MLB ROUNDUP \ Thursday’s other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Tigers 8, Yankees 5

NEW YORK — Carlos Guillen hit a first-inning grand slam off Mike Mussina, and Ivan Rodriguez also homered to help Detroit beat suddenly struggling New York. Justin Verlander held New York’s lineup in check and the Tigers won the opener of a key four-game series to move back into first place in the AL Central, a half-game ahead of idle Cleveland. Gary Sheffield finished 0-for-3 with a pair of walks in his return to Yankee Stadium. The Tigers and Yankees, both in a tight race for AL playoff spots, meet seven more times in the next 11 days. This was their first matchup since Detroit’s upset in the first round of the 2006 postseason. New York fell 51⁄2 games behind first-place Boston in the AL East. Magglio Ordonez, Brandon Inge and Sean Casey each had an RBI single for Detroit, which took advantage of a crucial error by third baseman Alex Rodriguez in the first. Bobby Abreu hit a two-run homer, but the Yankees lost their third straight following a 9-1 stretch. Mussina (8-8) won his previous four starts before getting tagged for seven runs — six earned — and nine hits in five innings. Verlander (13-4) allowed three runs and seven hits in 51⁄3 innings to win his second consecutive start. The right-hander threw 119 pitches, one shy of his season high.

Angels 4, Blue Jays 3

TORONTO — Kelvim Escobar shut down his former team, Gary Matthews Jr. homered as Los Angeles held on to beat Toronto. Escobar (13-6) allowed one run and five hits over seven innings, walked none and struck out nine. He won back-to-back starts for the first time since mid-June and lowered his ERA to 2.68, the second-best mark in the American League. Oakland right-hander Dan Haren has a 2.54 ERA.

Athletics 8, White Sox 5, 10 innings

OAKLAND, Calif. — Kurt Suzuki homered for the second straight day, a game-winning, three-run home run in the 10th inning, as Oakland completed a three-game sweep. Designated hitter Mike Piazza had three hits including a triple and home run for the A’s, who won their fourth straight game. The White Sox lost their fifth in a row.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cardinals 8, Brewers 0

MILWAUKEE — Adam Wainwright gave up two hits in seven scoreless innings and Yadier Molina put on a rare power display with two homers as St. Louis completed a three-game sweep. It was the first career multi-homer game for Molina, who came into Thursday’s game with only one home run this season. He drove in all three of the Cardinals’ runs through the first eight innings.

Cubs 12, Reds 4

CHICAGO — Mark DeRosa went 5-for-5 with four RBIs and Chicago scored seven times in the seventh to win for just the fifth time in the last 15 games. Jacque Jones added four hits for the Cubs. Jason Marquis (10-7) allowed seven hits and four runs — all of those coming in the second — over six innings plus as Chicago salvaged one win in the three-game series.

Giants 9, Braves 3

ATLANTA — The Giants homered in each of the first four innings off Chuck James, scored in every inning until the eighth and went on to salvage the finale of a three-game series. San Francisco jumped ahead quickly on Bengie Molina’s three-run homer in the first. He batted cleanup in place of Barry Bonds, who got the night off after hitting his 759th career homer Wednesday.

Phillies 4, Nationals 2

WASHINGTON — Cole Hamels pitched 62⁄3 shutout innings for his 14th victory, tying for the NL lead in wins, and Philadelphia took its third straight series. Hamels (14-5) allowed four hits, struck out six, walked two and pitched into the seventh inning for his sixth straight start. He has won five of his last six decisions.

Diamondbacks 5, Marlins 4

MIAMI — Livan Hernandez shook off a rough start to pitch seven innings, and Arizona won for the 19th time in 24 games. Hernandez (9-7) gave up three runs in the first, then allowed only one run over the next six innings. The right-hander struck out none but walked only one, and he also had two hits and scored a run.

Associated Press