The Atlanta Braves tried to hold off the celebration. It didn't work.\nThe Braves wrapped up their 14th straight division championship Tuesday night while playing the Colorado Rockies, the NL East title assured midway through the game when the second-place Phillies lost to the New York Mets.\nClinching in style, Marcus Giles hit a pair of homers, Adam LaRoche also homered and the Braves routed the Rockies 12-3.\nStill, the way it worked out was a bit strange.\nThe Braves had just finished off a four-run fifth inning, giving them a 7-1 lead, when Philadelphia's Bobby Abreu struck out to complete a 3-2 loss to the Mets.\nA smattering of fans apparently learned of the Phillies' loss via cell phone or other means, clapping as soon as Abreu struck out. "Let's go Mets!" one man yelled. A tomahawk-chopping woman held up a handmade "2005" sign above the left-field seats, right next to the official pennants detailing each of the Braves' playoff seasons.\nBut most of the crowd was apparently in the dark. The out-of-town scoreboard merely showed the Mets leading 3-2 in the eighth. Even after the Rockies were retired in the top of the sixth, there was no mention of the division title.\nIn the bottom half, Giles hit his second home run, a two-run shot, to give the Braves a 9-3 lead. When the Rockies made a pitching change, the crowd passed the time singing "YMCA."\nFinally, as Chipper Jones stepped into the box, the public address announcer revealed the news.
Mets 3, Phillies 2.\nThe celebration was on. The crowd of 25,306 gave the Braves a standing ovation, and several fans broke out signs marking the occasion. "In case you didn't know -- 14 in a row," one said. Two shirtless men had painted a "1" and a "4" on their chests.
Astros 3, Cardinals 1\nRoy Oswalt won for the fourth time this month, helping the Houston Astros extend their NL wild card lead to 2 1/2 games with a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.\nJason Lane hit a two-run home run and Craig Biggio hit his 25th, setting a career best. Biggio returned to the team after spending Monday in Houston for his mother's open heart surgery.\nThe Astros (86-71) matched a season high at 15 games above .500 and snapped a six-game skid in St. Louis, winning for the fourth time in 15 tries overall against the Cardinals. Houston has five games remaining, four at home against the Cubs, and Philadelphia's 3-2 loss to the Mets gave the Astros a nice cushion.\nHouston's victory also eliminated New York from playoff contention.\nMets 3, Phillies 2\nThe New York Mets missed the playoffs, but they're taking the Philadelphia Phillies down with them.\nJose Reyes was 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits, leading the Mets to a 3-2 victory over the Phillies on Tuesday night.\nPhiladelphia's loss clinched the NL East title for Atlanta, its unprecedented 14th straight division crown.\nJimmy Rollins extended his hitting streak to a team-record 32 games with a single in the seventh for the Phillies, who fell 2 1/2 games behind Houston in the NL wild card race.\nThe Mets were eliminated with the Astros' 3-1 victory over St. Louis.\n"We're down three games (in the loss column) with four left. That's a hard battle," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "At the same time, we don't quit."
Tigers 3, White Sox 2\nThe Chicago White Sox could have taken control of the AL Central on Tuesday.\nInstead, they left Comerica Park frustrated again.\nThe White Sox left 12 runners on base in a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers. Their lead remained at two games after Cleveland's 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay.\n"If you leave that many on base, you aren't going to win many games," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. "It keeps happening, and I don't know why. We had opportunities, and didn't take them."\nThe White Sox have lost 12 of 19.\n"No one ever said this was going to be easy," Jermaine Dye said. "We've got to stay positive and just find a way to get some momentum."\nChicago had won three straight before dropping the first two games of its four-game series in Detroit.\n"Most of these guys have never been in this situation, but I have, and I have to lead them," Guillen said.\n"You might want to go to your room, call your mom and cry, but when you come to the ballpark and put on the uniform, you have to be a man. I have 30 men to lead."
Devil Rays 5, Indians 4\nThe Cleveland Indians failed to take advantage of another loss by the stumbling Chicago White Sox.\nScott Kazmir held Cleveland to one run in six innings and Julio Lugo hit a three-run homer to lead Tampa Bay to a 5-4 victory Tuesday night, preventing the Indians from gaining ground on Chicago in the AL Central.\nFormer Indians pitcher Danys Baez got Ronnie Belliard to hit into a game-ending double play with the tying run on third, handing Cleveland consecutive losses for the first time since Sept. 3-4 at Minnesota.\nThe loss kept the Indians two games behind the first-place White Sox, who lost their second straight to Detroit. Cleveland also began the day tied with Boston and New York for the wild card lead.\nThe announcement of Chicago's 3-2 loss drew one of the biggest cheers on a night where there was otherwise little to celebrate. The Indians were 15 games behind the White Sox on Aug. 1.
1st game \nRed Sox 3, Blue Jays 1, \n2nd game\nBlue Jays 7, Red Sox 5,
Russ Adams hit a sacrifice fly to break an eighth-inning tie as the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the Red Sox 7-5 on Tuesday night, splitting a day-night doubleheader and spoiling Boston's chance to take the lead in the AL East.\nTim Wakefield pitched seven strong innings to give Boston a 3-1 victory in the day game. But with the Fenway fans paying as much attention to the Yankees' game in Baltimore as the one in front of them, the Red Sox lost the nightcap and fell a half-game behind in the division, pending the outcome of New York's game against the Orioles.\nThe Red Sox were also tied in the AL wild-card race with the Cleveland Indians, who lost 5-4 to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.\nFrank Catalanotto had four hits, and Adams had a pair of hits to go with sacrifice flies in the eighth and ninth innings to snap Boston's four-game winning streak. Jason Frasor (3-5) struck out two in 1 1/3 innings as five relievers combined for 5 2-3 innings of scoreless relief.\nMiguel Batista got two outs for his 31st save in 39 chances, getting David Ortiz on a grounder for the final out.
Orioles 17, Yankees 9\nGary Sheffield did everything in his power to keep the Yankees alone atop the AL East.\nIt wasn't enough to overcome a dreadful pitching performance by Mike Mussina and the New York bullpen.\nSheffield hit two homers and drove in six runs, but the Baltimore Orioles ended a nine-game losing streak with a 17-9 victory Tuesday night in an ugly game that lasted 4 hours, 16 minutes.\nNew York's third loss in 16 games, combined with Boston's split of a day-night doubleheader with Toronto, left the Yankees and Red Sox tied atop the division. Both teams have five games left, including a three-game series at Fenway Park to close the regular season.\nThe Red Sox and Yankees are also tied at 92-65 with Cleveland, which leads the wild card standings.
