OAKLAND, Calif. — Kurt Suzuki was pleased he came through when needed.

Suzuki hit an RBI single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead the Oakland Athletics past the Detroit Tigers, 3-2, last night.

"I was just praying it was going to drop," said Suzuki, a Baldwin High alum from Maui. "Once I rounded the bag, I was watching the play and should have been trying to get to second."

Adam Kennedy hit a leadoff single off Zach Miner (5-4) and advanced to second on Rajai Davis' sacrifice.

Suzuki hit a low liner into left field and Ryan Raburn went for the diving catch. He trapped the ball and came up throwing, but it was offline. It was Suzuki's sixth career game-winning hit.

"That hit kind of takes the monkey off the back," Suzuki said. "I've had chances and haven't been coming through, so it's a nice feeling when you get that big hit."

Andrew Bailey (6-3) pitched the ninth for the victory.

Carlos Guillen and Miguel Cabrera drove in runs for the Tigers, who had won six of their previous eight.

"We get them in a jam early and only score one run," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "But we don't blow it open from the 3 or 4 spot. We didn't get it done. We're not doing a very good job of hitting a double with the bases loaded."

Daric Barton and Cliff Pennington also drove in runs for the A's, who ended a three-game slide.

Tigers starter Armando Galarraga went 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and seven hits. He walked two and struck out three.

"I made a couple of mistakes in the second, walking those two guys," Galarraga said. "But I was making my pitches. I didn't think I pitched that bad. I just have to attack the hitter and not worry about someone warming up or how many innings I have to pitch."

Galarraga retired 14 of his final 17 batters after giving up both runs in the second inning.

A's starter Trevor Cahill allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings. He walked three and struck out four and is winless in his past six starts.

"I don't worry about (my 6-12 record) too much, it's all good," Cahill said. "My goal is to go out and pitch as many innings as I can. The bullpen's been doing a great job but they're probably also getting tired, so my job is to help them too."

Curtis Granderson, who snapped an 0-for-13 streak with a pinch-hit single Friday night, opened the game with a double and scored on Guillen's infield groundout to give Detroit a 1-0 lead.

RED SOX 14, YANKEES 1:

Kevin Youkilis homered twice and tied a career high with six RBIs, and rookie Junichi Tazawa (2-2) worked out of trouble all day, allowing eight hits and two walks in six scoreless innings as host Boston snapped a five-game losing streak to New York.

ANGELS 7, BLUE JAYS 3:

Vladimir Guerrero broke a 3-all tie with a solo shot in the sixth inning, Juan Rivera added a two-run homer in the eighth, and Ervin Santana (7-6) allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings as visiting Los Angeles beat Toronto.

TWINS 8, ROYALS 7:

Jason Kubel drove in three runs, Brian Duensing (1-1) gave up two runs and six hits in five innings, and, with the help of four relievers, earned his first major league win for visiting Minnesota.

RAYS 5, RANGERS 4:

Carlos Pena homered twice and singled home Evan Longoria from second base with no out in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting Tampa Bay over Texas. Pena finished with four RBIs for the Rays, who remain three games behind AL wild-card leading Boston.

INDIANS 4, MARINERS 3:

Luis Valbuena homered with two out in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift Cleveland over Seattle. Valbuena lined a 2-0 pitch from Randy Messenger (0-1) over the right-field wall for his seventh homer for Cleveland, which trailed 3-0 after one inning.

WHITE SOX 4, ORIOLES 1:

Carlos Quentin homered, and John Danks (11-8) walked six but allowed just one run and three hits in six-plus innings to help host Chicago beat Baltimore. Matt Thornton, Octavio Dotel and Bobby Jenks pitched in relief with Jenks earning his 27th save.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

DODGERS 2, CUBS 0:

Knuckleballer Charlie Haeger (1-1) allowed three hits in seven-plus innings, Jonathan Broxton and George Sherrill finished the four-hitter, and Matt Kemp and Casey Blake hit homers as host Los Angeles beat Chicago for its third straight victory.

ASTROS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 2:

Brian Moehler (8-9) gave up two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings, helping Houston win its season-best fourth straight. Arizona lost its seventh straight, its skid since dropping seven in a row in June 2006.

BRAVES 4, MARLINS 3:

Rookie Tommy Hanson (9-2) gave up four hits and three runs in seven innings to win his fourth straight start in August, Omar Infante led off the bottom of the first with a homer and Yunel Escobar capped the four-run inning with a two-run shot for Atlanta.

PHILLIES 4, METS 1:

New York starter Tim Redding gave up one hit through five shutout innings, but reliever Pat Misch walked Shane Victorino leading off the top of the sixth, and then gave up a long homer to right to Chase Utley as part of a three-run inning for Philadelphia.

PIRATES 12, REDS 2:

Ryan Doumit homered, doubled and drove in three runs, and Zach Duke (10-11) matched his career high for wins set in 2006, giving up two runs and eight hits in seven innings for host Pittsburgh. Cincinnati fell into last place in the NL Central.

ROCKIES 14, GIANTS 11:

Ian Stewart and Todd Helton homered in a seven-run sixth inning and host Colorado added four runs in the eighth to rally past San Francisco and take a two-game lead in the NL wild-card race. Ryan Garko hit a pair of two-run homers for the Giants.

BREWERS 11, NATIONALS 9:

Mike Cameron homered and drove in three runs, Casey McGehee singled in a run for a 9-8 lead in the sixth inning and visiting Milwaukee recovered from blowing an 8-1 lead in a victory over Washington.

CARDINALS 7, PADRES 0:

Chris Carpenter (14-3) allowed three hits over seven innings to win his ninth consecutive decision, and Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer as visiting St. Louis beat San Diego and opened an eight-game lead over Chicago in the NL Central.