Yanks have regrouped

NEW YORK — That record-setting defeat appears to have stirred up the Yankees.

Gary Sheffield had three RBIs to reach 100 for the seventh time, Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run homer and Jon Lieber pitched seven shutout innings to lead New York to its second straight win, 9-1 over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.

With its AL East lead over second-place Boston cut to 3 1/2 games from 10 1/2 on Aug. 16, the Yankees have faced a torrent of questions this week, especially following Tuesday night's 22-0 loss to the Indians. The Yankees rebounded with a 5-3 victory Wednesday, then quickly broke on top Thursday when Jorge Posada hit an RBI single in the first and Rodriguez hit his 33rd homer to cap a five-run second against Cliff Lee (10-7).

Sheffield hit an RBI single off third baseman Casey Blake in the second, had a run-scoring double in the fourth against Kazuhito Tadano, doubled again in the sixth and added a sacrifice fly in the eighth to raise his RBIs total to 101.

ATHLETICS 4, WHITE SOX 2: At Chicago, Mark Redman pitched seven strong innings and Billy McMillon homered to lead Oakland past Chicago.

Redman (10-10) became the fourth Oakland pitcher to reach double digits in wins, allowing four hits and two runs. He retired his final 13 batters, and the AL West-leading A's won for the 14th time in 16 games.

Jim Mecir got two outs in the eighth and Octavio Dotel finished for his 17th AL save in 22 chances as Oakland bounced right back after its eight-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday night.

ORIOLES 13, DEVIL RAYS 2: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Miguel Tejada drove in three more runs and Erik Bedard pitched seven impressive innings, leading Baltimore over Tampa Bay.

Tejada increased his AL-leading total to 121 RBIs for the Orioles, who have won four straight following a 12-game losing streak. They finished their first three-game sweep of the Devil Rays, who lost their sixth in a row overall. Baltimore outscored Tampa Bay 31-8 in the series.

Bedard (6-9) allowed one run and six hits. He was 1-5 in his previous seven starts.

Dewon Brazelton (6-6) gave up six runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.

The Devil Rays held meetings the past couple days about Hurricane Frances and have been in contact with major league baseball. Tampa Bay is scheduled to host a three-game series against Detroit this weekend, but those games could be postponed. A decision was expected Friday.