Yanks help playoff hopes with sweep

NEW YORK -- Raul Mondesi homered and Jeff Weaver pitched well in a rare start as the New York Yankees completed a sweep of a split doubleheader with a 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.

Rookie Juan Rivera drove in two runs, including a tiebreaking single in the seventh, and Andy Pettitte (10-5) allowed one run in 7 1-3 innings to lead New York to a 5-2 victory in the opener.

Red Sox 12, Devil Rays 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- John Burkett (11-7) allowed one run and six hits in seven innings for Boston, which began the night 7 1/2 games back in the wild card race. He had been 0-4 with an 8.47 ERA in his previous seven starts

Blue Jays 5, Indians 4

CLEVELAND -- Mark Wohlers (2-4) threw Vernon Wells' ninth-inning comebacker into center field, allowing Shannon Stewart to score the go-ahead run to score from second.

Twins 11, Tigers 4

MINNEAPOLIS -- Torii Hunter hit a three-run homer in the first inning and threw out two runners from center field.

Dustan Mohr went 3-for-4 with a homer for the Twins, who lowered their magic number to five for clinching the AL Central and their first playoff berth since winning the World Series in 1991.

Rangers 3, Mariners 2

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas' record streak of 27 games with a home run ended, but pinch-hitter Todd Greene broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI grounder in the eighth off Joel Pineiro (13-6).

White Sox 12, Royals 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jeff Liefer hit his first career grand slam, and Paul Konerko drove in three runs to reach 100 RBIs. The Royals tied a club record with their eighth straight home loss and also have lost eight straight overall.

Carlos Lee also drove in three runs for the White Sox.

National League

Braves 12, Mets 6

ATLANTA -- A day after wrapping up their 11th straight division title, Atlanta overcame a five-run deficit for a victory over New York behind two homers from Andruw Jones.

Marlins 6-2, Phillies 4-1

PHILADELPHIA -- Justin Wayne, backed by home runs from Andy Fox and Derrek Lee, got his first major league win as Florida completed a doubleheader sweep.

In the opener, Mike Redmond hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh and had three RBIs in a 6-4 win.

Astros 11, Rockies 4

HOUSTON -- Lance Berkman hit his career-high 40th home run and had five RBIs as Houston got its fourth straight victory.

Expos 6, Cubs 2

CHICAGO -- Montreal's Javier Vazquez matched a season high with 10 strikeouts and helped himself with an RBI single, snapping a seven-game losing streak.

Reds 3, Pirates 0

CINCINNATI -- Russell Branyan hit a solo homer to back Danny Graves and four Reds relievers, who combined on six-hitter.

Cincinnati, which gave Graves his first career start, got its sixth shutout of the season and sent Pittsburgh to its 14th shutout loss.

-- From wire reports