Baseball

DETROIT (AP) -- Justin Verlander pitched seven solid innings, Victor Martinez homered and the Detroit Tigers beat Cleveland 7-5 on Friday night to take a 3½-game lead over the Indians atop the AL Central.

NEW YORK (AP) -- David Phelps followed the worst start of his young career with his best, allowing a mere infield single in six shutout innings and getting home run help from Mark Teixeira as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 4-3 Tuesday night.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Mike Leake continued his recent run of strong pitching by working six scoreless innings Saturday night as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0.

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Neil Walker eyed Johnny Cueto's fastball and turned on it. Before the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman could get the bat out of his hands, the ball was nestled into the glove of Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Justin Masterson pitched six solid innings, Jason Giambi and Mark Reynolds homered, and the Cleveland Indians broke a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mike Leake pitched three-hit ball for seven sharp innings and the Cincinnati Reds parlayed star third baseman David Wright's early error Tuesday night into a 4-0 victory over the New York Mets.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Cleveland Indians are finding ways to win these days even when something goes wrong.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Turn a corner on the second floor of baseball’s Hall of Fame and there it is.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Don Lutz's mother didn't like the sound of his voice when he called her at home in Germany an hour before he started in left field for the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Judging by the mood in their clubhouse, it'd be hard to think that Cleveland Indians' six-game winning streak had just ended.

CHICAGO (AP) -- The Cincinnati Reds were watching when Carlos Marmol came on to pitch the eighth inning, and they knew exactly what to do.

CHICAGO (AP) -- The Cincinnati Reds needed every clutch hit they could manage and almost every arm in their bullpen Friday to hold off the Chicago Cubs.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Todd Frazier gave Mat Latos all the run support he needed, and Latos gave the Cincinnati Reds exactly what they needed to finish off a 10-game homestand in style.

HOUSTON (AP) -- The Cleveland Indians hit four home runs and manager Terry Francona still thought a catch by Drew Stubbs was the biggest play of the day.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Brandon Phillips had a game-ending sacrifice fly in the 13th inning, giving the Cincinnati Reds a 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Saturday.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Converted closer Alfredo Aceves coasted through five innings, Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava drove in two runs apiece and the Red Sox, bonded by the tragedy in Boston, struck quickly against Justin Masterson and beat the Cleveland Indians 6-3 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight win.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Todd Frazier and Zack Cozart each homered twice, and the Reds hit six in all -- including Xavier Paul's pinch grand slam -- while sending the Washington Nationals to their first loss of the season, 15-0 on Friday night.

TORONTO (AP) -- Mark Reynolds hit a tiebreaking home run in the 11th inning and the Cleveland Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Wednesday night.

TORONTO (AP) -- NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey and the overhauled Toronto Blue Jays struggled in their opener and lost to Asdrubal Cabrera, Justin Masterson and the Cleveland Indians 4-1 Tuesday night.

CLEVELAND — You’ve probably heard this before.

It’s not my field of dreams, but it’s pretty darn close.

LIMA — When a team compiles a record of 97-65, fans come out.

CINCINNATI — Ryan Ludwick left the Reds to see if there was a better deal available on the free agent market. He found at least one, but turned it down to stay with Cincinnati.