With closer Francisco Rodriguez saving two-thirds of their wins, the Los Angeles Angels own the best record in baseball.
Take a look at what they've done against top competition, too.
Rodriguez reached 40 saves faster than anyone in big league history, and the Angels rallied past the visiting Boston Red Sox 5-3 on Sunday to complete an impressive three-game sweep.
Casey Kotchman's two-run double capped a three-run eighth inning that carried Los Angeles to its fifth straight victory. The Angels improved to 5-1 against the defending World Series champions, clinching their first season series over Boston since 2001.
"It feels good, but there's a lot of baseball left," said Howie Kendrick, who doubled home the tying run. "Any time you beat these guys, it's a big deal. We're just happy to come out with a couple of wins and keep rolling."
Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter homered on consecutive pitches from knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (6-7), helping the Angels become the first team in the majors with 60 wins.
The American League West leaders, 39-18 against clubs with winning records, are a season-high 22 games over .500. They are nine games ahead of second-place Oakland - none of the other five division leaders has a cushion of more than two games.
"We've got a long road ahead of us," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We played well this weekend, (but) I don't see any carryover. The season's more than this weekend. We have to keep going."
In other AL games, it was: Yankees 2, Athletics 1; Tigers 5, Orioles 1; Blue Jays 9, Rays 4; Royals 8, White Sox 7; Rangers 1, Twins 0, and Indians 6, Mariners 2.
In the National League, it was: Dodgers 6, Diamondbacks 5; Cardinals 9, Padres 5; Marlins 3, Phillies 2 (in 11 innings); Cubs 9, Astros 0; Mets 7, Reds 5 (in 10 innings); Rockies 11, Pirates 3; Brewers 7, Giants 4, and Nationals 15, Braves 6.
In Los Angeles, with another late comeback, the Angels completed their first three-game sweep of Boston in seven years. They scored four runs in the seventh on Saturday for a 4-2 win.
The Red Sox have been a nemesis in October, especially. The Angels have lost nine straight playoff games to Boston, including first-round sweeps in 2004 and last year.
"The reason we didn't have success against them in the past is we didn't get the clutch hit," Rodriguez said. "This series, everything came around pretty good."
Darren Oliver (3-1) fanned three in 1 1/3 hitless innings to earn the win, and Rodriguez struck out the side in the ninth for his 40th save in 43 chances. He reached 40 saves in 98 games - 10 faster than Atlanta's John Smoltz did five years ago.
"To get to 40 at this time is unbelievable," Rodriguez said. "Last year, I got to 40 in the last game of the season."
The Red Sox lost for the 10th time in 12 road games and remained 1 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Tampa Bay. "We had a lead and didn't hold it," manager Terry Francona said. "Those are the types of games you've got to win."
In Phoenix, Arizona, the Dodgers scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning to stun the Diamondbacks and move into a tie for first place in the NL West.
Trailing 1-4, the Dodgers rallied off reliever Brandon Lyon and scored five runs on six hits in the inning, with Andre Ethier's triple driving in the go-ahead run.
Los Angeles and Arizona are now tied for the NL West lead, both with 48-50 records, in the only division in the major leagues that does not have any teams with winning records.
Arizona's Brandon Webb went eight solid innings but was denied his major league-leading 14th win of the season. He allowed one run on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks, leaving the game with a 4-1 lead.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily July 22, 2008)