The Associated Press

BOSTON - Derek Lowe pitched a four-hitter for his first complete game of the season and Nomar Garciaparra extended his hitting streak to 23 games as the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 9-2 Friday night.

Lowe (4-3) got all the support he needed in a six-run first inning. He allowed just four balls to leave the infield and recorded 17 outs on grounders.

He improved his home record to 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA. On the road, he's 1-3 with an 11.57 ERA. He struck out five and walked three.

"I couldn't imagine anything better," Lowe said. "I felt the whole way I was in command of the game."

Garciaparra went 2-for-3 and has the longest hitting streak in the majors this season.

Bill Mueller went 2-for-4 with two RBI and is hitting .385 but needs 11 more plate appearances to qualify for the American League lead.

Lowe got his first win in his last six appearances, dating to a 7-2 victory over Toronto on April 19. He didn't allow a ball out of the infield until Ben Broussard singled to left center with two outs in the fifth.

Athletics 4, Royals 1

OAKLAND, Calif. - Mark Mulder fell one out short of his third shutout of the season, pitching an eight-hitter to lead Oakland. He held Kansas City scoreless until Brent Mayne's RBI groundout with one out in the ninth inning before finishing his major league-leading fifth complete game.

Mulder (7-2) walked two and struck out six to move into a tie for the most wins in the majors.

Rangers 5, Orioles 3

ARLINGTON, Texas - Rafael Palmeiro homered and drove in three runs to lead Texas to its season-high seventh straight win. Palmeiro hit a two-run blast in the first and added an RBI single in the fifth that put Texas ahead 4-3.

Blue Jays 6, Yankees 2

NEW YORK - Kelvim Escobar outpitched Mike Mussina and Toronto sent New York to its fifth straight home loss. The skid at Yankee Stadium is the Yankees' longest since the middle of the 2000 season.

The Yankees' ninth defeat in 10 home games dropped them out of the AL East lead for the first time this year. They trail Boston by a half-game.

Tigers 3, White Sox 2

CHICAGO - Detroit's Mike Maroth won for the first time in 10 decisions this season, pitching seven strong innings.

Maroth (1-9) gave up three hits and two walks and struck out three to snap an 11-game losing streak. He won for the first time since Sept. 16, 2002, against Kansas City.

Dmitri Young hit an RBI double off Kelly Wunsch to score Ramon Santiago with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning.