Wolf Shuts Down Rockies, Leads Padres to 6-0 Win

With Dodgers in NLCS, only Philly-Colorado remains up in the air

(NEWSER) - The Yankees wrapped up a sweep of the Twins tonight in Minneapolis, getting homers from Jorge Posada and suddenly clutch Alex Rodriguez in a 6-1 win. They advance to face the Angels, who mounted an unlikely ninth-inning comeback this afternoon, scoring off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon three times and hanging on for a 7-6 victory and their own sweep in Boston. More»

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(AP) - Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay were selected today as the starting pitchers for tomorrow night's All-Star game in St. Louis. Lincecum, last year's National League Cy Young Award winner, is 10-2 with a 2.33 ERA for the San Francisco Giants; he got the nod from NL manager Charlie Manuel. Halladay, 10-3 with a 2.85 ERA for the Toronto Blue Jays, was chosen by American League manager Joe Maddon. More»

Both win easily, with Tampa star a unanimous choice in AL

(NEWSER) - Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto and Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria were named the rookies of the year today in the National and American leagues, respectively. Soto, 25, was voted an All-Star Game starter and finished the season with a .285 batting average, 23 home runs, and 86 RBI, the Tribune reports. He easily beat out Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto. More»

(NEWSER) - The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the NL West today before they even got on the field. Because the Arizona Diamondbacks lost to St. Louis, the Dodgers are assured of their first division title in 4 years, the LA Times reports. "The main goal is to get to the World Series," said big-name acquisition Manny Ramirez. The Dodgers and the LA Angels are the only teams to clinch NL berths so far. More»

DH rule, new stadiums, better drafting all contribute to AL dominance

(NEWSER) - The American League is just flat out better than the National League, writes Darren Everson in the Wall Street Journal. The AL has had a lock on All-Star games for a decade, has won 11 of the last 16 World Series, and it dominates interleague play. Why the disparity? Everson explains that it's a combination of factors such as the DH rule, a flood of new talent and new stadiums, better drafting, and just plain luck. More»