New York ? Jim Thome just wishes he could enjoy his historic home run tear.

Thome homered in his seventh straight game, leaving him one shy of the major league record, but the New York Yankees beat Cleveland 11-8 Wednesday night to send the Indians to their fourth consecutive loss and 11th in 15 games.

Cleveland's Jim Thome watches another home run sail out of the park Wednesday against the Yankees. Thome homered in his seventh straight game, leaving him one shy of the major league record.

“It’s nice, but it’s not fun when you don’t win,” Thome said. “It’s been a great deal, don’t get me wrong. You hope it doesn’t end, but you know someday it will. I haven’t really given it much thought because of the way we’ve been playing.”

Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs for the Yankees, who improved to 11-0 against AL Central teams. Rondell White and Jorge Posada added two-run singles, Ron Coomer had a two-run double and Enrique Wilson tripled twice on a 93-degree night in the Bronx.

The Yankees (52-31) have won five of six to move a season-high 21 games over .500.

Thome, left off the AL All-Star team by Yankees skipper Joe Torre, hit a 3-2 pitch from David Wells (9-5) over the fence in left-center with two outs in the seventh inning. The solo shot gave Thome an AL-leading 26 homers this season and cut Cleveland’s deficit to 6-5. He finished 1-for-5.

The major league record for consecutive games with a home run is eight, shared by Ken Griffey Jr. when he was with Seattle (1993), Don Mattingly of the Yankees (1987) and Dale Long of Pittsburgh (1956).

Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 2

Boston Tony Clark’s tiebreaking single off Cliff Politte (1-2) keyed a three-run eighth inning as Boston won

Wayne Gomes (1-0), making his first appearance since being recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday, pitched one scoreless inning for the win. Ugueth Urbina recorded the final three outs for his 22nd save.

Tigers 5, White Sox 4

Chicago Brian Moehler came off the disabled list to win for the first time in nearly 22 months, pitching Detroit past Chicago.

One night after the White Sox hit six homers and scored 17 runs, Moehler (1-0) held Chicago to four hits in seven scoreless innings. He struck out three and walked none to win for the first time since Sept. 5, 2000.

Rangers 6, Devil Rays 5

Arlington, Texas Ivan Rodriguez hit a game-winning, leadoff homer in the ninth inning and added a two-run shot in a four-run first as Texas beat Tampa Bay.

Rodriguez’s drive into the left-field seats on a 1-1 pitch from Jesus Colome (1-4) handed the Devil Rays their seventh straight road loss.

Twins 2, Athletics 1

Oakland, Calif. Johan Santana bested fellow left-hander Mark Mulder and Minnesota snapped Mulder’s seven-start winning streak. Mulder (9-5) was formidable against the Twins, allowing two runs on six hits in his eighth career complete game and second this season. But Santana (4-1) confounded the A’s batters, allowing one run and six hits in 61â3 innings with eight strikeouts.

Angels 1, Orioles 0

Anaheim, Calif. Jarrod Washburn outdueled Scott Erickson with eight innings of three-hit ball and Anaheim defeated Baltimore. Darin Erstad’s single up the third base line scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and snapped a 22-inning scoreless streak for the Angels. Washburn (9-2) struck out seven and walked one.