AL roundup: Greinke grinds out another win

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Zack Greinke struck out eight while pitching his fifth complete game and Mitch Maier drove in three runs after coming off the bench, leading the Kansas City Royals past the Detroit Tigers 6-1 Tuesday night.

Greinke (8-1), who leads the majors in ERA, complete games and shutouts (two), allowed six hits and one first-inning run. For the rest of the night, his varied assortment of 98 mph fastballs and corner-biting breaking pitches dealt nothing but zeros to a Detroit lineup that scored 13 runs the day before.

Greinke threw a season-high 116 pitches and did not allow a walk while his ERA rose from 0.82 to 0.84. In two starts against the Tigers this year, he has allowed one earned run in two complete-game wins.

ORIOLES 7, BLUE JAYS 2: At Baltimore, Aubrey Huff, Adam Jones and Nolan Reimold homered, right-hander Jason Berken won his major league debut and the Orioles defeated Toronto to stretch the Blue Jays' losing streak to eight games. Summoned from Triple-A Norfolk to replace Adam Eaton in the rotation, Berken (1-0) gave up two runs, seven hits and three walks in five innings.

INDIANS 5, RAYS 1: At Cleveland, Carl Pavano won for the fifth time in six starts and Ryan Garko hit one of four homers for the Indians in a win over the Rays. Asdrubal Cabrera, Kelly Shoppach and Mark DeRosa also connected for the Indians, who won for the fifth time in seven games and earned their 15th consecutive home win over the Rays since Sept. 29, 2005. Pavano (5-4) allowed one run and four hits over seven innings. The right-hander walked two and struck out six to continue an outstanding month. He's 5-1 with a 3.58 ERA and only seven walks against 30 strikeouts since May 1.

TWINS 5, RED SOX 2: At Minneapolis, Justin Morneau's three-run homer capped a five-run fifth inning for Minnesota against Boston starter Jon Lester, and the Twins beat the Red Sox. Nick Blackburn (4-2) struck out a career-high seven in seven innings for Minnesota, yielding a double and a walk to new No. 6 hitter David Ortiz, and the suddenly powerful Twins set up Morneau's shot with the small ball they're more familiar with.

ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 3: At Oakland, Calif., Jason Giambi's two-run single capped a four-run rally in the seventh inning, and the Athletics rallied for a victory over Seattle. A's starter Dallas Braden (4-5) was unexpectedly rewarded for battling through seven innings of nine-hit ball when his teammates pounded Seattle relievers Miguel Batista (2-1) and Mark Lowe, who wasted six scoreless innings by Jarrod Washburn.

WHITE SOX 4, ANGELS 2: At Anaheim, Calif., Jayson Nix homered twice, Bartolo Colon pitched effectively into the seventh inning against his former team and Chicago beat Los Angeles. Nix, who had been 0-for-7 on Chicago's road trip, hit solo shots in the fifth and seventh innings for his first career multihomer game. Scott Linebrink earned his first save of the season for Chicago.

RANGERS 7, YANKEES 3: At Arlington, Texas, Chris Davis hit two solo home runs and Marlon Byrd added a pair of two-out RBIs as the Rangers rolled past New York in a game which was delayed by rain for 2 hours and 24 minutes.