DETROIT (AP) -The St. Louis Cardinals were no match for Detroit in a World Series rematch.
Justin Verlander stayed unbeaten in May and Brandon Inge homered to help the Tigers win 6-3 on Sunday, completing a sweep of the defending world champions.
Verlander (5-1) pitched eight strong innings to pick up his fourth victory in four May starts and hand the Cardinals their fifth straight defeat. He retired 10 straight batters after surrendering Chris Duncan’s solo homer in the fifth.
The right-hander gave up two runs and five hits with three strikeouts in his longest start of the season.
Bobby Seay got one out for his first career save.
The Tigers, who split the first two games of the World Series here, outscored the Cardinals 28-14 in the weekend series.
Brad Thompson (2-1) gave up five runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings. Sean Casey highlighted Detroit’s three-run sixth with a two-run double off reliever Tyler Johnson.
Indians 5, Reds 3
CLEVELAND (AP) – Paul Byrd stayed unbeaten this season at Jacobs Field and the Indians matched the best home start in their 107-year history.
Byrd (4-1) improved to 4-0 in Cleveland and the Indians pushed baseball’s best home record to 16-4. The only other time they started as well in home games was 1995, when the Indians also opened 16-4 – on the way to their first World Series appearance in 41 years.
Actually, Cleveland is 14-3 at the Jake. The Indians also went 2-1 at Milwaukee’s Miller Park when an April series was moved there because of cold weather.
Jhonny Peralta hit his 10th homer to start Cleveland’s four-run fourth against Aaron Harang (5-2).
Brandon Phillips extended his career-high hitting streak to 22 games with a second-inning homer for Cincinnati.
Marlins 4, Devil Rays 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Sergio Mitre allowed three runs over seven innings and Florida rallied from a three-run deficit to complete a three-game sweep.
Mitre (2-2) gave up five hits and had three strikeouts, retiring 11 in a row at one point. Kevin Gregg pitched the ninth for his third save in three opportunities.
The Marlins scored three runs in the eighth against the Devil Rays’ struggling bullpen. Miguel Cabrera cut the deficit to 3-2 with an RBI single off Shawn Camp (0-1). Jeremy Hermida tied it with a run-scoring double before Miguel Olivo drove in the go-ahead run on his grounder.
Shields allowed a run and five hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings. The right-hander has no-decisions in his last three games despite giving up just four runs and 14 hits in 24 innings.
Phillies 5, Blue Jays 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Adam Eaton pitched four-hit ball over six-plus shutout innings, and Pat Burrell and Aaron Rowand both homered to lead Philadelphia.
Eaton (4-3) wasn’t particularly sharp – walking five, striking out two – but was backed by a pair of double plays and a caught stealing to erase some early baserunners.
The win put the Phillies (22-22) back at .500 for the third time in five days.
Alex Rios, Vernon Wells and Matt Stairs all hit solo home runs off Geoff Geary to make it a 5-3 game. But Opening Day starter-turned-closer Brett Myers got the final four outs to earn his sixth save.
Jesse Litsch (1-1) walked four and allowed seven hits and four runs in only four innings.
Nationals 4, Orioles 3
WASHINGTON (AP) – Nook Logan’s two-run single off reliever Danys Baez with two outs in the eighth inning capped a comeback and helped Washington beat Baltimore, which blew a chance for its first three-game road sweep since 2005.
Orioles starter Erik Bedard tied a career high with 12 strikeouts, contributed his first two major league hits and first RBI, and left with a 3-1 lead after pitching seven innings.
Chad Bradford came on for the eighth and allowed Ryan Zimmerman’s one-out double, then was replaced by Baez (0-3), who gave up Ryan Langerhans’ RBI single, hit Austin Kearns with a pitch, and allowed Ronnie Belliard’s bloop single that loaded the bases. An out later, Logan slapped a 3-2 pitch through the hole on the right side of the infield.
Jesus Colome (3-0) threw a scoreless eighth. Chad Cordero pitched around a leadoff single in the ninth for his fifth save.
Brewers 6, Twins 5
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Geoff Jenkins hit his 200th career homer and had five RBIs, including the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, helping Milwaukee rally from a four-run deficit.
The Brewers have not been swept in a series this season, but appeared headed toward one when they fell behind 4-0 early. Milwaukee then broke out of its offensive funk, tying it at 5 in the fifth, and Jenkins hit the go-ahead single in the seventh off reliever Dennys Reyes (0-1).
Brewers reliever Matt Wise (1-1) pitched one inning for the victory, and Francisco Cordero struck out the side in the ninth to convert his 17th consecutive save.
Despite the win, the Brewers are just 3-7 in their last 10. They managed to snap Minnesota’s streak of 12 straight interleague victories, which included five in a row against them.
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