With two no-hitters already on his resume, including one in Toronto last month, Verlander (8-3) struck out a season-high 12 and dominated the slumping Indians until Orlando Cabrera lined a clean single to center with one out in the eighth for his 2,001st career hit.
The hard-throwing right-hander finished with a two-hitter, giving Detroit sole possession of the division lead for the first time this year. He walked one, hit a batter with a pitch and has won six straight decisions.
Andy Dirks drove in two runs for the Tigers, who have won 12 of 16.
Still missing injured slugger Travis Hafner , the Indians lost for the 15th time in 20 games and fell out of first place for the first time since April 6.
Justin Masterson (5-5) gave up four runs — two earned — on seven hits and five walks over 6 1-3 innings. He is 0-5 since his last victory April 26.
Rays 4 Red Sox 0: In St. Petersburg, Florida, James Shields pitched his AL-leading third shutout for Tampa Bay to end first-place Boston’s nine-game winning streak.
In addition to cutting into their deficit in the AL East standings, the third-place Rays ruined a Tropicana Field homecoming for Carl Crawford , who signed a $142 million, seven-year contract with Boston after helping Tampa Bay win the division two of the past three seasons.
Crawford went 0 for 3 with one strikeout against Shields (6-4), who allowed five hits, walked three and struck out five en route to his AL-best fourth complete game.
Yankees 12 Rangers 4: In New York, Curtis Granderson homered and drove in four runs, Eduardo Nunez — filling in for an injured Derek Jeter — sparked a six-run second inning with an RBI single and New York beat Texas.
Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher also connected in the Yankees’ first game since Jeter was placed on the 15-day disabled list for the first time since 2003 because of a strained right calf.
Brett Gardner scored three of the four times he reached base, had an RBI single among three hits and stole his 100th base batting in Jeter’s leadoff spot. Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run double for an efficient offense that scored 12 runs on 14 hits, two walks and a hit batter.
Granderson singled in two runs and Mark Teixeira had a two-run double in the second when New York batted around and knocked out Alexi Ogando , his second rough outing in the Bronx.
CC Sabathia (8-4) pitched seven effective innings in helping the Yankees (5-2) secure the season series against the team that beat them in the AL championship series last October with two games remaining.
Ogando (7-1) was trying to match Tommy Hunter’s club record for a starter of eight wins without a loss to begin a season, set in 2010. Mets rookie Dillon Gee is the only undefeated pitcher with at least seven wins remaining in the majors this year.
Blue Jays 6 Orioles 5, 11 innings: In Toronto, Adam Lind homered leading off the 11th inning to give Toronto a victory over Baltimore that snapped a four-game losing streak.
The Blue Jays have won 15 straight at home against Baltimore since Aug. 7, 2009.
Lind connected against Koji Uehara (1-1) and finished with two RBIs. Aaron Hill also homered for the Blue Jays and Shawn Camp (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning for the win.
Angels 4 Mariners 0: In Seattle, Jered Weaver threw a five-hitter for his second shutout of the season and finally got some run support on the road thanks to a four-run first inning as Los Angeles beat Seattle to win consecutive games for the first time since late May.
The Angels took advantage of one awful inning from Mariners starter Doug Fister (3-8) and Weaver made that one outburst stand up to give the Angels franchise its 4,000th win.
Weaver (8-4) allowed four singles and Ichiro Suzuki’s ninth-inning double in his third complete game of the year. He struck out six and walked one.
Royals 7 Athletics 4: In Oakland, California, Alcides Escobar had three hits and two RBIs, Danny Duffy pitched six innings for his first major league win and Kansas City beat Oakland to spoil the home debut of Athletics interim manager Bob Melvin.
Billy Butler had a two-run double to help the Royals to their fourth victory in five games. Kansas City improved to 3-1 on its road trip following a 4-7 homestand.
Duffy (1-2) gave up two runs and four hits, pitching out of trouble. Joakim Soria worked the ninth for his 10th save in 15 chances.
Hideki Matsui homered and scored twice for the A’s, who lost for the 13th time in 14 games and fell a season-high 12 games under .500.
