Associated Press
The American League roundup …
DETROIT ó Justin Verlander nearly pitched another no-hitter, taking his latest bid into the eighth inning to lead the Detroit Tigers past the Cleveland Indians 4-0 Tuesday night and into first place in the AL Central.
With two no-hitters already on his resume, including one in Toronto last month, Verlander (8-3) struck out a season-high 12 and dominated the slumping Indians until Orlando Cabrera lined a clean single to center with one out in the eighth for his 2,001st career hit.
Yankees 12, Rangers 4
NEW YORK ó Curtis Granderson homered and drove in four runs, Eduardo Nunez ó filling in for an injured Derek Jeter ó sparked a six-run second inning with an RBI single and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 12-4 on Tuesday night.
Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher also connected in the Yankees’ first game since Jeter was placed on the 15-day disabled list for the first time since 2003 because of a strained right calf.
Brett Gardner scored three of the four times he reached base, had an RBI single among three hits and stole his 100th base batting in Jeter’s leadoff spot. Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run double for an efficient offense that scored 12 runs on 14 hits, two walks and a hit batter.
Rays 4, Red Sox 0
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ó James Shields pitched his AL-leading third shutout for Tampa Bay to end first-place Boston’s nine-game winning streak.
In addition to cutting into their deficit in the AL East standings, the third-place Rays ruined a Tropicana Field homecoming for Carl Crawford, who signed a $142 million, seven-year contract with Boston after helping Tampa Bay win the division two of the past three seasons.
Blue Jays 6, Orioles 5, 11 innings
TORONTO ó Adam Lind homered off Koji Uehara leading off the 11th inning Tuesday night, giving the Toronto Blue Jays a 6-5 victory.