NEW YORK – Derek Jeter broke an eighth-inning tie with the Yankees’ fifth solo home run, and New York beat the Cleveland Indians 6-5 Friday for its first win at the new Yankee Stadium

Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira, Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano also connected as New York avoided dropping the first two games at its new home. Cano become the first player to reach the new stadium’s second deck.

A day after Cleveland blew out New York 10-2 in the opening game at the $1.5 billion palace, the ceremonial bunting was gone, and the spectators in many of the expensive seats were gone, too.

While the level of noise was somewhat louder than at Thursday’s opener, it still seemed lower than at the old ballpark, although a better test will be when rival Boston arrives for a series next month.

Pirates 3, Braves 0

PITTSBURGH – Paul Maholm combined with two relievers on a six-hitter and the Pittsburgh Pirates handed the Atlanta Braves their fourth straight loss with a 3-0 victory Friday night.

Maholm (2-0) pitched seven innings, allowing four hits. The left-hander, who worked around three walks, two hit batters and a balk, lowered his ERA to 0.87 in winning his first home start of the season.

Rays 6, White Sox 5

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Ben Zobrist hit a pinch-hit grand slam and Carlos Pena homered for the fifth time in six days to help the Tampa Bay Rays rally for a 6-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.

Right-hander James Shields (2-1) recovered after giving up sixth-inning home runs to Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye to win for the second time since an opening day loss.

He allowed five runs and seven hits, struck out four and walked two in 7 1-3 innings.

Cubs 8, Cardinals 7

CHICAGO – After striking out three times earlier in the game, Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning Friday, rallying the Chicago Cubs to an 8-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

It was the second game-winning homer in a week for Soriano, who sent Chris Perez’s low 1-2 pitch into the left-field bleachers.

Padres 8, Phillies 7

PHILADELPHIA – Scott Hairston homered and hit a go-ahead two-run double in the eighth inning, helping the San Diego Padres overcome a six-run deficit to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-7 on Friday night.

The World Series champions honored legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas in a moving ceremony before the game.

Athletics 8, Jays 5

TORONTO – Matt Holliday hit a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning, Bobby Crosby drove in three runs and the Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-5 on Friday night.

Andrew Bailey (2-0) struck out four in two scoreless innings to earn the win. Michael Wuertz and Santiago Casilla each got three outs before Brad Ziegler worked the ninth for his third save.

Mets 5, Brewers 4

NEW YORK – Gary Sheffield joined the 500-homer club, and Luis Castillo drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the ninth inning, giving the New York Mets a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.

Ryan Braun hit a three-run homer to give Milwaukee a 4-3 lead in the sixth before Sheffield connected off Mitch Stetter, who was facing his first batter in relief of Dave Bush.

Twins 11, Angels 9

MINNEAPOLIS – Jason Kubel completed the ninth cycle in Twins history with a dramatic go-ahead grand slam to cap a seven-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifting Minnesota past the Los Angeles Angels 11-9 on Friday night.

Joe Nathan pitched a perfect ninth for his second save, punctuating a wild night at the Metrodome that started with 71/2 innings of more bad baseball by the home team.

Royals 12, Rangers 3

ARLINGTON, Texas – Gil Meche pitched into the seventh without allowing a run, Mark Teahen assumed his new role by going 5-for-6 with a homer and the Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers 12-3 Friday night.

Meche (1-0), who had an 8.10 ERA his previous eight starts at Rangers Ballpark, held Texas to six singles, including a bunt by Ian Kinsler, who was coming off his 6-for-6 performance with a cycle in a game the Rangers won 19-6.

Marlins 3, Nationals 2

WASHINGTON – Jeremy Hermida hit an RBI infield single in the 10th inning and the Florida Marlins beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 Friday night for their fifth straight victory.

Florida’s 9-1 record marks the best start in franchise history.

The 1997 and 2004 Marlins opened the year 8-1.

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