Hudson Celebrates In Style

Tim Hudson brought up his 200th career victory in style as he tossed seven strong innings and also excelled with the bat as the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 8-1.

Hudson held the Nationals to one run on three hits and threw in a home run, a double and a run scored for good measure.

The Braves now lead the Nationals by 4.5 games in the NL East, with the Philadelphia Phillies 5.5 games behind after they were beaten up in a 14-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Roy Halladay - another member of the 200-win club - was chased from the game early on as he gave up eight runs in 3 2/3 innings, and Cleveland connected for a total of seven home runs.

The battle at the bottom of the NL East served up another thrilling finish. One night after a 15-inning marathon, the Miami Marlins - fresh from the blow of losing Giancarlo Stanton to a hamstring injury - rallied in the ninth inning to beat the New York Mets 2-1.

Pablo Sandoval hit a ninth-inning two-run homer off Arizona closer JJ Putz as the San Francisco Giants came back for a 2-1 victory which moves them level with the Diamondbacks at 15-12 in the NL West. Both clubs are 1.5 games back from the Colorado Rockies, who lost 6-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The San Diego Padres enjoyed another big win over the Chicago Cubs, winning 13-7 at Wrigley Field where Yonder Alonso, Carlos Quentin and Nick Hundley all homered.

The St Louis Cardinals have pulled level with Pittsburgh at the top of the NL Central after edging out the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 while the Pirates lost a home-run contest 12-8 to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Boston Red Sox still have the best record in baseball but only just after coughing up a late lead to lose 9-7 to the Toronto Blue Jays.

That allowed the New York Yankees to move within two games of their arch-rivals at the top of the American League East with a 7-4 victory over the Houston Astros, but the Baltimore Orioles are hot on the Yankees' heels after beating the Seattle Mariners 7-2.

Elsewhere, the Detroit Tigers defeated the Minnesota Twins 6-1, the Kansas City Royals crushed the Tampa Bay Rays 8-2, the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox 10-6 and held on to their place at the top of the AL Central with a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins and the Oakland Athletics enjoyed a 10-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels.