Rookie pitcher Phil Hughes dominated Cleveland for six innings as the New York Yankees began a challenging stretch of games with a 6-1 win over the Indians on Friday.
Alex Rodriguez, who became the youngest player to reach the 500-homer plateau last week, connected for his 37th homer in the second inning off Fausto Carmona (13-7) to lift his total to 501.
The shot to straightaway center set the tone for the Yankees, who improved to 21-8 since July 12.
PHOTO: AP
Hughes (2-1) allowed one run and four hits in six innings. It was his second start since spending three months on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.
Derek Jeter had three hits and Bobby Abreu drove in a pair of runs for the Yankees, who were managed by bench coach Don Mattingly while Joe Torre served a one-game suspension.
Josh Barfield homered for the Indians, who all wore uniform No. 14 in a tribute to late Hall of Famer Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League.
Athletics 16, Tigers 10
At Detroit, Jack Cust hit a grand slam and drove in seven runs and Oakland rallied after blowing a seven-run lead to beat Detroit.
Travis Buck had four hits, scored three times and drove in three runs for Oakland. Donnie Murphy homered and drove in three runs as the Athletics handed Detroit its seventh loss in nine games.
Blue Jays 2, Royals 1
At Kansas City, Missouri, Shaun Marcum carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Toronto held on to beat Kansas City.
Marcum (9-4) left after Billy Butler's infield single with two outs broke up the no-hit bid.
Orioles 6, Red Sox 5
At Baltimore, Brian Roberts led off the ninth inning with a double and scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by Nick Markakis, giving Baltimore a win over Boston.
The Orioles rallied from a 5-1 deficit with a four-run eighth against Eric Gagne, then won it in the ninth against Hideki Okajima (3-1).
White Sox 5, Mariners 3
At Chicago, rookie Josh Fields hit two homers, Jermaine Dye went deep and Juan Uribe doubled in the go-ahead run in the seventh to power Chicago past Seattle.
Tied at 3, the Mariners failed to capitalize after loading the bases with one out in the seventh and paid for it in the bottom half.
Rangers 7, Devil Rays 4
At Arlington, Frank Catalanotto hit the go-ahead homer and had a career-high five RBIs to lead Texas over Tampa Bay.
Catalanotto went 3-for-4 and is 11-for-24 (.458) with nine RBIs in his last seven games.
Cubs 6, Rockies 2
At Denver, Jason Marquis held the Rockies to five hits and added a key double as Chicago beat Colorado for the second straight night.
Marquis (9-7) lasted six innings, allowing only an unearned run. He didn't walk a batter and struck out five to win his first road game since May 2. He was 0-4 in his previous seven road starts since beating the Pirates 7-1 in Pittsburgh.
Angels 10, Twins 1
At Anaheim, California, Maicer Izturis hit his first career grand slam to help Kelvim Escobar end a personal three-game losing streak for Los Angeles and help the Angels beat Minnesota.
Escobar (12-6) allowed a run and five hits over six innings. He struck out four, walked one and escaped bases-loaded jams in the third and sixth innings.
Barry Bonds hit career homer No. 758 and his third home run of the week and rookie Rajai Davis singled, doubled, tripled and scored four runs, but it wasn't enough as the San Francisco Giants' lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 on Friday.
Adam LaRoche hit a solo homer in the fourth for Pittsburgh, which rallied with six runs in the eighth.
Marlins 4, Mets 3
At New York, Hanley Ramirez hit a go-ahead, two-run double off Billy Wagner in the ninth inning as Florida rallied past New York.
Carlos Beltran hit a three-run homer in his return from the disabled list to give the Mets a 3-2 lead.
Phillies 5, Braves 4
At Philadelphia, Jayson Werth scored the winning run on a throwing error by Yunel Escobar in the seventh inning and Philadelphia hung on for its third win in four games.
Cole Hamels (13-5) gave up four runs and five hits in the first inning, but retired 17 of his last 19 batters.
Dodgers 2, Cardinals 1
At St. Louis, James Loney broke a scoreless tie with a two-run homer off Adam Wainwright with one out in the ninth inning and Los Angeles held on to beat St. Louis.
After Russell Martin singled, Loney, who batted third for the fourth time this season, hit his fifth homer and first since July 24.
It was the first long ball Wainwright (10-9) allowed in seven starts. He gave up two runs and six hits in his first complete game.
Padres 12, Reds 7, 11 innings
At Cincinnati, Khalil Greene homered and drove in three runs, including the go-ahead run in the 11th, and San Diego overcame a rare blown save by Trevor Hoffman to beat Cincinnati.
David Weathers (2-4), Cincinnati's sixth relief pitcher, walked the bases loaded with one out to set up Greene's sacrifice fly. Josh Bard followed with a two-run triple down the right field line and Kevin Kouzmanoff greeted reliever Victor Santos with a two-run homer.
Brewers 5, Astros 4, 11 innings
At Houston, Corey Hart hit an RBI triple off Brian Moehler in the top of the 11th inning and Milwaukee snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Houston.
Chris Spurling (2-1) shut out the Astros in the 10th to earn the victory and Francisco Cordero pitched a perfect 11th for his 35th save in 41 chances.
Diamondbacks 11, Nationals 4
At Phoenix, Conor Jackson drove in four runs with two homers and Arizona beat Washington for its 16th win in 19 games.
Three Nationals players hit solo home runs in the sixth to tie it at 4, but Mark Reynolds and Miguel Montero each singled in a pair of runs in the five-run seventh for the Diamondbacks.
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