Detroit's Gary Sheffield, left, greets Carlos Guillen after Guillen hit a first-inning grand slam. The Tigers defeated the Yankees, 8-5, on Thursday night in New York.

The Associated Press

Tigers 8, Yankees 5

New York – Carlos Guillen hit a first-inning grand slam off Mike Mussina, and Ivan Rodriguez also homered to help Detroit beat suddenly struggling New York.

Justin Verlander held New York’s lineup in check, and the Tigers won the opener of a key four-game series to move back into first place in the AL Central, a half-game ahead of idle Cleveland.

Gary Sheffield finished 0-for-3 with a pair of walks in his return to Yankee Stadium. The former New York slugger, traded to Detroit in the offseason, was booed before each plate appearance – hours after standing by the critical comments he recently made about Yankees manager Joe Torre.

Angels 4, Blue Jays 3

Toronto – Kelvim Escobar shut down his former team, Gary Matthews Jr. homered, and Los Angeles held on to beat Toronto.

Escobar (13-6) allowed one run and five hits over seven innings, walked none and struck out nine. He won back-to-back starts for the first time since mid-June and lowered his ERA to 2.68, the second-best mark in the American League. Oakland right-hander Dan Haren has a 2.54 earned-run average.

Signed by Toronto in 1992, Escobar spent parts of seven seasons with the Blue Jays.

Athletics 8, White Sox 5

Oakland, Calif. – Kurt Suzuki homered for the second straight day, a walk-off, three-run home run in the 10th inning, and Oakland beat Chicago to complete a three-game sweep.

Designated hitter Mike Piazza had three hits including a triple and home run for the A’s, who won their fourth straight game. The White Sox lost their fifth in a row.

Ruddy Lugo pitched a perfect 10th inning to earn the win for Oakland. Lugo (4-0) has allowed just one earned run in nine innings since being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Aug. 4.

Suzuki’s game-winning hit came after Mark Ellis tripled with one out off reliever Matt Thornton (3-4), the fifth Chicago pitcher.

Piazza hit his first triple since Sept. 22, 2006.