By The Associated Press

TORONTO – Al Leiter won for the second time since returning to New York, and Alex Rodriguez homered and had three hits to lead the Yankees over the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Sunday.

Leiter (2-3) gave up four hits in 5 2-3 scoreless innings, walking four and striking out two in his fifth start with New York. He beat Boston in his debut on July 17 but lost his next three.

Leiter was 3-7 with a 6.64 ERA in 17 games for the Florida Marlins, who designated him for assignment last month. Before the game, manager Joe Torre said there was no way Leiter could have lost his ability to pitch so quickly.

He went 10-8 with 3.21 ERA last year for the Mets.

Athletics 11, Royals 0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Dan Haren pitched seven shutout innings to extend his winning streak to nine games and the Oakland Athletics sent the Kansas City Royals to their 10th straight loss, 11-0 Sunday.

Haren (10-7) is 9-0 in 14 starts since his last loss, May 26 at Tampa Bay. His streak matches the AL’s longest winning stretch this season, accomplished by Chicago’s Mark Buehrle and Texas’ Kenny Rogers.

Indians 6, Tigers 5

DETROIT – Ronnie Belliard hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning Sunday, lifting the Cleveland Indians to a 6-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers and a three-game series sweep.

Casey Blake and Grady Sizemore also homered for Cleveland, which overcame a season-high four errors

White Sox 3, Mariners 1

CHICAGO – Jon Garland earned his 16th win, Paul Konerko and Joe Crede homered, and center fielder Aaron Rowand preserved the lead with a spectacular catch to lead the Chicago White Sox past the Seattle Mariners 3-1 Sunday.

The White Sox’s major league-high 72nd victory came on the day they unveiled a life-sized statue of No. 72, Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk.

After dropping two of three to Toronto, the White Sox won two of three against the Mariners to finish their six-game homestand.

Rangers 9, Orioles 3

ARLINGTON, Texas – Chris Young pitched seven shutout innings to earn his first victory in more than a month, Mark Teixeira and Gary Matthews Jr. each homered and drove in three runs, and the Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 Sunday.

Kevin Mench also connected for the Rangers, who lead the majors with 188 home runs.

Cardinals 5, Braves 3

ST. LOUIS – David Eckstein hit a grand slam off Chris Reitsma with one out in the ninth inning, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Eckstein hit his first career grand slam and the second game-winning home run of his career on a 1-0 pitch from Reitsma (3-3), who had entered the game with nine straight saves. The drive over the left-field wall gave the Cardinals two of three in a series matching NL division leaders and the teams with the two best records in the league.

Brewers 2, Phillies 0

PHILADELPHIA – Tomo Ohka pitched four-hit ball for eight innings, Rickie Weeks drove in both runs, and the Milwaukee Brewers returned to .500 by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0 Sunday.

Weeks’ two-out, two-run double in the third inning helped the Brewers (56-56) win for the sixth time in their last eight games.

Dodgers 6, Pirates 4

PITTSBURGH – Jeff Weaver limited Pittsburgh to five hits and a run over eight innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers turned a six-run third inning against unexpected rookie starter Ian Snell into a 6-4 victory Sunday over the Pirates.

With Hee-Seop Choi adding a two-run single to the big inning, the Dodgers won two of three in Pittsburgh – ending a streak of four consecutive series in which they lost the final two games.

Marlins 2, Reds 0

CINCINNATI – Dontrelle Willis allowed four hits in eight innings to earn his career-high 15th win, and Jeff Conine drove in Juan Pierre with both runs as the Florida Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-0 Sunday.

The Reds tied their season high with four errors – three by starter Ramon Ortiz while trying to pick off Pierre at first base. The first two set up both of Florida’s unearned runs.

Padres 3, Nationals 0

WASHINGTON – A slightly injured Jake Peavy coasted to a shutout against a Washington Nationals lineup that looked like something manager Frank Robinson might send out for a split-squad spring training game.

Peavy scattered five hits against a makeshift starting nine, helped himself with an RBI single, and Eric Young and Xavier Nady added solo homers to lead San Diego past Washington 3-0 Sunday for a three-game series sweep.

D-backs 9, Rockies 4

PHOENIX – Luis Gonzalez homered and drove in four runs, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 9-4 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Chad Tracy, Tony Clark and Troy Glaus also homered for the Diamondbacks, who remained three games behind San Diego in the NL West. Craig Counsell was 5-for-5.

with three runs scored and three stolen bases.

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