BALTIMORE—Gary Sheffield and Brandon Inge hit two-run homers, Marcus Thames added a solo shot, and the Detroit Tigers resumed their playoff drive by defeating the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 on Thursday night.

Kenny Rogers (7-6) allowed four runs and 11 hits in six gritty innings for the Tigers, who moved within 6 1/2 games of first-place Chicago in the AL Central. Detroit has won 24 of 35 since June 6.

Todd Jones, the fifth Detroit pitcher, worked the ninth for his 18th save. After Aubrey Huff hit a one-out sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, Jones retired Kevin Millar on a grounder to third.

Melvin Mora homered for the Orioles, who have dropped eight of nine to fall four games under .500 (45-49) for the first time this season.

Baltimore starter Garrett Olson (6-5) gave up five runs, seven hits and four walks in six innings. The rookie has allowed 18 runs over 15 innings in his last three starts.

Inge gave the Tigers a 5-4 lead in the sixth with his seventh homer that followed a two-out single by Edgar Renteria. It was his first home run on the road since May 17, 2007, at Boston.

Baltimore got runners at the corners with no outs in the bottom half, but Rogers got out of the jam. Ramon Hernandez got caught in a rundown after breaking to the plate on a grounder by Brandon Fahey, then Brian Roberts hit into a 5-3 double play.

That ended Rogers’ night, but the 43-year-old stuck around long enough to earn his 217th victory, tied with former Detroit star Mickey Lolich for 19th place on the career list among left-handers.

Thames connected off Dennis Sarfate in the seventh to make it 6-4. In the eighth, Sheffield was robbed of another home run when Jay Payton reached over the wall to snare his drive to left.

Sheffield put the Tigers up 2-0 in the second with his 486th career homer following a walk to Miguel Cabrera. It was his sixth home run of the season, and first since June 26.

Baltimore used four straight hits to pull even in the bottom half, including a run-scoring double by Mora and an RBI single by Hernandez.

Each team scored a run in the third. Detroit used doubles by Curtis Granderson and Thames to take the lead before Roberts doubled and scored on a grounder by Nick Markakis.

Mora’s 12th homer put Baltimore ahead for the first time, 4-3 in the fourth. Rogers avoided further damage by striking out Adam Jones with the bases loaded and two outs.



NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cardinals 4, Padres 3

ST. LOUIS—Troy Glaus hit two homers and Rick Ankiel and Joe Mather added one each off San Diego’s Jake Peavy as St. Louis beat the Padres 4-3.

It was only the second time in his seven-year career that Peavy allowed four homers. The other time was July 9, 2003, at Arizona. Peavy (7-6) gave up eight hits and struck out seven in seven innings.

Kyle Lohse (12-2) won his ninth straight decision, the most for St. Louis since Chris Carpenter won 13 in a row in 2005. Lohse pitched seven innings, allowing two runs, seven hits and two walks while striking out four.

Ryan Franklin pitched the ninth for his 13th save, allowing one run.

Glaus tied it 1-all in the second with his first homer. The Cardinals took a 3-2 lead in the fourth on back-to-back shots by Ankiel and Glaus. Mather, a rookie pinch-hitting for Lohse, homered in the seventh.



Mets 10, Reds 8

CINCINNATI—David Wright’s two-run homer in the ninth inning rallied the Mets to their 10th straight victory, a win over Cincinnati that moved once-languishing New York back into first place in the NL East.

Playing on the one-month anniversary of manager Willie Randolph’s firing, the Mets blew three leads before coming full-circle with four runs in the ninth off closer Francisco Cordero (4-2).

They were 6 1/2 games out when they changed managers, fearful that they were playing themselves out of contention with an underachieving offense. Their 10th straight win completed the turnaround—they’re tied for first with Philadelphia, back in the top spot for the first time since April 19.