New York ? After Alex Rodriguez sent the New York Yankees toward an easy rout, there was only one thing left for him to do.

Duck!

Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Bernie Williams and Ruben Sierra hit home runs, and the Yankees took out their frustration on Detroit pitching, trouncing the Tigers, 10-3, Monday night.

Swept by the New York Mets during the weekend, the Yankees bolted to a 7-0 lead in the second inning on Rodriguez’s three-run homer. The Tigers lost their fifth in a row and their temper, too — reliever Esteban Yan was ejected for throwing over Rodriguez’s head.

“It was coming straight at my eyes,” Rodriguez said. “I was shocked.”

Rodriguez hit his 20th homer, connecting off Nate Robertson (7-4) in the second. Rodriguez hip-hopped down the line, hoping the ball would stay fair, and he flipped his bat when it hooked inside the left-field foul pole.

The next time up, Rodriguez needed to duck away from Yan’s fastball. Plate umpire Mark Wegner immediately tossed Yan, who did not put up much of an argument.

Yan pleaded innocent.

“I’m trying to make him move. You have to use everything you have out there,” he said.

New York's Alex Rodriguez, right, is congratulated at the plate by teammates Bernie Williams (51) and Gary Sheffield after Rodriguez hit a three-run home run. The Yankees beat Detroit, 10-3, Monday in New York.

Said Rodriguez: “I’m actually pretty friendly with him. I wouldn’t read too much into it.”

Jason Giambi, who hadn’t started since June 26 because of intestinal parasites, put the Yankees ahead with an RBI single in the first. New York scored six more times in the second, and gone were the struggles it had at Shea Stadium.

“I think we were a little deflated for those three games after the Boston series,” Rodriguez said.

Jon Lieber (6-5) pitched shutout ball into the seventh.

Rangers 8, Indians 5

Cleveland — Kenny Rogers (12-2) became the first 12-game winner in the major leagues, allowing five runs and seven hits in 51/3 innings. He has won eight straight decisions since May 9, a career high.

Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 25th save.

C.C. Sabathia (5-4), rusty in his first start since June 26, gave up six runs and eight hits in three innings. Sabathia, who missed a turn because of a sore left shoulder, entered with a league-leading 2.77 ERA, but it rose to 3.23.

Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer for the Rangers, 12-5 since June 18.

Orioles 8-4, D-Rays 2-2

Baltimore — Dave Borkowski took a shutout into the ninth inning of his first major-league appearance since 2001, and Jerry Hairston had four hits and four runs, leading Baltimore to a doubleheader sweep.

In the day game, Daniel Cabrera and two relievers limited Tampa Bay to four hits, and Baltimore used successive two-out RBI doubles in the seventh by Luis Matos and Tim Raines Jr. in a 4-2 victory over Dewon Brazelton (2-1).

Tampa Bay, which has lost three straight after winning 19 of 23, had just 10 hits in the doubleheader.

Borkowski (1-0) came within two outs of his first complete game in 14 career starts. He was replaced after consecutive one-out homers by Rocco Baldelli and Aubrey Huff in the ninth. Jeremi Gonzalez (0-5) gave up three runs in the first.