MLB round-up: Yankees avenge Mets defeat

The Yankees record 4-3 victory over city rivals the Mets as title challengers slip up against the Washington Nationals.

New York Yankees' Eric Chavez and Nick Swisher celebrate their win against the New York Mets.

The

New York Yankees

strengthened their position at the top of the American League East and gained revenge for Friday's defeat by their city rivals the

Mets

with a 4-3 win on Saturday night.

All four Yankees runs came in the seventh inning, Raul Ibanez levelling the match with a three-run homer before Eric Chavez also went yard.

And there was a further boost as nearest pursuers the

Baltimore Orioles

were beaten 3-1 by the

Washington Nationals

. Edwin Jackson pitched into the seventh inning and gave up just one hit and Adam LaRoche homered for the Nats, who lead the National League East ahead of the Mets.

The

Atlanta Braves

missed the chance to go second in the division when they were beaten 8-4 by the

Boston Red Sox

, whose in-form rookie Will Middlebrooks hit a solo homer and an RBI double.

The

Chicago White Sox

closed to within half a game of AL Central leaders the Cleveland Indians thanks to an 8-6 victory over the

Milwaukee Brewers

.

Dayan Viciedo piled up four runs including a two-run long ball as the Sox produced a performance in stark contrast to Friday's 10-inning 1-0 defeat.

The

Indians

went down 8-1 to the

Houston Astros

, Dallas Kuechel pitching a complete-game win in front of his parents in only his second Major League start.

The NL Central's leading pair, the

Cincinnati Reds

and the

Pittsburgh Pirates

, both enjoyed comfortable wins after strong showings by their pitchers.

Cincy's Johnny Cueto struck out nine in seven innings of three-hit ball and also drove in two runs in a 6-0 win over the

Minnesota Twins

.

Brad Lincoln allowed only two hits in six innings in Pittsburgh's 4-1 triumph over the

Detroit Tigers

, which was powered by Andrew McCutcheon's three-run homer.

The third-placed

St Louis Cardinals

beat the

Kansas City Royals

8-2 to remain three games behind the Reds.

The

Los Angeles Dodgers

and the

San Francisco Giants

kept up their momentum in the NL West, the Dodgers beating city rivals the

Angels

3-1 while San Francisco edged the

Oakland Athletics

9-8. Brandon Belt homered and drove in three runs in a game which lasted over four hours and saw 12 pitchers throw 385 pitches.

AL West leaders the

Texas Rangers

failed to take advantage of the Angels' defeat as they went down 11-7 to the

Colorado Rockies

, with four runs coming from back-to-back singles by Tyler Colvin and Chris Nelson in the third.

Elsewhere, the

Philadelphia Phillies

beat the

Tampa Bay Rays

7-6 on a walk-off homer by Jim Thome. The two sides' game on Friday night was rained off, meaning they will play a double-header on Sunday.

The

Toronto Blue Jays

hammered the

Miami Marlins

7-1, the

Seattle Mariners

won 5-1 against the

San Diego Padres

and the

Arizona Diamondbacks

overcame the

Chicago Cubs

10-5.

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