Gary Sheffield, Carlos Guillen and Placido Polanco hit homers off C.C. Sabathia, turning a battle of All-Star pitchers into a rout as the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 12-3 on Thursday.
Like Sabathia, Justin Verlander (10-3) gave up a home run in the first inning before settling down. He gave up three runs -- two earned -- and six hits while striking out seven and walking none over seven innings.
Sabathia (12-3) gave up a season-high seven runs in a season-low four innings.
PHOTO: AP
Yankees 7, Twins 6
In New York, Hideki Matsui hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning and Mariano Rivera got out of a jam in the ninth for his 424th save, tying him with John Franco for third on the career list.
Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera also homered for New York, which played without Alex Rodriguez for the first time this season. Rodriguez sat out with a strained left hamstring.
Red Sox 15, Devil Rays 4
At Boston, Coco Crisp hit a grand slam in the first inning and Josh Beckett earned his 12th win as Boston handed Tampa Bay its 11th consecutive loss.
The Devil Rays were swept for the third straight series. A fourth this weekend in Kansas City would put them within one defeat of the franchise record of 15 straight losses set in 2002.
Mike Lowell had a career-high four hits of Boston's season-high total of 21, and he and Crisp each drove in five of Boston's season-high 15 runs.
The Red Sox led 6-0 lead after one inning, 9-0 after two and 13-2 after three, when Beckett (12-2) already had seven strikeouts. The All-Star right-hander finished with nine, allowing three runs, nine hits and a walk in six innings.
White Sox 11, Orioles 6
At Chicago, Tadahito Iguchi fell a single shy of the cycle, and Jermaine Dye hit a three-run homer to lead Chicago over Baltimore.
The 11 runs were a season high for the White Sox, who have won eight of 11 and are turning around a bad start to the season.
Dye's shot in the first inning capped a five-run burst, and Iguchi's two-run drive in the second made it 7-0, ending the game for Baltimore starter Brian Burres (4-3).
Angels 5, Rangers 2
At Arlington, Kelvim Escobar won his 10th game despite being snubbed again for a spot in the All-Star game and Los Angeles avoided a three-game sweep with victory over Texas.
Left off the initial American League roster released Sunday, Escobar had another chance to make the team via internet voting. But Boston reliever Hideki Okajima beat out Escobar and three others in voting that ended Thursday to determine the final player.
Escobar (10-3) allowed one run and three hits over seven innings, with eight strikeouts and three walks.
Athletics 3, Mariners 2
At Oakland, Nick Swisher and Bobby Crosby hit home runs to help Oakland down Seattle.
Oakland starter Chad Gaudin (8-3) continued his surprising season, allowing eight hits over seven innings. The eight wins match his career total entering the season. He walked four and struck out three. Alan Embree pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 11 opportunities.
Kim Byung-hyun outdueled Major League Baseball All-Star Jake Peavy, leading the Florida Marlins to a 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Thursday and earning his first victory since May 28.
Kim and four relievers combined to hold the Padres to three hits as the Marlins split the four-game series with the National League's West Division leaders.
Kim (4-4) allowed two runs and three hits -- all for extra bases -- in 6 1-3 innings, matching his longest outing of the year. He struck out seven and walked two.
Pirates 6, Brewers 3
In Pittsburgh, Adam LaRoche homered twice and Tom Gorzelanny outpitched Ben Sheets as the Pirates handed the NL Central Division leaders their third straight loss.
In other NL action it was:
* Chicago Cubs 4, Washington 2
* Cincinnati 6, San Francisco 3
* St. Louis 3, Arizona 2
* NY Mets 6, Houston 2
* Atlanta 8, LA Dodgers 6
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