Cleveland solved lefty Bruce Chen on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium, using a pair of home runs to build an early lead, while Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez helped choke off any possibility of a Royals rally, as the Indians claimed a 5-4 victory.

Carlos Beltran homered during a 4-for-4 night and Cody Ross also homered to back Matt Cain's eight-inning effort in the Giants' critical 6-2 victory Friday over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Justin Verlander tossed 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball to claim his 21st victory as the Tigers knocked the White Sox back to 6 1/2 games off the pace in the AL Central standings with an 8-1 victory on Friday at Comerica Park.

David Wright gave the Mets an early lead with a three-run homer in the first inning, and New York showed its power in a 7-3 victory over Washington on Friday night before 27,907 at Nationals Park.

J.J. Hardy continued to steady an uneven Orioles club Friday night in delivering a two-out, two-run seventh-inning single to give Baltimore a 3-2 victory over Tampa Bay.

The Rangers continue to score runs for Derek Holland at a record-setting pace. They scored six in the first two innings against Red Sox starter Andrew Miller and went on to a 10-0 victory.

John Mayberry Jr. drove in three runs to push the Phillies past the Marlins, 5-3, before 21,659 at Sun Life Stadium on Friday night. The victory put Philadelphia 42 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history.

After struggling in the first inning of the Yankees' series opener against the Blue Jays, Ivan Nova calmed down, the New York defense came up big on several occasions, and the offense rallied to help the rookie to his 11th straight win, 3-2, on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

The Red Sox played in front of their 700th consecutive home sellout crowd at Fenway Park on Friday night against the Rangers, a milestone no other baseball franchise has come close to reaching.

Buster Posey has lost his crutches, his walking boot and quite a bit of sleep over the last few weeks, but he has not lost his desire to get back on the baseball field.

General manager Alex Anthopoulos re-joined the Blue Jays on Friday afternoon following a three-day scouting trip to Japan.

Brewers officials have had very preliminary discussions about the merits of activating injured second baseman Rickie Weeks to serve as a bench bat before he's ready to resume play in the field.

Center fielder Grady Sizemore received a scheduled day off from his rehab program on Friday. The way Indians manager Manny Acta sees it, the day of rest was well earned.

Jake Peavy's 2011 season has featured several ups and downs, and took a severe downturn after his June 25 relief appearance. But White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper is not convinced that four-inning outing is to blame.

With less than one month remaining in the regular season, time is certainly not on the side of the injured Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens, but Hanson did take a small step in the right direction while playing catch for about 10 minutes on Friday.

C.J. Wilson said there is still some numbness in his left index finger, but the southpaw said he'll be ready to go for his next start, which is Tuesday against the Rays.

The biggest sigh of relief from the Pirates' clubhouse came not from snapping a five-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Friday, but rather from news that center fielder Andrew McCutchen should be cleared to resume playing again soon.