Cardinals into play-offs

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National League

St Louis became the first Major League team to book their spot in the play-offs this season after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-0.

San Francisco's 5-1 defeat to San Diego means St Louis will finish in the top two in the NL Central and will have more victories than both the NL East and NL West runners-up, which means they are guaranteed at least a wildcard.

The Cardinals beat Arizona despite losing pitcher Chris Carpenter with an injury in the fourth inning.

Mike Matheny got his fifth RBI in five games for St Louis, who won for only the fifth time in 11 games.

Barry Bonds hit his 701st home run but could not stop the Giants losing 5-1 at home to the Padres.

Jay Payton's three-run shot in the seventh proved the decisive moment of the game.

Payton homered off Jason Schmidt (16-7), who has only one win in his last seven starts.

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American League

The New York Yankees bounced back to beat bitter rivals Boston 14-4 on Saturday.

The Yankees, who lost game one of a pivotal series on Friday, gained hitting momentum behind the solid pitching of Jon Lieber.

Jorge Posada drove home two of his team-mates in a five-run first innings and later hit a solo home run.

Alex Rodriguez added a three-run homer and the out-of-form Bernie Williams got back into the swing of things with a home run and three RBIs against the Red Sox.

Lieber (12-8) won for the fourth time in five decisions, allowing just one runner in the first six innings against the highest-scoring team in the majors.

His counterpart Derek Lowe fared less well, letting eight of 11 batters reach base, before leaving the field injured after being charged with seven runs in his shortest outing since 1997.