Things Are Heating Up Out East

Alex Rodriguez homered for this fifth straight game Sunday night as Chien-Ming Wang (3.69 ERA) pitched seven good innings for his 18th victory to lead the New York Yankees in 6-3 win and sweep of the Kansas City Royals.

The Yanks chased Zack Greinke off the hill early, as he lasted just 3.2 innings with 3 earned runs, 2 hits and a strikeout.

After A-Rod nailed his 52nd homer if the season in the first, Wilson Betemit lined a double in the second that made it 3-0. KC third baseman Alex Gordon, who accounted for his team's only runs, tied it up with a three-run double in the fourth, but Jorge Posada tacked on two more for New York the next inning with a double to deep right. Robinson Cano added the last run on a single in the ninth.

Meanwhile, Josh Beckett (3.27 ERA) earned his 18th win for the Boston Red Sox after tossing 7 strong innings with 8 strikeouts for a 3-2 victory ver the Baltimore Orioles. The right-hander allowed just two runs -- both on solo shots -- from Melvin Mora in the fourth and Nick Markakis in the sixth.

Mike Lowell kicked off the scoring for Boston in the third, with a single that scored two.

Coco Crisp singled in the eighth to break the 2-2 tie and closer Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 35th save of the season. The Red Sox remain 5.5 games ahead of the Yankees in the AL East standings, as New York holds onto their four-game edge over the Detroit Tigers in the Wild Card race.