Lovely weekend for 5 sweeping beauties

The broomsticks were out in full force Sunday as five teams — the Red Sox, Nationals, Tigers, Phillies and Rockies — completed series sweeps.

The Red Sox capped the weekend by defeating the archrival Yankees, 8-7, at Fenway Park, securing a three-game sweep in their first head-to-head series of the season.

The remaining four sweeps were accomplished by a mix of perennial contenders and up-and-coming clubs, each putting a bow on the first month of the season and beginning May on a high note.

Nationals (17-7) Pitching in his hometown, Max Scherzer punctuated Washington’s sweep of the Cardinals with seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out nine. In total, the Nats’ rotation limited St. Louis to just three runs in 20 innings over the weekend.

The Nationals, who sit atop the National League East, rebounded from a three-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies at home to beat the Cards in St. Louis, outscoring them, 17-6. Next up is a date with the defending champions in Kansas City as Washington moves on to the second stop in its 10-game road trip.

Phillies (15-10) Backed by yet another stellar outing from Vince Velasquez, the Phillies narrowly edged the Indians with a 2-1 victory at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils, who weren’t expected to be among this year’s contenders in the NL East, have now won a season-best six straight games.

“For …

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