The pennant race in the American League East just got tighter after the Tampa Bay Rays defeat division leader New York 4-3 on Monday. James Shields won his 13th game and the Yankee lead in the division falls to a single game after second place Baltimore blanks Toronto 4-0. The Rays are just two and a half games out.
In other AL games, Chicago takes over first place over Detroit in the AL Central as the White Sox beat Minnesota 4-2 while the Tigers fall 3-2 to Cleveland. Oakland saw its nine game winning streak end with an 8-3 loss to Los Angeles. Seattle beat Boston 4-1 and Texas beats Kansas City 8-4.
In the National League, Washington continues to lead the NL East by six and a half games over Atlanta; the Nats beat the Cubs 2-1 while the Braves whip Colorado 6-1. The Braves lead the wild card by three games over St.Louis, a 5-4 winner over New York.
In other games, Houston beats Pittsburgh 5-1; Miami tops Milwaukee 7-3; Philadelphia slows down Cincinnati 4-2; San Francisco rallies to down Arizona 9-8; and Los Angeles beats San Diego 4-3.