Wednesday 10 September 2014 09:02, UK
Rajai Davis and JD Martinez hit home runs as the Detroit Tigers beat Kansas City to tighten the battle for supremacy at the top of the American League Central.
In a tussle between the two leading sides in the division, Detroit won 4-2 at Comerica Park, in a result that means the teams have near-identical records.
Detroit have won 80 of 145 games, while Kansas City have taken 79 wins in 143 outings and lead the way in their respective percentages by a tiny fraction. They go head to head again on Wednesday night.
The top of the AL West is not nearly so tight, with the Los Angeles Angels running away with first place. They improved the best record in Major League Baseball this year by beating the Texas Rangers 9-3, spurred by Kole Calhoun's lead-off homer at the top of the first inning as they won a sixth straight game.
First place in the National League East also looks a foregone conclusion, after the Washington Nationals overcame the Atlanta Braves 6-4 for a third successive win. The Braves are nominally the closest rivals to the Nationals, but defeat left them nine games adrift.
The Baltimore Orioles preserved a 10-game cushion over Toronto at the summit of the AL East, following a 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox in which Alejandro De Aza twice went deep. In Toronto, the Blue Jays beat the Chicago Cubs 9-2.
Battling for NL West supremacy are the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. The Giants cut their deficit to two-and-a-half games after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1, with Yusmeiro Petit pitching a dazzling complete game, while the Dodgers tripped up 6-3 against the San Diego Padres.
The St Louis Cardinals remain in control of the NL West, despite losing 9-5 against the Cincinnati Reds, staying four-and-a-half games in front of the second-placed Pittsburgh Pirates who fell 4-3 to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Elsewhere, the New York Yankees saw their wild-card hopes hit by a 4-3 home loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Oakland Athletics bludgeoned the Chicago White Sox 11-2 and the Miami Marlins saw off the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3.
The Houston Astros snagged a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners, while Oswaldo Arcia struck a two-run homer in the lowly Minnesota Twins' 4-3 win against the Cleveland Indians.
A rush of sizzling form may have arrived too late for the New York Mets to mount a post-season push, but they won a sixth game in seven by beating the Colorado Rockies 2-0.
