Justin Verlander nearly pitched another no-hitter, taking his latest bid into the eighth inning to lead the Tigers past the Indians 4-0 in Detroit and into first place in the AL Central.

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 2,000th career hit.

The hard-throwing righty finished with a two-hitter, giving Detroit sole possession of the division lead for the first time this year.

Rays 4, Red Sox 0

In St. Petersburg, James Shields (6-4) pitched his AL-leading third shutout of the season, helping the Rays end Boston’s nine-game winning streak. Carl Crawford went 0-for-3 in his Tropicana Field homecoming.

Blue Jays 6, Orioles 5 (11)

In Toronto, Adam Lind homered leading off the 11th inning as the Jays snapped a four-game skid.

Angels 4, Mariners 0

In Seattle, Jered Weaver (8-4) threw a five-hitter for his second shutout of the season as the Angels won consecutive games for the first time since late May.

Phillies 9, Marlins 1

In Philadelphia, Cole Hamels pitched seven dominant innings to become the NL’s second nine-game winner and Domonic Brown hit two of Philadelphia’s season-high five homers.

Nationals 8, Cardinals 6

In Washington, Ryan Zimmerman hit a run-scoring double in his return from the disabled list to spark a six-run seventh-inning. Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman homered for St. Louis.

Pirates 1, Astros 0

In Houston, Jeff Karstens (4-4) pitched three-hit ball into the seventh for Pittsburgh. Houston’s Hunter Pence went 0-for-4 to snap his career-best 23-game hitting streak.

Cubs 5, Brewers 4 (10)

In Chicago, Starlin Castro looped a one-out single to right field in the 10th inning to score Tony Campana from third base.

Rockies 6, Padres 3

In Denver, Juan Nicasio (2-1) had a career-high nine strikeouts in six innings.

Giants 6, D’backs 5

In Phoenix, Cody Ross had a two-run double and scored on a double steal as San Francisco stayed atop the NL West.

Reds 3, Dodgers 2

In Los Angeles, Joey Votto hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth for Cincinnati.