Haren is A's Mr. Reliable; Padres' Young Blanks Pirates

American League Cleveland 8 Boston 4 - The Indians avoided the sweep at Boston as Grady Sizemore went 2-5 with a double and home run (9), stole a base (17), scored 3 times and drove in 2, and catcher Kelly Shoppach went 4-5 with a solo homer and 3 runs scored. The Indians extended their lead in the AL Central to 2 1/2 over Detroit. Boston's Kevin Youkilis hit safely in his 22nd straight game. LA Angels 8 Seattle 6 - Vladimir Guerrero socked a 3-run homer - his 11th - singled twice in 5 at-bats and scored twice as the Angels kept Seattle in their place - 2nd in the AL West. The Angels lead the division by 4 1/2 and have the best home record in the majors at 18-7. Ichiro Suzuki extended his hitting streak to 23 games. Oakland 6 Texas 1 - Call Dan Haren (right) Oakland's Mr. Reliable. Haren allowed just 1 earned run on 4 hits and 3 walks over 8 innings, to help the A's get a 2-1 split over Texas and stay close to the Angels and Mariners in the AL West. The A's are 5 1/2 back, and Haren (6-2) is one of the reasons for their early season success. Haren's won 6 straight, with 3 straight no decisions - in which he allowed just 4 earned runs over 21 innings - during the stretch. Haren's ERA is a microscopic 1.64 and he's carrying a .89 WHIP. Opposing hitters are batting just .180 against him this season. Baltimore 3 Kansas City 0 - Eric Bedard allowed just 4 hits, walked 2 and struck out 5 over 8 innings, improving to 4-3 as the O's got to a game under .500 (26-27) with their 5th straight win. The Orioles have taken over 2nd place in the AL East, but have an uphill climb to catch the Red Sox, who are 10 1/2 clear. Baltimore swept the Royals in their 3-game set at KC, and continue their road trip with a 4-game set at LA and a 3-game series in Seattle over the next 7 days. NY Yankees 10 Toronto 5 - Yankees tied for last place in AL East with Tampa Bay, 13 1/2 behind Red Sox. Tampa Bay 5 Detroit 3 - James Shields got his first decision since May 3rd with a complete game outing as the Devil Rays took 2 of 3 from visiting Detroit.

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Shields may be the best-kept secret in the majors, sporting a 4-0 record from 10 starts, an ERA of 2.81 and a 1.00 WHIP. He's struck out 69 while walking 17 in 83 1/3 innings. Shields is in his second full season in the majors, both with Tampa Bay. Minnesota 7 Chicago White Sox 6 - David Aardsma pitched to just one batter - but it happened to be Torri Hunter with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th. Hunter walked and Jason Tyner trotted home with the winning run, completing Minnesota's 3-game sweep of the visiting White Sox. The win pushed the Twins a game ahead of Chicago and 5 1/2 behind Central division-leading Cleveland. Detroit is 2 1/2 back of the Indians. National League Shutout Night in the NL San Diego 9 Pittsburgh 0 - Chris Young (right) stopped the Pirates on 4 hits over 7 innings as the Padres kept pace with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in the NL West with a 9-0 win at Pittsburgh. Young struck out 7 to improve his record to 6-3. Khalil Greene cracked a grand slam homer in the 8th inning, singled and scored another, and Mike Cameron went 3-4, scoring a run and driving in 3. LA Dodgers 5 Washington 0 - You could see this one coming. The Dodgers boast the 3rd best ERA in the league while the Nats are dead last in hitting with a .239 team average. Derek Lowe (5-5) blanked the Nationals for 7 innings on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5, as the Dodgers got another road win, 5-0. LA is 14-11 in away games, and lead the NL West by 1/2 game over the Diamondbacks. Florida 9 Chicago Cubs 0 - Five different Marlins pitchers produced Florida's 9-0 win at Chicago. Starter Sergio Mitre had to leave at the start of the 5th innings with cramps, but he completed 4 innings, gave up 3 hits and struck out 7. Reliever Randy Messenger worked the 5th and 6th for the win. Dan Uggla homered twice, driving in 4 runs to pick up a game in the NL East and tie the Phillies for 3rd place, 8 back of the Mets. San Francisco 3 NY Mets 0 Barry Zito shut out the Mets over 7 innings on 6 hits and a walk while fanning 7 in San Fran's 3-0 win at Shea. Zito leveled his record at 5-5 and Pedro Feliz drove in all of the Giants' runs with a single and triple in 4 at-bats. The Giants ended a 4-game skid with the win. Despite the loss, the Mets remain 4 games clear of Atlanta in the East. Arizona 4 Philadelphia 3 - Randy Johnson allowed just one hit - a single to Pat Burrell in the 2nd - and set down the last 9 batters he faced in order, blanking the Phillies over 6 full innings as Arizona won their 7th straight, sweeping Philly in the process. The loss dropped the Phils back below .500 at 26-27. St. Louis 8 Colorado 4 - The Cardinals finally got their bats working and ended the Rockies' 7-game winning streak in Colorado. Albert Pujols smacked a 3-run homer - his 9th. Jim Edmonds chipped in with 3 hits in 5 at-bats, including a solo homer (5). Cincinnati 4 Houston 3 - Houston has lost 10 straight but are still a game ahead of the Reds. Atlanta 9 Milwaukee 3 - E. Renteria, 4-5, 2 doubles, 2 runs. Milwaukee leads Pittsburgh by 5 1/2 in the Central despite recent 4-13 record.