New York ? The New York Yankees have found the formula to beat Cleveland: Get a big early lead and a home run from Alex Rodriguez to help a rookie starter gain his first major-league win.

Rodriguez hit his major-league-leading ninth homer, Kei Igawa (1-0) limited the Indians to a pair of runs over six innings, and the Yankees defeated Cleveland, 9-2, Wednesday night.

Jason Giambi also homered for the Yankees (7-6), who matched their season high of one game over .500.

A-Rod hit a two-run drive in the sixth off reliever Tom Mastny, connecting for the second straight night. Rodriguez, who leads the majors with 23 RBIs, matched Albert Pujols and Chris Shelton (both last year) for the fourth-fastest to nine homers, trailing only Mike Schmidt (10 games in 1976), Luis Gonzalez (10 in 2001) and Larry Walker (12 in 1997).

Twins 5, Mariners 4

Seattle – Felix Hernandez left because of tightness in his pitching elbow in the first inning, a much bigger concern for Seattle than its loss to Minnesota. The Twins held on for the win when Luis Castillo threw out Adrian Beltre at the plate to end the game.

Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 1

Toronto – David Ortiz homered, and Tim Wakefield allowed four hits in seven innings.

Athletics 3, Angels 0

Oakland, Calif. – Dan Haren outpitched John Lackey for his first win of the season, and Eric Chavez drove in two runs to help Oakland beat the injury-depleted Angels, handing Los Angeles its sixth straight loss. Nick Swisher also drove in a run for the A’s.

Orioles 6, Devil Rays 4

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Erik Bedard won his third straight start, and Kevin Millar hit a tiebreaking double.