine batters to the plate for five runs in the sixth inning, a rally started by Carlos Beltran’s two-run homer.

Phillies 5, Braves 2

ATLANTA — Ryan Howard hit his 37th homer, and Kyle Lohse quieted the Braves’ offense to help the Phillies end a three-game losing streak. Howard, the 2006 NL MVP, made it 2-0 in the first with his 15th career homer off the Braves and sixth at Turner Field. Chipper Jones hit his 23rd homer for Atlanta, which has lost four of five and 10 of 14. With the win, the Phillies moved 31⁄2 games ahead of the Braves in the wild-card race and remained five games behind the New York Mets in the NL East after the Mets beat the Reds. Philadelphia began the day three games behind Arizona. Lohse (8-12) improved to 2-0 with a 4.06 ERA in seven starts since the Phillies acquired him from Cincinnati on July 30. Buddy Carlyle (8-6) lasted just 12⁄3 innings, giving up four hits, three runs and three walks in the shortest start of his career.

Nationals 4, Marlins 3

WASHINGTON — Jesus Flores’ two-run, ninth-inning double gave the Nationals a win over the Marlins. With the Nationals trailing 3-2 in the ninth inning, Dmitri Young led off with a walk off Kevin Gregg (0-5). With one out, Wily Mo Pena singled to third and pinch-runner Ryan Langerhans advanced to third. After Ronnie Belliard popped to first, Flores doubled to the left-field corner, scoring Langerhans and Pena. It was Gregg’s third blown save of the year. A fifth-inning single gave Miguel Cabrera his 500th career RBI and the Marlins a 3-2 lead. Cabrera became the third-youngest player in major-league history to reach 500 RBIs. Flores’ hit spoiled Dontrelle Willis’ opportunity to win just his second game in 18 starts. He has one win since May 29. Chris Schroder (2-1) pitched a hitless inning for the victory.

Dodgers 6, Cubs 2

CHICAGO — Brad Penny earned his 15th victory as Los Angeles spoiled Steve Trachsel’s return to the Cubs. Rebounding from a rough outing in his previous start against the Nationals when he gave up eight hits and six runs in five innings (a no-decision), Penny (15-4) got his first win since Aug. 15. He allowed seven hits and two runs — one earned — in seven innings.

Brewers 5, Astros 3

MILWAUKEE — Rookie Ryan Braun homered and Francisco Cordero set a franchise record with his 40th save, as Milwaukee beat Houston. Carlos Villanueva pitched six solid innings in his first start as a member of the Brewers’ rotation. His outing ruined the comeback of Houston’s Brandon Backe, making his first start in more than a year after undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery. Cordero pitched the ninth to earn his 40th save in 46 chances, topping the franchise record of 39 set by Dan Kolb (2004) and Derrick Turnbow (2005).

Associated Press