NEW YORK, 10 July 2005 — Chien-Ming Wang delivered seven solid innings and Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez each had two hits and an RBI as the surging New Yankees held on to edge the Cleveland Indians 5-4 on Friday at Yankee Stadium to post their sixth straight win.

Wang (6-3) served up a home run to Grady Sizemore with his first pitch but then quickly settled down to take credit for the win, giving up three runs on seven hits, striking out three and walking three in 6 2/3 innings of work.

Mariano Rivera gave up a run on three hits in the ninth but held on to get his 19th save.

Cleveland starter Cliff Lee (9-4) was saddled with the loss, allowing five runs on six hits in six innings.

In St. Petersburg, Craig Monroe homered and drove in five runs after Detroit starter Nate Robertson was ejected after throwing one pitch as the Tigers battled past the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7-3 for a fourth straight win.

Robertson was tossed after he threw his opening pitch behind Tampa leadoff man Carl Crawford in apparent retaliation for Devil Rays starter Scott Kazmir drilling Placido Polanco.

Franklyn German (3-0), however, came to the rescue tossing three scoreless innings of one-hit ball to take credit for the win. Kazmir (3-7) absorbed the loss, shelled for five runs on five hits in just three innings as the Devil Rays slumped to their 10th consecutive defeat.

In Baltimore, Bronson Arroyo pitched 7 2/3 sharp innings and Manny Ramirez drove in three runs as the Boston Red Sox rolled to a 7-2 win over the Orioles.

David Ortiz contributed a pair of RBIs to the Red Sox cause while Johnny Damon went 4-for-5 with a run scored, extending his hitting streak to 23 games — the longest in the major leagues this season.

In Arlington, Alfonso Soriano drove in the tying run then scored the winner as the Texas Rangers rallied to down the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6. Even worse than the loss for the Blue Jays was an injury to ace Roy Halladay who left the field in the third inning after taking a line drive off his left shin. The former Cy Young winner was taken to hospital for X-rays but the extent of the injury was not immediately known. Hank Blalock homered and drove in a pair of runs while Michael Young finished with four hits and three RBIs to help the Rangers pull out of a two-game losing skid.

In Kansas City, Brad Radke pitched 6 1/3 gritty innings and Joe Mauer had three hits with an RBI and a run scored to help the Minnesota Twins to a 5-4 win over the Royals. Radke (6-8) gave up four runs on nine hits, struck out one and walked one to notch his first win in over a month and end a four-game losing skid.

In Chicago, Kirk Saarloos delivered six strong innings and Bobby Crosby drove in a pair of runs to guide the Oakland Athletics to their 11th win in 14 games with a 4-2 victory over the White Sox.

Saarloos (5-5) surrendered just two runs on the seven hits, striking out three and walking two to earn the win while Huston Street worked a scoreless ninth for his fifth save.

In Anaheim, Randy Winn belted his fifth career grand slam and Jamie Moyer pitched 6 1/3 sharp innings to collected his 200th career win as the Seattle Mariners sank the Los Angeles Angels 10-4.