-Yankees 6, Red Sox 7: Dice-K gave up three early runs, but solo homers from Ramirez, Varitek, Drew and Lowell in the fourth inning kept the Red Sox in the game. The big headline here is that the Yankees were swept and are now sitting in third place and four games back in the AL East. The bigger headline? A-Rod didn’t hit a homer.

-Braves 9, Mets 6: Kelly Johnson had his first multi-home run game of his career, helping push the Braves a half game ahead of the Mets in the NL East. John Smoltz vs. Tom Glavine was living up to its billing until the sixth inning when John Smoltz gave up five runs on four hits. Edgar Renteria tied the game in the seventh with a two-run homer, and then Kelly’s three-run shot, his second of the night, put the Braves ahead for good.

-Phillies 9, Reds 3: Back-to-back! Make that two in a row for the Phillies, who are now 6-11 and on the rise. In his first game returning from injury, Ryan Howard went yard, his second of the year. Freddy Garcia gave up only two runs in five innings, and the Phillies ‘pen — considered a weak spot — only gave up one run in four innings pitched.

-White Sox 5, Tigers 6: Marcus Thames tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a home run, and Placido Palanco provided the winning base hit in the bottom of the 12th to give the Tigers the victory. It was Sheffield’s day off in Detroit, and in a close game like this, it was probably a good move. Sheff’s hitting only .119 this year with no homers, and hasn’t had a hit in his last twelve at-bats.

-Blue Jays 3, Orioles 7: I’d be lying if I said the O’s haven’t snuck up on me; until today, I didn’t even realize they had a winning record. Miguel Tejada went 3-4 with three RBI’s, guiding Baltimore to its fourth straight win and an 11-7 overall record.

-Standings

• AL East: Red Sox, 12-5
• AL Central: Twins, 11-7
• AL West: A’s, 9-9
• NL East: Braves, 12-6
• NL Central: Brewers, 11-7
• NL West: Dodgers, 13-6