Angels Finally Avert Sweep, Stay Alive in 12

(NEWSER) - When it turns to October, no one dominates like Boston. Jason Bay slid headfirst into home plate to score on Jed Lowrie's two-out single in the ninth inning tonight as the defending World Series champs beat Los Angeles, 3-2, in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series. The Sox advance to play for the AL pennant for the fourth time in six seasons. More»

Phillies, too

(NEWSER) - Jason Bay and Manny Ramirez both proved why they’d been acquired last night. Bay hit a two-run shot to give the Red Sox a lead they never relinquished, sending Anaheim to a 4-1 defeat, while the man he was traded for hit a solo shot in the Dodgers' 7-2 win over the Cubs. But the Dodgers’ real hero was James Loney, who hit a grand slam in the fifth to erase a 2-run Cubs lead. More»

Matthews homers twice; Kotchman adds another

(NEWSER) - Casey Kotchman's solo home run put Los Angeles ahead in the sixth inning, Gary Matthews Jr. hit two solo homers of his own and the Angels snapped the Boston Red Sox's six-game winning streak with a 6-4 victory Wednesday night. Kotchman hit his sixth of the season off Craig Hansen, who was recalled before the game. More»

LA breaks slump against Texas, which had won seven of eight

(NEWSER) - Ervin Santana rebounded from a three-run first to pitch seven strong innings, Mike Napoli homered and Los Angeles handed the Texas Rangers their fourth straight loss, 7-4 Monday night. Closer Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save in five chances for the Angels, who had lost seven of their last eight against Texas. More»

Schilling leads Boston to 9-1 win over LA of Anaheim

(NEWSER) - Curt Schilling pitched seven shutout innings as his teammates put together a 9-1 thrashing of the Angels yesterday to sweep the American League Division Series, the Boston Globe reports. The Red Sox outscored the Angels 19-4 and owned all five home runs in the series, two of which came back-to-back from David Ortiz and Manny Ramierez yesterday. More»