Brown Is Too Tough for A’s

In his second start since coming off the disabled list, Kevin Brown pitched four-hit ball over eight shutout innings for the New York Yankees, who defeated the Oakland Athletics, 5-1, Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

Brown (9-1) struck out seven and walked two as he matched the longest outing by a Yankee starter this season.

It was only the 10th time a Yankee pitcher has thrown eight innings, the first in 19 starts since Jose Contreras beat Detroit on July 15.

New York starters entered the game with a 5.06 earned-run average, 24th among the 30 major league teams, and they averaged only 5.76 innings per start, 18th in the majors, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Texas 2, Detroit 1 -- Alfonso Soriano hit a tiebreaking home run, Ryan Drese (8-6) pitched six strong innings, and the Rangers completed a three-game sweep at Detroit. The victory moved them back into first place in the West Division, a half-game ahead of Oakland. Drese gave up one run and six hits. The sweep was the Rangers’ third on the road this season, the first time they’ve had that many since 1999.

Cleveland 6, Toronto 3 -- Grady Sizemore hit a two-run double in the top of the 10th inning for the Indians. John McDonald and Matt Lawton homered for the Indians, who have won two in a row after a four-game losing skid. McDonald was a late replacement for second baseman Lou Merloni, scratched because of a sore elbow.

Seattle 4, Tampa Bay 2 -- Randy Winn and Bret Boone hit consecutive run-scoring singles during a three-run 11th inning, and the Mariners ended a six-game losing streak. It was only their second win in 23 road games.

Kansas City 6, Chicago 4 -- Zack Greinke (4-8) yielded three hits and one run in seven innings, and Matt Stairs homered twice for the Royals at Kansas City, Mo., in a game that was delayed 24 minutes by a power outage in the ninth inning.