Red sox nail down al east title

The Boston Red Sox clinched the AL East title on Friday, getting seven strong innings from Jon Lester to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 and eliminate Tampa Bay from the division race.

One night after securing their first playoff appearance since 2009, the Red Sox added their first division title since '07.

Lester (15-8) allowed one run on five hits and two walks, striking out eight to win for the seventh time in nine decisions. It was his 100th career victory.

Dustin Pedroia had three hits for the Red Sox, who have won 19 of their last 25.

In the National League, the Atlanta Braves closed in on the NL East division title with a 9-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Chris Johnson went 3-for-4 with a home run for the Braves, who reduced their magic number to win the title to one.

The Braves broke open a tie game in the top of the ninth with four runs. Brian McCann and Johnson had RBI singles, and Andrelton Simmons followed with a two-run double.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics moved closer to winning their AL divisions.

Max Scherzer became baseball's first 20-game winner, pitching through a rainy six innings to help Detroit defeat the Chicago White Sox 12-5.

Scherzer (20-3) was making his fifth attempt to win No. 20. He had two losses and two no-decisions in his previous four starts. Tori Hunter had four hits for Detroit, and Victor Martinez homered.

The AL Central division-leading Tigers lowered their magic number to eliminate second-place Cleveland to three.

In Oakland, California, Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson homered, Alberto Callaspo had two hits and drove in two runs, and Bartolo Colon pitched six shutout innings as Oakland beat Minnesota 11-0.

Josh Reddick had two hits and also drove in a run for the A's, who won for the eighth time in 10 games.

Associated Press

(China Daily 09/22/2013 page8)