Royals pound White Sox for 7th straight win  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—The surging Kansas City Royals are giving their fans a glimpse of a brighter future.  —  Mike Moustakas(notes) hit his third home run in four games and Jeff Francoeur(notes) hit a three-run homer and the Royals beat …

Rangers down M's 7-6, add ground over Angels  —  SEATTLE - The Texas Rangers haven't found themselves in many close games lately with only two this month being decided by less than four runs.  —  Texas manager Ron Washington expects that to change as the season winds down and the Rangers try …

Zobrist blast keeps Rays playoff hopes alive  —  Ben Zobrist hit a two-run homer off Jon Lester on Saturday to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox and trim Boston's lead in the AL wild-card race to three games.  —  Jeff Niemann (11-7) pitched five solid innings for Tampa Bay …

Phillies Win, Clinch 5th Straight NL East Title  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Roy Oswalt threw seven dominant innings, Raul Ibanez hit a grand slam and the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their fifth straight NL East title with a 9-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.

Gallardo Strikes Out 13 in Brewers Romp  —  CINCINNATI (AP) — Yovani Gallardo struck out a career-high 13 and Ryan Braun hit his third home run in two nights to help the Milwaukee Brewers inch closer to a Central Division championship with a 10-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.

Rodrigo Lopez, Cubs hand Houston its record 100th loss  —  CHICAGO - The Houston Astros lost 100 games in a season for the first time in franchise history, squandering a bases-loaded chance in the ninth inning and falling to Rodrigo Lopez and the Chicago Cubs 2-1 Saturday.

Murphy homers in 13th to give Marlins win over Nats  —  WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg allowed one run and four hits over six innings in his third start after Tommy John surgery, but Donnie Murphy's two-run home run in the 13th inning helped give the Florida Marlins a 4-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.

Hughes scratched from Monday's start  —  Phil Hughes has been scratched from Monday's start after experiencing lower back spasms yesterday.  A.J. Burnett will start in his place, and Hughes is expected to start Tuesday or Wednesday.  —  “It was bad yesterday,” Hughes said.  “It's a lot better today.”

Gio Gonzalez wins 14th, A's beat Tigers  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — Gio Gonzalez pitched seven innings for his 14th win and Oakland turned three double plays in the first five innings and the Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 on Saturday.  —  Coco Crisp drove in the deciding run with an RBI single …

Carlos Santana hits 25th homer as Indians beat Twins 10-4  —  MINNEAPOLIS - Carlos Santana hit his 25th home run and Jeanmar Gomez pitched effectively into the seventh inning before leaving with an injury Saturday as the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 10-4.