MLB Odds: Yankees Take AL Lead with 4th Win in a Row

With A-Rod coming back soon the Yankees sit atop the AL East. (AP Images)

The AL East race will undoubtedly have plenty of twists and turns down the stretch towards October, but as of last night the New York Yankees are on top.

The Yankees, whose MLB odds are 3/2 to win the AL Championship, defeated the Oakland A's 9-3 Tuesday. With the Tampa Bay Rays getting blown up 13-5 by the Toronto Blue Jays, New York has a one-game lead in the East. This is the first time an AL East squad isn't tied on top in over a week.

New York's fourth win in a row wasn't pretty for their ace Phil Hughes.  Hughes (16-6) walked five but only gave up two runs and four hits in five innings.

" I just couldn't get my mechanics down. It was all over the place,'' Hughes said. " It's not fun to pitch like that."

Luckily he had more than enough bats to help him out. The Yankees jumped on A's pitcher Vin Mazarro from the jump, scoring three runs in the first inning. Home runs from Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher also went deep to seal the deal.

The Yankees play the A's again tonight at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. You can play every pitch like you're on the mound yourself with Bodog Live betting in the Bodog Sportsbook.