Gary Sheffield homered on a day he dealt with a controversy, and journeyman Aaron Small won again to lead the New York Yankees to a 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday.
Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter faced questions before the game about an interview Sheffield gave to New York magazine in which he strongly suggested he was the leader of the team. Manager Joe Torre said he would talk to Sheffield about his comments.
"He certainly doesn't shy away from any controversy or back off the way he feels just because it makes somebody else happy," Torre said. "But he knows what his job is. No matter what the situation or what the talk is, he still goes after it."
In his first at-bat, Sheffield hit a two-run shot off Gustavo Chacin (11-6).
Small (3-0) has helped stabilize the back of the Yankees' battered rotation, winning three of his four starts since being brought up from the minors.
"I know I'm an insurance policy. I've been that for the last six or seven years," Small said. "This has been a dream come true."
Tanyon Sturtze gave up a run in the ninth, and Mariano Rivera got the last out for his 28th straight save since blowing his first two chances in the season-opening series against Boston.
Indians 9, Tigers 6
At Detroit, Casey Blake and Coco Crisp both homered and drove in three runs as Cleveland did all its scoring in the sixth inning and beat Detroit.
Blake and Jhonny Peralta both had three of Cleveland's 16 hits. The Indians sent 15 batters to the plate and had 10 hits in the sixth -- both season highs for an inning -- when they took a 9-1 lead.
C.C. Sabathia (7-9) broke a five-game losing streak, allowing five runs and five hits in six-plus innings, walking three and striking out five.
Nate Robertson (5-10) took the loss, giving up six runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings.
Orioles 10, Rangers 5
At Arlington, Texas, Jay Gibbons and Brian Roberts homered in a six-run third inning against C.J. Wilson (0-4), and Baltimore beat Texas to remain unbeaten in two games under interim manager Sam Perlozzo.
Baltimore's Luis Matos had three hits and is 11-for-19 against Texas this season. Roberts also had three hits.
Staked to a 10-0 lead in the fourth inning, Bruce Chen (8-6) took advantage and snapped a streak of five straight winless starts.
Mark Teixeira hit his 29th homer, Hank Blalock his 22nd, and Alfonso Soriano added his 27th for the Rangers, who lost for the eighth time in nine home games. Mark DeRosa also homered in the ninth for Texas' final run.
Mariners 4, White Sox 2
At Chicago, Richie Sexson homered and later doubled in the go-ahead run, helping Joel Pineiro earn his first win in a month as Seattle beat Chicago.
The White Sox (70-38) have the best record in the majors but have lost 10 of their last 14 home games.
Pineiro (4-7) won for the first time since July 7, allowing eight hits and two runs in 6 1-3 innings, walking one and striking out four. The Mariners' bullpen did the rest, pitching 2 2-3 innings of hitless relief.
Eddie Guardado finished for his 25th straight save and 26th in 27 chances.
Freddy Garcia (11-5), who spent five-plus years with the Mariners, had lost just once in his previous 14 starts. But two of his five losses this season are to his former team, which also beat him on April 17.
Twins 12, Red Sox 0
At Minneapolis, Brad Radke's seven strong innings and a number of bad throws by Boston helped Minnesota snap the Red Sox's eight-game winning streak.
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