Rivera Ties Save Record, Phils Win NL East

New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera equaled the Major League Baseball (MLB) saves record on Saturday when he clinched a 7-6 win for the Bronx Bombers over the Toronto Blue Jays.

In Philadelphia, the Phillies won their fifth consecutive National League East title with a 9-2 win over St Louis, while Atlanta tightened their grip on the NL wild card race by beating the Mets 1-0.

In the American League wild card race, Tampa Bay closed the gap on Boston with a 4-3 win over the Red Sox on Saturday to trim Boston's advantage to three games.

New York Yankees closer Rivera came on in the ninth to record the final three outs and notch his 601st career save, equaling the all-time record set by Trevor Hoffman.

It was Rivera's 41st save this year and he now has almost two weeks left of the season to claim the outright record.

I would love to get it at home, Rivera said. I have no say about it until I have the opportunity about it. I just have to be ready for every situation.

The Yankees trailed 4-0 and 6-1 but rallied with four runs in the sixth and tagged on two more in the seventh to post their 91st win of the season and edge closer to securing a place in the playoffs.

FIELDING ERROR

In Philadelphia, a six-run eighth inning highlighted by a Raul Ibanez grand slam sent the Phillies to a 9-2 win over the St Louis Cardinals and sealed their fifth NL East division title in a row.

The Cardinals raised tension at Citizens Bank Park by scoring two runs in the top of the eighth to reduce the Phillies' lead to 3-2.

But Carlos Ruiz sparked Philadelphia's onslaught in the bottom of the inning, reaching second base on a fielding error and later scoring on an RBI single by Shane Victorino.

A bases-loaded single by Hunter Pence scored Jimmy Rollins, restoring Philadelphia's three-run lead and bringing Ibanez to the plate for his grand slam.

There's still work to be done, said Rollins. Ultimately, it's about winning the World Series. We still have work to do. We always look forward and never look back. This part is done, and we know what's ahead of us.

The Phillies victory ended Atlanta's hopes of winning the division but the Braves' 1-0 win over the New York Mets strengthened their position in the wild card race.

The Braves' win and the Cardinals' loss extended Atlanta's lead over St Louis to 4.5 games.

In the American League, Tampa Bay beat Boston 4-3, Ben Zobrist staking the Rays to a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the first inning before they made it 3-0 in the third.

Boston responded in the bottom of the third with two runs of their own before Evan Longoria singled home Brandon Guyer with two outs in the fifth to push the Rays lead to 4-2.

The Red Sox clawed another run back in the seventh inning but could not find the tying score.