Sports: AL briefs

AL briefs

By Compiled from Times wires

Indians battle past A's

CLEVELAND -- David Segui's go-ahead run-scoring double in the sixth inning Wednesday night sent the Indians to their fifth straight win, 7-5 over the Oakland Athletics that included more bad blood.

Jim Thome homered as Cleveland won for the 14th time in 19 games to open a one-game lead over Boston in the wild-card race.

The A's, who have lost five of six and 12 of 17, are 11/2 back.

For the second night in a row the teams exchanged brushback pitches and trash talk.

The starting pitchers for both teams were warned after head-high pitches emptied the dugouts and bullpens for some heated finger-pointing and animated conversation.

Segui and Travis Fryman hit run-scoring doubles in the sixth after Cleveland starter Bartolo Colon was forced to leave with tendinitis in his left knee. He is day-to-day.

Segui, sent sprawling earlier by an inside pitch from Tim Hudson (13-6), got revenge against the right-hander in the sixth with his double that put the Indians up 6-5. Hudson, lifted after that at-bat, allowed seven runs and eight hits in 51/3 innings.

Fryman followed with a run-scoring double off Doug Jones.

Roberto Alomar's diving stop to end the top of the fifth sparked the Indians, who scored four runs in the bottom half to open a 5-3 lead.

Ranging into shallow right, Alomar dived to grab Adam Piatt's hard grounder, popped to his feet and threw to first for the out, saving a run and keeping the Indians within 3-1.

Omar Vizquel and Kenny Lofton -- both swinging at Hudson's first pitch -- each hit two-run singles in the Indians' four-run fifth.

BLUE JAYS 9, ROYALS 8: Carlos Delgado had his fifth two-homer game of the season, hitting a go-ahead drive in the eighth as host Toronto won its third straight.

Delgado, who tied Chicago's Frank Thomas for the AL lead with 38 homers, hit a leadoff homer in a five-run seventh that tied the score at 8, then hit a go-ahead shot in the eighth off Andy Larkin (0-2).

Alex Gonzalez tied a career high with five RBI, including a score-tying two-run double in the seventh. Gonzalez went 3-for-5, including a two-run homer in the first.

Kelvim Escobar (9-13) won for the second straight night, allowing one hit in one inning.

TIGERS 6, MARINERS 5: Juan Encarnacion hit a two-run triple in a five-run seventh that rallied host Detroit. Seattle has lost nine of its past 10 games.

Edgar Martinez hit his career-high 30th home run and Mike Cameron also homered for Seattle, which still has a 31/2-game lead in the West.

Detroit trailed 4-1 before batting around in the seventh, getting five straight hits.

Arthur Rhodes (3-7) gave up four consecutive hits after relieving starter Paul Abbott. Jose Macias had a run-scoring single and Wendell Magee had a pinch single. Encarnacion tripled to the rightfield corner and Bobby Higginson hit a run-scoring single.