DETROIT (AP) -Casey Blake and Victor Martinez hit first-inning homers and Cleveland beat Detroit 7-4 on Friday night.
The game was the first of seven between the AL Central’s top teams in the next 10 days. The Indians’ victory gave them a half-game lead over Detroit.
Paul Byrd (5-1) allowed four runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings to improve to 4-0 in his last six starts.
Rafael Betancourt came in for Byrd and allowed one hit in 1 2-3 scoreless innings and Joe Borowski pitched the ninth for his 15th save.
Blake hit a drive to left off Nate Robertson with one out in the first for his fifth homer in 26 career at-bats against the left-hander. It was Blake’s sixth of the season.
Robertson (4-4) struck out Travis Hafner before Martinez homered into the tunnel beyond the right-field fence to make it 2-0.
Robertson went 5 2-3 innings, giving up five runs, 10 hits and three walks. He dropped to 1-3 in his last four starts.
Athletics 3, Orioles 2
BALTIMORE (AP) – Oakland’s Dan Haren pitched seven innings of two-hit ball for his fifth straight victory.
Nick Swisher hit a two-run homer for the Athletics, who have won 14 of their last 16 games at Camden Yards.
Haren (5-2) gave up a first-inning run, then allowed only two baserunners over the next six innings. He lowered his ERA to 1.70.
Alan Embree struck out Jay Gibbons with runners on the corners and two outs to earn his second save.
Erik Bedard (3-3) yielded six hits and three runs – two earned – in seven innings. Bedard struck out eight to take over the AL lead with 83. But Baltimore lost for the ninth time in 12 games to fall a season-high six games under .500 (21-27).
After losing his first two starts this season, Haren has gone unbeaten in nine straight starts. The victory improved his career record to 39-37, the first time he’s been two games over .500.
Angels 10, Yankees 6
NEW YORK (AP) – Casey Kotchman and Chone Figgins homered and Vladimir Guerrero doubled twice for Los Angeles.
The Angels had eight extra-base hits to support an unsteady Jered Weaver (4-3).
The Angels are the only AL team to hold an edge over New York since Joe Torre became its manager before the 1996 season. The Angels are 56-52 against the Yankees in the regular season – they’ve also beaten them twice in the playoffs.
Alex Rodriguez hit his major league-leading 19th home run and Robinson Cano had a late, three-run double that made it 10-6.
Guerrero and Kotchman each got three hits and Orlando Cabrera scored three times. The Angels scored three times in the fifth for a 6-2 lead, highlighted by an RBI double by Gary Matthews Jr. They broke open the game with four more runs in the sixth for a 10-3 lead.
Rookie Tyler Clippard (1-1) couldn’t duplicate last Sunday night’s success in his major league debut and middle relievers Matt DeSalvo and Luis Vizcaino were hit hard.
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