MLB ROUNDUP \ Sunday’s other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Angels 3, White Sox 2

CHICAGO — Joe Saunders flashed his All-Star form while earning his first win in over a month, and Los Angeles rallied to avoid a three-game sweep. The AL West leaders moved a step closer to their fourth division title in five years, thanks to a solid effort by Saunders.

Tigers 7, Twins 5

MINNEAPOLIS — Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez and Dusty Ryan homered to help Detroit get the win. Ryan, a rookie catcher, hit a two-run homer in his first major league start. Chris Lambert (1-1) earned his first career win and the Tigers won consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 22-23.

Red Sox 7, Rangers 2

ARLINGTON, Texas — David Ortiz hit his first home run in 20 games and Paul Byrd pitched 62‚Ñ3 scoreless innings to win his fourth straight decision. Byrd (11-11) is 4-1 in five starts since the Red Sox acquired him from Cleveland on Aug. 12.

Blue Jays 1, Rays 0

TORONTO — David Purcey struck out seven in eight innings to help Toronto extend its winning streak to eight games. Jesse Carlson finished the six-hitter for his second save and Toronto matched its longest winning streak since Apr. 14-22, 1999.

Mariners 5, Yankees 2

SEATTLE — Jose Lopez hit two homers and the Mariners sent the Yankees tumbling into fourth place in the AL East. Lopez’s liner just over the wall in left field off Mike Mussina (17-8) gave Seattle a 3-2 lead in the fourth. Mussina allowed four runs and seven hits and made a key error — his first in three years — in six innings.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Padres 10, Brewers 1

MILWAUKEE — Chris Young came within four outs of a perfect game, retiring the first 23 Milwaukee batters in order before Gabe Kapler homered. Chase Headley hit his ninth homer and Kevin Kouzmanoff hit his 21st for San Diego, which had 14 hits and broke the game open with five unearned runs off Manny Parra (10-7) in the third.

Reds 4, Cubs 3

CINCINNATI — Jolbert Cabrera hit a game-ending RBI single off Chicago closer Kerry Wood to complete Cincinnati’s three-run ninth inning. Francisco Cordero (5-4) pitched a scoreless ninth to help send the Cubs to their seventh loss in their last eight games.

Phillies 6, Mets 2

NEW YORK — Jamie Moyer shut down the slumping Mets on two singles that didn’t leave the infield and Greg Dobbs hit a three-run homer off Pedro Martinez in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. Sunday’s night game wasn’t completed for today’s edition.

Dodgers 5, Diamondbacks 3

LOS ANGELES — James Loney had three RBIs and the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of Arizona that gave them a 11‚Ñ2-game lead on the Diamondbacks in the NL West. The Dodgers tied a season best with their eighth straight win, following an eight-game skid. Hong Chih-Kuo (5-2) pitched 11‚Ñ3 innings of relief for the victory and Jonathan Broxton got four outs for his 13th save.

Cardinals 3, Mariners 1

ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols hit a two-run home run and Adam Wainwright worked eight stingy innings for St. Louis. Aaron Miles tripled and scored on pinch hitter Josh Phelps’ single in the seventh for an insurance run, helping the Cardinals take two of three for their first series win since Aug. 22-24.

Astros 7, Rockies 5

DENVER — Pinch-hitters Darin Erstad and David Newhan had back-to-back run-scoring hits in the eighth inning for Houston. Erstad’s bloop single tied it, and Newhan followed with a triple to center off Taylor Buchholz (6-5) to give Houston a 6-5 lead. Jose Castillo added a run-scoring single in the ninth and went 3-for-3 with two RBIs.

Nationals 7, Braves 4, 14 innings

ATLANTA — Elijah Dukes hit a three-run double in the 14th inning for Washington. Dukes, who homered twice and went 4-for-5 in Saturday’s 10-inning victory, was hitless in six at-bats before he faced Jeff Bennett in the 14th.

Associated Press