Rain delays Twins-Tigers showdown to Tuesday … DETROIT(AP) The AL Central showdown was put on hold.  —  Steady rain Monday night postponed the opener of a crucial four-game series between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins .  The first-place Tigers lead the Twins by two games with seven to play.

Beckett scratched as Sox close in  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio  —  The Red Sox [team stats] may be looking at a magic number of 2 before they're officially in the playoffs, but they are already attempting to get their battled veterans ready for the long haul.

Chris Carter Designated For Assignment  —  The Boston Red Sox have designated Chris Carter for assignment, according to a press release.  The 27-year-old outfielder played in 13 games for the Red Sox in 2008 and 2009, and was hitless in five plate appearances this season.

Phillies' lead trimmed to 4 with another loss  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Yorman Bazardo (FSY) pitched 5 2/3 effective innings against the team that cut him in spring training, and helped the Houston Astros beat Philadelphia 8-2 on Monday night, preventing the Phillies from reducing their magic number.

Francoeur: It's great to be young and a Met  —  New York Mets' Jeff Francoeur follows through with his swing as he hits a home run, scoring teammates Carlos Beltran and Daniel Murphy, during the second inning of a baseball game against the Florida Marlins, Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, in Miami.

Braves creep closer to Rockies  —  ATLANTA—Jair Jurrjens pitched seven outstanding innings, Chipper Jones homered and the Atlanta Braves beat Florida 4-0 Monday night for their 15th win in 17 games, a stretch that has lifted them into playoff contention with less than a week to go in the regular season.

Nats 2, Mets 1: Five to go  —  Congratulations to Nationals lefthander Ross Detwiler, who picked up his first major-league win Monday at the Mets' expense.  Nelson Figueroa again was the hard-luck loser as the Mets lost to Washington, 2-1.  The tiebreaking run came in the sixth on Mike Morse's solo homer off Figueroa.

Game 157: Royals at Yankees (updated with Girardi pre-game audio)  —  YANKEES (100-56)  —  Pitching: RHP Chad Gaudin (1-0, 3.71).  —  ROYALS (64-92)  —  Maier LF  —  Betancourt SS  —  Butler 1B  —  Jacobs DH  —  Callaspo 2B  —  Teahen RF  —  Olivo C  —  Gordon 3B  —  Anderson CF

Angels beat Rangers to clinch AL West title  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kendry Morales (FSY) homered and drove in three runs, and the Los Angeles Angels wasted no time clinching their fifth AL West title in six seasons with an 11-0 victory over the second-place Texas Rangers on Monday night.

Chisox's Danks beats Indians with three-hitter  —  John Danks (FSY) had a warm feeling on a windy, rainy night and his Chicago White Sox out of the playoff race.  —  Danks (13-10) pitched his first career complete game for his first win in more than a month as Chicago beat the Cleveland Indians 6-1 on Monday night.