SEATTLE - Albert Pujols had three hits, including the 450th home run of his career Dan Haren struck out a career-high 14 in tossing his sixth career complete-game shutout, and the Los Angeles Angels won their third straight with a 3-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night.
The Angels and Mariners met for the first of 19 games this season and Pujols, a newcomer to the AL West rivalry, made his presence known immediately. He lined a two-run shot off Seattle starter Jason Vargas (5-4) with one-out in the top of the first, and added line-drive singles in the fourth and sixth innings. It was just his third three-hit game this season.
The three runs were plenty for Haren (2-5), who tossed the 16th complete game of his career. He allowed only four hits and one Seattle baserunner to reach third.
INDIANS 2, TIGERS 1
CLEVELAND (AP) — Justin Masterson matched Justin Verlander pitch for pitch for first his career win over Detroit, and first-place Cleveland did just enough to complete a three-game sweep of the underperforming Tigers.
Shin-Soo Choo homered on the third pitch from Verlander (5-2) as the Indians won for the eighth time in 10 games and opened a six-game lead over third-place Detroit in the AL Central.
Detroit has dropped six of eight, and manager Jim Leyland was ejected in the fifth inning.
Masterson (2-3) entered 0-4 in seven starts against the Tigers. He allowed one run and five hits in seven innings.
WHITE SOX 11, TWINS 8
CHICAGO (AP) — Paul Konerko and Alex Rios hit back-to-back homers and Alejandro De Aza added a grand slam to cap a six-run sixth, leading the Chicago White Sox to an 11-8 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.
A.J. Pierzynski and Dayan Viciedo also went deep as the White Sox won for the sixth time in seven games.
Konerko had two hits and drove in two runs. Rios also had two hits and knocked in three, and Chicago pulled this one out even though Philip Humber couldn't protect an early 4-1 lead.
The Twins knocked him out during a four-run fifth, sending 10 batters to the plate. Joe Mauer homered in the inning and Brian Dozier capped the rally with a two-run single to give Minnesota a 5-4 lead, but the debuting Cole De Vries couldn't hold it.
