MINNEAPOLIS – Mark Buehrle pitched eight sharp innings to beat the Minnesota Twins once again, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 6-2 victory Tuesday night and into first place in the AL Central.

Bouncing back from two bad starts that bloated his ERA by nearly a run, Buehrle (8-2) gave up eight hits and two runs while improving to 13-4 against the Twins in 18 career starts. That’s his most wins against any opponent.

Jose Valentin hit a solo home run and Juan Uribe added a two-run shot for the White Sox (40-33), who have won four of five and moved one percentage point ahead of division rival Minnesota (41-34).

Blue Jays 4, Devil Rays 0

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Ted Lilly won his fifth straight road decision and Eric Hinske stole home, leading the Toronto Blue Jays past the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 4-0.

Lilly (7-4) didn’t allow a run over six-plus innings in improving to 5-0 over his last seven starts away from SkyDome. He gave up three hits, four walks and struck out three.

Tigers 9, Indians 7

DETROIT – Dmitri Young’s two-run homer in the 11th inning gave the Detroit Tigers their season-high fifth straight victory, a 9-7 win over the Cleveland Indians.

It was Detroit’s third straight game-ending home run. Eric Munson’s solo shot in the ninth beat Arizona on Saturday, and Carlos Pena’s grand slam in the ninth led the Tigers past the Diamondbacks the next day.

Royals 4, Orioles 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Desi Relaford hit a go-ahead RBI double in the sixth, and the Kansas City Royals snapped a five-game losing skid with a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Rookie Mike Wood (1-0) earned his first victory since coming over in the three-team trade last Thursday that sent Royals star Carlos Beltran to Houston.

Mets 7, Reds 5

CINCINNATI – Cliff Floyd hit two of New York’s three homers off Todd Van Poppel, driving in four runs and leading the Mets to a 7-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Ty Wigginton added a two-run shot as the Mets rebounded from their doubleheader sweep by the Yankees on Sunday. They’ve won two of their last six games overall.

Pirates 3, Cardinals 0

PITTSBURGH – Rookie left-hander Sean Burnett shut out St. Louis for six innings in his first major league victory, and Tike Redman drove in two runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the division-leading Cardinals 3-0.

Burnett (1-2), who got little run support in his first three career starts, outpitched Chris Carpenter (8-3) as the last-place Pirates beat the Cardinals for the second straight night.

Marlins 5, Braves 4

ATLANTA – Mike Lowell and Miguel Cabrera hit back-to-back homers and the Florida Marlins overcame a shaky start by Dontrelle Willis to beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4.

Lowell also doubled and scored a run during a three-run first inning for the Marlins, who won for only the second time in six games.

Phillies 17, Expos 7

PHILADELPHIA – Bobby Abreu and David Bell each homered and drove in three runs, and the Philadelphia Phillies roughed up the Montreal Expos for the second straight night with a 17-7 victory.

Cubs 7, Astros 5,

CHICAGO – Craig Biggio dropped Moises Alou’s flyball, allowing two runs to score in the seventh inning sending the Chicago Cubs to a 7-5 win over the Houston Astros.

.ed atwo-run shot in the eighth. Bell, who hit for the cycle on Monday, also scored three runs and had an RBI single in the third.

In the first two games of a four-game series, the Phillies have racked up 31 runs, 32 hits and seven home runs.

The Phillies routed the Expos 14-6 Monday.

Eric Milton (10-2) allowed seven runs on seven hits in five innings, but moved into a tie for the major league lead in wins. He helped his own cause with his first career sacrifice fly in the second inning and an RBI single in Philadelphia’s six-run third.

Phillies rookie Ryan Madson pitched three hitless innings in relief of Milton.

Polanco led off the third with his fourth homer of the year. After Abreu walked and Thome struck out, four of the next five hitters singled off Expos starter Shawn Hill (0-1). Rollins capped the rally with a two-run double that made it 8-3.

Montreal pulled within one on back-to-back homers from Nick Johnson and Juan Rivera, but the Phillies answered with a five-run fifth, highlighted by Abreu’s 424-foot homer.

For the second night in a row, the Phillies had six- and five-run innings.

Hill, making his first major league appearance in place of Tony Armas Jr., surrendered eight runs and seven hits, while walking four in 2 2-3 innings.

Armas, who missed most of last year and the first two months of this season following surgery on his throwing shoulder, was scratched a few hours before gametime due to stiffness in the joint. He is expected to make his next start on Saturday against Toronto.

Montreal’s Jose Vidro extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a single in the fifth.

Notes: The Phillies hit their 43rd homer this month, breaking a club record for home runs in a month set in June 1977. … The Expos are a combined 0-9 at the National League’s newest ballparks – Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park and Petco Park in San Diego. … Vidro had an RBI groundout in the first for his 21st RBI this month. He had just 15 RBIs in the first two months of the season. … Phillies LF Pat Burrell was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored before leaving the game after four innings with a strained groin. … Expos SS Orlando Cabrera had two stolen bases. … Four pitchers combined to throw 245 pitches in the first five innings.

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three-run homer in the fourth, a towering drive to the seats in left. But the Marlins got the lead right back on the solo shots in the fifth – both off Hampton – and the bullpen made it stand.

Notes: Aguila made the first start of his major league career and got his first RBI. He’s still looking for his first hit. … Franco singled in the fourth for the 2,400th hit of his career. … Atlanta C Johnny Estrada, who left Monday night’s game after he was hit in the leg by a pitch, is listed day-to-day. He grounded out to first as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning. … Manzanillo’s last win came Aug. 12, 2001, against the San Diego Padres. … Florida last had back-to-back homers April 21, at Philadelphia.

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