BASEBALL: Phillies, Bosox win

Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer and Jimmy Rollins had three hits and three steals last as the Phillies beat the Marlins 8-6 in Philadelphia.

The Phillies closed within 1 1/2 games of the NL East-leading Mets. They remain two behind in the loss column.

* Jon Lester pitched into the eighth, Jason Bay homered in a three-run first and the surging Red Sox beat Tampa Bay 3-0 in Boston to move within a half-game of the struggling AL East-leading Rays.

Before the game, the Red Sox activated right fielder J.D. Drew from the DL after he recovered from a strained lower back.

CYCLING: Report: Lance back

Lance Armstrong’s reported comeback won’t take place with the Astana cycling team.

“He is no part of our team,” Astana team press officer Philippe Maertens told the Associated Press in an e-mail. “Team Astana has no plans with him.”

The cycling journal VeloNews, citing anonymous sources, reported on its Web site yesterday that the 36-year-old, seven-time Tour de France champion would compete in the Tour and four other road races with Astana in 2009.

Armstrong did not immediately respond to a text message or voice mails left by the AP. Armstrong’s manager, Mark Higgins, and Bruyneel also did not respond to voice mails left by the AP.

VeloNews reported Armstrong will compete in the Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Georgia and the Dauphine-Libere, in addition to the Tour.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency confirmed Armstrong is part of its out-of-competition testing pool and would be eligible for elite competition on Feb. 1.

TRACK: Jamaica welcomes Bolt

Olympic champion Usain Bolt pointed to the sky in his signature victory pose as he returned to his native Jamaica yesterday. Jamaicans crowded the international airport in Kingston to celebrate Bolt, who won three gold medals at the Beijing Games.

BLOTTER: Porter killer sentenced

Rashad Raleigh, who pleaded guilty in the beating death of former Villanova basketball star Howard Porter last year, was sentenced in Minneapolis yesterday to life in prison without parole.

Porter led Villanova to the 1971 NCAA championship game and went on to play seven pro seasons, but his career was cut short by injuries and cocaine addiction.

* Former Florida basketball player Teddy Dupay was bound over in Salt Lake City for trial on charges of rape, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping.

Prosecutor Paul Christensen said Dupay, 29, pleaded not guilty to all three charges relating to a June 19 incident.