Orioles beat Blue Jays, clinch first AL East title since 1997  —  BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles won their first AL East crown since 1997, using home runs by Steve Pearce and Jimmy Paredes to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 Tuesday night before a boisterous crowd of 35,297 at Camden Yards.

Rare flop by bullpen costs Royals in loss to White Sox  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis both gave up runs for the first time in nearly three months as the Kansas City Royals' dominant bullpen was touched up Tuesday night in a 7-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

Pedro Martinez says Mets ‘have the best nucleus of young pitchers’ in baseball  —  The future Hall of Famer beieves the ‘Mets can really do something’ if ace Matt Harvey stays healthy enough to guide a promising young staff that also includes Rookie of the Year candidate Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler.

Angels part ways with scout involved in Trout pick  —  9/13/14: Mike Trout launches two solo home runs in a win over the Astros, giving him 34 total on the season  —  ANAHEIM — Greg Morhardt, a scout who played a key role in the decision to take Mike Trout in the first round five years ago …

Peavy, Posey Help Giants Gain Ground in NL West  —  PHOENIX — Jake Peavy had another strong outing, Buster Posey homered and the San Francisco Giants gained a game in the NL West race with a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night.  —  The victory, combined …

Yankees to start Tanaka (elbow) on Sunday … New York Yankees rookie Masahiro Tanaka will start Sunday at home against Toronto in his first appearance since being diagnosed with a small ligament tear in in his right elbow.  —  Tanaka (12-4, 2.51) last pitched for the Yankees on July 8.

Morton returns to lead surging Pirates over Red Sox  —  PITTSBURGH — Charlie Morton came off the disabled list to gain his first victory since July 2, and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Red Sox 4-0 Tuesday night for their ninth win in 11 games.  —  Sidelined since Aug. 16 …

Wilmer Flores homers twice, drives in 6 as Mets rout Marlins  —  Second baseman Wilmer Flores tapped into his inner power source to produce a monster night, homering twice and driving in six runs in the Mets' 9-1 victory over the Marlins Tuesday night at Citi Field.

Nats blank Braves to wrap up 2nd NL East title in 3 years  —  ATLANTA — The Washington Nationals are again champions of the NL East, wrapping up their second division title in three years against the team that knocked them out of the top spot last season.  —  Tanner Roark pitched five-hit ball …

Dear Clayton; Love, Pedro  —  Pedro Martinez's 2000 season here.  I heard you were having a pretty good year, so I took a look at the stats, and wow: We have so much in common.  We're almost identical ERA brothers!  Me at 1.74, you at 1.70.  Both of us leading our leagues in most of the major categories.

Smolinski's homer sends Rangers over Athletics  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — Scott Kazmir allowed a two-run homer to Jake Smolinski, and shortstop Jed Lowrie made an error that led to a pair of unearned runs as the Oakland Athletics lost 6-3 to the last-place Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.

Amarista's Homer Lifts Padres Over Phillies 5-4  —  SAN DIEGO — Alexi Amarista had three hits, including a go-ahead two-run homer, to lead the San Diego Padres to a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.  —  Amarista's two-out homer in the sixth inning off A.J. Burnett (8-17) put the Padres ahead 4-3.

Cubs' Jake Arrieta sees no-hit bid fall short in shutout of Reds  —  CHICAGO — Jake Arrieta took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning before giving up Brandon Phillips' one-out double, the only blemish for the Chicago Cubs pitcher in a 7-0 shutout of the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.