DETROIT — Darrell Rasner is giving the New York Yankees a reliable starter at the back of the rotation, something they've been looking for all year.

Rasner won his second consecutive start since coming up from the minors, Derek Jeter hit his first homer of the season and New York ended a six-game losing streak to the Detroit Tigers with a 5-2 victory yesterday.

After beating Seattle last Sunday, Rasner allowed two runs and four hits in six-plus innings against Detroit's powerful lineup.

"He's been a shot in the arm for us," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "No one says you have to be fancy or overpowering. He's figured out how to use his stuff and he's done it effectively."

Jeter hit a solo shot in the first inning off Jeremy Bonderman, ending his career-long drought of 128 at-bats without a homer to start a season.

"I could really care less," Jeter said with a smile. "I'm just kidding. I wanted at least one."

Rasner (2-0) departed after Magglio Ordonez's leadoff single in the seventh. He walked one — his first free pass in 12 innings this season.

The right-hander was 4-0 with a 0.87 ERA in five outings at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before replacing injured Phil Hughes in New York's rotation. Hughes, Ian Kennedy (now in the minors) and Kei Igawa are winless for the Yankees this year, so Rasner has provided an important boost.

"Every chance I get is a great opportunity and I'm going to do my best to run with it," Rasner said. "I'm not going to strike a lot of guys out, so I can't walk a lot of guys."

Three relievers finished, with Joba Chamberlain pitching the eighth and Mariano Rivera the ninth for his 10th save in 10 chances.

Indians 12, Blue Jays 0: Grady Sizemore homered twice and drove in five runs and Aaron Laffey (1-2) scattered six hits over seven innings, helping host Cleveland beat Toronto, which lost its fourth straight, and learned before the game that center fielder Vernon Wells is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks with a broken left wrist.

Rays 2, Angels 0: Scott Kazmir gave up a single and two doubles in six innings and three relievers finished up the three-hitter as host Tampa Bay scored on a ground out in the first and a sacrifice fly in the eighth to beat Los Angeles and hand Joe Saunders (6-1) his first loss of the season.

Red Sox 5, Twins 2: Coco Crisp and Jed Lowrie hit back-to-back homers to lead off the seventh inning — Crisp's first since Sept. 6 and Lowrie's first of his career — and Daisuke Matsuzaka (6-0) gave up two runs and six hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings to lead visiting Boston over Minnesota.

Rangers 6, Athletics 4: Milton Bradley homered and drove in three runs to lead host Texas over Oakland for its fifth straight victory, despite having its shutout streak end at 33 innings when the Athletics scored an unearned run in the third.

Orioles 6, Royals 5: Kevin Millar had three hits, including a three-run homer and Garrett Olson (2-0) went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and eight hits, as visiting Baltimore beat Kansas City for the 12th straight time.

WHITE SOX 8, MARINERS 4: Brian Anderson and Carlos Quentin each homered and combined for five RBIs in the second inning to lead visiting Chicago over Seattle and into a first-place tie with Minnesota in the AL Central.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Giants 8, Phillies 2: Tim Lincecum (5-1) allowed two runs and four hits with eight strikeouts in eight innings, and Randy Winn and Aaron Rowand hit home runs to help host San Francisco beat Philadelphia and end its season-worst five-game skid.

Cubs 7, Diamondbacks 2: Alfonso Soriano had four hits, including a go-ahead double in a six-run seventh, and Kosuke Fukudome's first homer since opening day capped the inning as host Chicago defeated Arizona for the second straight day.

Cardinals 5, Brewers 3: Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run single with two outs in the top of the ninth inning as St. Louis ended a three-game skid by beating Milwaukee and Ben Sheets, who struck out six to set a franchise record for strikeouts with 1,086.

METS-REDS SPLIT: Bronson Arroyo (2-4) allowed a run and four hits with nine strikeouts over eight innings and Jeff Keppinger had a career-high five hits, lifting visiting Cincinnati over New York, 7-1, to earn a split of their day-night doubleheader.

In the opener, Carlos Beltran hit a bases-loaded triple and drove in five runs, and Carlos Delgado and Brian Schneider hit New York's first back-to-back homers of the season to support Johan Santana's (4-2) first home win for the Mets in a 12-6 victory.

Pirates 5, Braves 2: Tom Gorzelanny shook off Mark Teixeira's two-run homer in the first inning to shut out Atlanta during the rest of his 7 1/3 innings, Jason Bay homered and Pittsburgh handed Atlanta its sixth straight loss on the road.

Marlins 11, Nationals 0: Dan Uggla sparked a seven-run fourth inning with his fourth career grand slam, finishing with five RBIs, Andrew Miller (3-2) allowed two hits in seven innings and visiting Florida routed Washington for its sixth straight win.

Padres 3, Rockies 2: Greg Maddux (3-3) gave up a run on three hits in six innings to become the ninth pitcher in big league history to win 350 games, and Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer to help host San Diego beat Colorado to end a five-game losing streak.

Astros 5, Dodgers 0: Chris Sampson (3-0) pitched three-hit ball over seven innings, Darin Erstad and Miguel Tejada each drove in two runs to lead visiting Houston over Los Angeles, which played without Rafael Furcal, who missed his fourth straight game with a sore lower back.

NOTES

Cardinals: After blowing his major league leading fifth save on Friday night in a 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, reliever Jason Isringhausen will no longer close games, St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said yesterday. "He's still prepared to pitch important innings, but for a while we'll try to keep him out of the ninth inning," La Russa said.

Mariners: Richie Sexson's suspension for charging the mound in Seattle's 5-0 loss to Texas on Thursday was reduced from six games to five. The Mariners said Sexson sat out last night's game against the Chicago White Sox to begin the suspension.

Marlins: Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez has agreed to the framework of a $70 million, six-year contract to remain with the team, a person familiar with the negotiations said yesterday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the deal hadn't been completed.