Hoffman Earns 500th Save; Sheffield, Verlander Lead Tigers to10-0 Win

American League Detroit 10 Texas 0 - Justin Verlander turned in his best performance of the year, blanking the Rangers on 5 hits over 7 innings. Verlander (6-2) walked 2 and struck out 6, lowering his ERA to a very respectable 3.12 while moving the Tigers to 2 within 2 1/2 of the Indians (Kansas City 4 Cleveland 3) in the AL Central. Gary Sheffield (right) provided more than adequate offense with a pair of home runs - his 14th and 15th - and 5 RBI as part of a 3-4 night. Carlos Guillen and Ivan Rodriguez added back-to-back solo smacks in the 5th. Magglio Ordonez upped his major league-leading RBI total to 54 with a run-scoring single in the 6th. Texas starter Kevin Millwood was rocked once again, giving up 9 hits and 7 runs in just 3 2/3rds innings. Millwood is 2-5 with a 7.57 ERA. Minnesota 8 LA Angels 5 - After losing the first two games of their series in Anaheim, the Twins salvaged a win in the finale, preventing Angels' starter John Lackey (9-3) from becoming the first in the majors to record 10 wins. Minnesota scored a pair in the 4th on Michael Cuddyer's 8th home run and added 4 more in the 5th on Nick Punto's 3 run shot - his 1st - and a run-scoring single by Justin Morneau. Lackey allowed 7 hits in 7 innings. Only 4 of the 6 runs were earned. The Angles remained 5 1/2 ahead of Seattle, losers to Baltimore - Baltimore 9 Seattle 5 - and Oakland, who beat the visiting Red Sox for the 3rd straight day - Oakland 3 Boston 2. Boston has one more shot at the A's this afternoon. Other AL Scores Tampa Bay 6 Toronto 2 NY Yankees 5 Chicago White Sox 1 - A. Rodriguez, 2-4, 2 RBI (52) National League San Diego 5 LA Dodgers 2 - The San Diego Padres beat the Dodgers for the second straight day and celebrated Trevor Hoffman's 500th career save afterward. Hoffman,(right) already the career leader in saves (he passed Lee Smith's 478 last September) now has his own exclusive club as the only major leaguer with 500 saves. Saving a win at home against division rival Los Angeles in a tight early-season race was especially rewarding for Hoffman, who notched his 18th of the year. The Padres remain tied with Arizona for the NL West lead. The Dodgers are 1 1/2 back. Arizona 1 San Francisco 0... Meanwhile, in Phoenix, Brandon Webb won his 3rd straight, improving to 6-3 with a 7-inning blanking of the visiting Giants. Webb allowed 6 hits and 4 walks, striking out 7, and closer Jose Valverde worked the 9th inning for his 21st save. Arizona scored the only run of the game on Chris Young's 7th inning home run (8). The Giants were without Barry Bonds for the second straight game as he sat out with painful shin splints. Bonds is expected to be back in the lineup on Thursday. Philadelphia 4 NY Mets 2 - In the Spring, Jimmy Rollins said the Phillies were the "team to beat" in the NL East and last night he made sure the Mets are taking him seriously.

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Rollins smacked a 3-run homer in the 7th inning to erase a 2-0 NY lead and send the Phillies to their second straight win over the 1st-place Mets. In addition to his 10th round-tripper of the season, Rollins stroked a pair of singles and stole 2nd base twice. Philly moved to within 6 games of the Mets and are just 2 1/2 behind 2nd place Atlanta. The 3-game series concludes tonight at Shea with the Phillies looking for a sweep. Chicago Cubs 6 Milwaukee 2 - Milwaukee's lead in the NL Central continues to shrink. The Cubs helped St. Louis close to within 5 games as rookie Felix Pie went 3-5 and touched up Brewers' starter Jeff Suppan for a 3-run homer in the 2nd inning. Pie also scored twice on errors by J.J. Hardy in the 1st and Prince Fielder in the 9th. St. Louis 6 Cincinnati 4 - The Cardinals have won 3 straight and are looking for a 3-game sweep of the visiting Reds tonight. Other NL Scores Florida 7 Atlanta 4 - Marlins, 5 SB, win 3 of 4 at Atlanta Washington 6 Pittsburgh 5 Colorado 8 Houston 7