TORONTO — The Boston Red Sox moved one step closer to the playoffs for the fifth time in six years.

David Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the third inning, Daisuke Matsuzaka remained unbeaten on the road and the Red Sox beat Toronto, 3-0, yesterday, eliminating the Blue Jays from postseason contention and clinching at least a tie for the AL wild card.

Boston (91-64) needs one more win or a New York loss to secure a playoff spot. New York beat Baltimore, 7-3, in the final regular season game at Yankee Stadium last night, a game Red Sox manager Terry Francona said he didn't plan on staying up late enough to watch.

"We don't take anything for granted, we never have," Francona said. "We played a pretty good game today. We'll show up tomorrow and, if we play good and do all our stuff, those magic numbers will take care of themselves."

The victory moved Boston 1 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East. The Rays, who lost yesterday, have eight games remaining, four each at Baltimore and Detroit.

"We really had to win today to put ourselves in the right spot for the rest of the week," catcher Jason Varitek said. "We've got a lot of fun baseball ahead of us."

The Red Sox return to Fenway Park today to close the regular season with a seven-game homestand, including four against Cleveland and three against the Yankees.

New York begins a three-game series in Toronto tomorrow before heading to Boston.

Matsuzaka (18-2) improved to 9-0 with a 2.31 ERA in 13 road starts, holding the Blue Jays to just two hits in seven innings. He struck out six and walked two.

Varitek said Matsuzaka was "phenomenal."

"That's not an easy lineup to face," Varitek said. "He was able to move the ball in and out, use his breaking ball to both sides, set it up with his heater. He did an awesome job today."

Hideki Okajima pitched a perfect eighth before Jonathan Papelbon closed it out for his 40th save in 45 opportunities.

Angels 7, Rangers 3: John Lackey gave up two hits and struck out a career-high 12 in six shutout innings, Mark Teixeira and Sean Rodriguez homered, and Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep of host Texas. Lackey (12-4) walked three and allowed only two runners to reach third as the AL West champs continued their playoff tuneup.

White Sox 3, Royals 0: John Danks (11-8) and two relievers combined on a four-hitter, and Paul Konerko hit a two-run homer as AL Central-leading Chicago beat host Kansas City. Danks allowed four hits and one walk, while striking out three in seven-plus innings.

Twins 4, Rays 1: Francisco Liriano allowed one run over seven innings to lead Minnesota past host Tampa Bay. Liriano (6-3) scattered five hits, helping Minnesota complete a long road trip with a 4-6 record.

Indians 10, Tigers 5: Ryan Garko went 4-for-4 with five RBIs, rookie Scott Lewis (3-0) won his third straight start and host Cleveland (78-77) moved over .500 for the first time in more than four months with its sixth straight victory over Detroit. Lewis allowed three runs and eight hits in five innings.

Athletics 5, Mariners 3: Jack Cust hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning and host Oakland complete a three-game sweep of last-place Seattle. Aaron Cunningham's pinch-hit, two-run double against Miguel Batista (4-14) in the seventh tied it and the A's earned their fourth season series win against the Mariners in five years.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Phillies 5, Marlins 2: Jamie Moyer (15-7) allowed one run in six innings and Philadelphia increased its lead in the NL East, beating host Florida and taking a 1 1/2-game edge over the New York Mets. Five relievers finished, with Brad Lidge closing for his 40th save in 40 chances.

Braves 7, Mets 6: Scott Schoeneweis and the Mets bullpen blew another late lead, with host Atlanta rallying for four runs in the eighth inning and a win that stalled New York's playoff push. The Mets' lead in the wild-card race was cut to 1 1/2 games by Milwaukee, which beat Cincinnati, 8-1. Down 4-3, Atlanta struck in the eighth against Schoeneweis (2-5) and three relievers.

Giants 1, Dodgers 0: Rich Aurilia hit a two-out, RBI single in the 11th inning for visiting San Francisco, trimming Los Angeles' lead in the NL West to 2 1/2 games over Arizona. Sergio Romo (3-1) pitched three perfect innings to earn the victory. Brian Wilson worked a 1-2-3 11th for his 40th save in 45 chances.

Diamondbacks 13, Rockies 4: Chris Young drove in four runs and Arizona kept its postseason push going by beating host Colorado. Young hit a single in the first inning, a solo homer in the second and a three-run triple over Ryan Spilborghs' outstretched glove in the fifth.

Brewers 8, Reds 1: Prince Fielder homered and drove in three runs, helping visiting Milwaukee beat Cincinnati and win for only the fifth time in 20 games. Fielder hit his fifth home run during a 12-game hitting streak. He also had a two-run double.

Cubs 5, Cardinals 1: Ryan Dempster (17-6) allowed one run in five innings as host Chicago kept on winning a day after clinching the NL Central title, beating St. Louis in its regular-season wrapup at Wrigley Field. The victory means the Cubs (94-60) need one more win to ensure home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.

Astros 6, Pirates 2: Roy Oswalt (16-10) held the Pirates to one run in six innings and backup catcher Brad Ausmus drove in two runs to lead Houston over host Pittsburgh. Miguel Tejada had three hits and drove in a run as the Astros took two of three in Pittsburgh to win a series for the first time since Hurricane Ike forced them to move an important set against the Cubs to Milwaukee.

Padres 6, Nationals 2: Adrian Gonzalez's 35th homer and Kevin Kouzmanoff's three RBIs backed Cha Seung Baek (6-9), who allowed one run over seven innings, and visiting San Diego swept a three-game series between the NL's worst teams. It's the first road sweep by San Diego since July 24-26, 2006, at Dodger Stadium.

NOTES

Angels: Los Angeles Angels lefty Joe Saunders has ongoing problems with a kidney stone that will cause him to miss tomorrow night's scheduled start against Seattle. Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Jered Weaver and Jon Garland would move ahead one day and pitch on their usual four days' rest. Saunders leads the AL West champions in wins, going 16-7 with a 3.52 ERA in 30 starts so far. His next start will probably be Sept. 28, the final day of the regular season.