DETROIT (AP) Max Scherzer headed off the mound and toward the dugout, where manager Jim Leyland was waiting to offer a congratulatory handshake.

After 15 strikeouts in seven innings, Scherzer's day was done, and the only question was whether the Detroit right-hander's fine effort would go to waste.

''We're in this business to win,'' Scherzer said.

And win the Tigers did. Alex Avila's tiebreaking, two-run single highlighted a three-run seventh that sent Detroit to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Scherzer's 15 strikeouts were the most by a Tigers pitcher in 40 years, and his teammates wiped out a 2-1 deficit to get him the victory.

Mickey Lolich had 15 strikeouts for the Tigers against Boston on Oct. 2, 1972, and set the club record of 16 in 1969, doing it twice in less than three weeks.

Scherzer's 15 strikeouts were the most by a major league pitcher this year. Miami's Anibal Sanchez had 14 against Arizona on April 28.

''We've wasted a few good performances this year already,'' Avila said. ''Hopefully, that will kind of get us on a roll a little bit.''

Detroit trails first-place Cleveland by three games in the AL Central.

Scherzer (3-3) threw 115 pitches. He allowed four hits, including two solo homers, and a walk.

Avila's hit made it 4-2. Pittsburgh scored a run in the ninth off Joaquin Benoit, but he held on for his first save this season. Detroit closer Jose Valverde has a strained back.

Kevin Correia (1-5) allowed three runs and four hits in six-plus innings.

Scherzer gave up seven runs in 2 2-3 innings in his first start of the season, and although he's been better since then, he entered Sunday's game with a 6.26 ERA. He was locked in from the start, throwing his first 10 pitches for strikes before finally missing the zone against Pedro Alvarez, the first hitter of the second. Scherzer got Alvarez anyway for his third strikeout of the day.

''Even when I've struggled, I've always believed the next time I go out there that I'm going to have a great start, no matter what,'' Scherzer said. ''That's always been my belief ever since I've been in the big leagues, and today was no different.''

All 15 of Scherzer's strikeouts were swinging. The only other pitcher since 1988 to strike out at least 15 - all swinging - in a game was Houston's Mike Scott, who fanned 15 Cincinnati Reds on June 8, 1990, according to STATS LLC.

''My changeup was really working well today. I was able to throw it to both lefties and righties, and I was able to generate swing-and-misses out of it,'' Scherzer said. ''I was able to throw it for a strike and throw it just underneath the zone to help generate some swing-and-miss strikeouts.''

Scherzer had struck out five straight - and 10 for the game - when Rod Barajas homered with one out in the fifth to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. Jhonny Peralta answered with a solo shot in the bottom half.

Neil Walker hit a 407-foot homer in the sixth, and Scherzer's pitch count began creeping up, precluding a run at the big league record of 20 strikeouts for a nine-inning game. Scherzer was actually on the hook for a loss when Leyland offered his handshake after the top of the seventh, the signal that a reliever would be entering in the eighth.

But Prince Fielder led off the bottom of the seventh with a blooper to left that dropped between shortstop Clint Barmes and left fielder Nate McLouth. Barmes had a long way to run because the infield was shifted around to the right, and when the ball hit the ground, it bounced weirdly up off him into foul territory, enabling Fielder to reach second with a double.

Delmon Young followed with a tying single, and Tony Watson relieved Correia. Peralta drew a walk one out later, and a passed ball by Barajas allowed the runners to move up to second and third. The Pirates brought the infield in, but Avila's base hit up the middle foiled that strategy and made it 4-2.

Detroit was without center fielder Austin Jackson (abdominal strain) and Valverde, but the Tigers ended up taking two of three from Pittsburgh. Scherzer and Justin Verlander bookended the series with brilliant pitching performances. Verlander threw a one-hit shutout Friday night, striking out 12 and giving up only a ninth-inning single to Josh Harrison.

The Pirates struck out 17 times Sunday and 41 times in the series.

NOTES: Detroit's Brennan Boesch had his 12-game hitting streak snapped. ... Pittsburgh dropped to 19-9 when scoring at least two runs. ... The Tigers are off Monday. The Pirates return home and will send LHP Erik Bedard (2-5) to the mound against Johan Santana (1-2) of the New York Mets.

MILWAUKEE (AP) Jonathan Lucroy's first time as a cleanup hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers was a big success.

Lucroy homered twice and had a career-high seven RBIs, Zack Greinke pitched six strong innings to improve to 14-0 at Miller Park, and the Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins 16-4 on Sunday.

Lucroy connected on an 0-2 pitch from Jeff Gray in the seventh inning for his first career grand slam. The ball nipped the back edge of the padding in right before falling into the Twins' bullpen. A curtain call followed for the Brewers' catcher, who also had a solo homer in the first and an RBI single in the second.

''Coming up through high school, college and the minor leagues, I was a three, four hitter,'' Lucroy said. ''I'm comfortable with it. I've been there before.''

Lucroy's opportunities to bat cleanup were limited until this year. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder held down the Nos. 3 and 4 spots in the Brewers' lineup the previous two seasons. But, with Prince gone, the offense sputtering and plagued by inconsistency, manager Ron Roenicke turned to Lucroy.

''When I got here, obviously with someone like Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun in three, four, you're not going to be in there,'' he said. ''If he calls me to be there, I'll be there. If not, whatever.''

Lucroy came in batting a team-high .330 and was second behind Braun in RBIs with 20. Lucroy's performance Sunday elevated his average to .342 and gave him 27 runs driven in, just one RBI fewer than Braun's total.

''I'm just happy to help my team win any way I can,'' Lucroy said. ''I'm just trying to have good ABs and hit the ball hard somewhere.''

Despite the success, Roenicke said Lucroy will drop back into his regular spots in the bottom third of the order. However, if Lucroy continues blistering the ball, that might change.

''He'll go back to where he was,'' Roenicke said, but then added, ''I hope he stays this hot so we have to make that decision.''

While Lucroy seemed to be pounding the ball everywhere, Greinke was keeping the Twins from doing the same.

''He's nasty, though. Isn't he?'' Lucroy said. ''He's a lot of fun to catch, working his magic out there. Whenever this guy locates down and away, painting and with velocity and bite on his slider, mixing the slow curve ball, the changeup. This guy won a Cy Young, and there's a reason why.''

Greinke (5-1) benefited from Milwaukee's season highs for hits and runs to extend his unbeaten streak to 20 starts as a Brewer at Miller Park. He allowed one run on five hits, struck out six and walked one.

Staked to a seven-run lead early, he allowed just one run on four hits through six innings. In the seventh, Trevor Plouffe singled with one out. Second baseman Edwin Maysonet's two-base throwing error put runners at second and third. After Denard Span walked to load the bases, Juan Perez relieved and struck out Ben Revere to end the threat.

With the victory, the Brewers avoided being swept in a three-game series with Minnesota for the first time since Sept. 15-17, 1978, when Milwaukee was still in the American League.

Braun went 3 for 4 with two doubles, a single, four RBIs and two runs scored. Corey Hart also had three hits, including his ninth home run of the season.

In the fourth, Braun's RBI double and Taylor Green's sacrifice fly pushed the lead to 10-1. An inning later, Braun made it 11-1 with a bloop RBI single.

Norichika Aoki pinch hit for Braun in the seventh and drove in a run.

The Brewers chased Jason Marquis (2-4) with a big six-hit, six-run second inning. Braun doubled in two, Lucroy had a bloop two-run single and Hart and Travis Ishikawa each added run-scoring singles. Marquis also hit one of the 10 batters he faced in his shortest start of the season.

After Ishikawa's two-out RBI hit, Anthony Swarzak took over for Marquis and retired Cesar Izturis on a fly ball.

''I'm putting the team in a hole every time I step on the mound,'' Marquis said after losing his fourth straight start. ''I can't get it right right now. They hit good pitches and bad pitches.''

Marquis' last victory was April 29 when he beat Kansas City.

Hart led off the bottom of the first with a solo shot that nearly cleared the second tier of seats in left. Lucroy followed two outs later with another solo blast. It landed in the same tier in left, but just a few rows in.

The Twins' bright spot was Revere, who kept up his strong hitting since being recalled May 17. He doubled and scored on Josh Willingham's single in the Twins' first. Revere came into the game batting .400 with two runs scored and two stolen bases.

Brian Dozier had a RBI single in the eighth for the Twins.

Minnesota scored a run in the ninth when Izturis couldn't field Darin Mastroianni's two-out roller to short with the bases loaded. Then reliever Kameron Loe walked in a run before retiring Dozier to end the game.

The huge lead gave Roenicke a chance to move Hart to first to start the seventh. With Mat Gamel (right knee) out for the season, Ishikawa became the starting first baseman. While Green can play there, Roenicke sees Hart as a more long-term option. Plus, with Hart at first, an outfield position opens up that would allow Carlos Gomez. Nyjer Morgan and Aoki to see more playing time.

NOTES: C Drew Butera drew a walk as a pinch-hitter in the eighth and stayed in the game as the Twins' fifth reliever. He pitched a scoreless eighth. ... Hart's home run in the first traveled an estimated 455 feet while Lucroy's went 405 feet. ... The Brewers reinstated OF Carlos Gomez from the 15-day disabled list Sunday. They had optioned INF Brooks Conrad to Triple-A Nashville after Saturday's game. ... Brewers reliever Tim Dillard was ejected by home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt in the ninth for throwing behind Minnesota's Jamey Carroll. ''I heard Lucroy say 'Nyjer Morgan,''' Carroll said, ''but, we got our conversation cut off by Hunter. I wasn't expecting anything.''

WASHINGTON (AP) Stephen Strasburg took a swing and looked in amazement as the baseball carried over the left-field wall.

If Strasburg's first major league homer came as a surprise, his performance on the mound did not. With Strasburg leading the way, the Washington Nationals beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 Sunday to avert a three-game sweep.

In addition to his 2-for-2 performance at the plate, Strasburg (4-1) struck out eight in five innings before being lifted by manager Davey Johnson, who said the pitcher mentioned tightness in his biceps.

''I don't care who it was, if I find out they have tightness, they're out,'' Johnson said. ''I talked to him later in the game. He said it relaxed a bit and was a lot better. I'm not as concerned when it's in the biceps.''

Strasburg attributed the soreness in part to working too hard in the days following his previous start.

''The biceps is fine,'' he said. ''It's just throwing a lot of pitches early, then we put up a lot of runs and stuff. I just got a little tired, got a little tight, but that's nothing different than any other outing.''

Strasburg sent an 0-2 pitch from Wei-Yin Chen into the Baltimore bullpen in the fourth inning to put the Nationals ahead 5-3. After dusting off his home run trot and returning to the dugout, he responded to a curtain call by waving to the crowd of 41,918.

''Shocking, that's for sure,'' Strasburg said of his clout. ''I feel like in (batting practice) I have to swing a lot harder to hit it out. I just somehow ran into one.''

He was almost embarrassed about his trip around the bases and subsequent climb up the dugout steps.

''I'm not big for going out there and showboating,'' Strasburg said. ''It was great, but I know my place. I'm not a real hitter out there so I'm not going to go out there and act like I do it all the time.''

The hard-throwing Strasburg had five hits in 40 big league at-bats before Sunday. He singled and scored in the third inning, then followed a shot by Jesus Flores with one of his own in the fourth.

''I didn't expect Stras to hit a breaking ball,'' Johnson said. ''He doesn't usually see breaking balls. (Third base coach) Bo Porter came in after and said we found a left fielder.''

Known more for his pitching than his hitting, Strasburg excelled at both. The right-hander allowed three runs, one earned, four hits and a walk in his first career appearance against Baltimore. He retired the last 10 batters he faced.

Since returning from elbow ligament replacement surgery last September, Strasburg is 5-2 with a 1.99 ERA in 14 starts.

Danny Espinosa also homered, and Bryce Harper drove in two runs and scored three for the Nationals.

Chen (4-1) yielded six runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings and absorbed his first major league loss. The Taiwan native was vying to become the first Baltimore starter to begin his Orioles career with five straight wins since Jimmy Key in 1997.

''This is baseball. Sometimes you have a good day, sometimes you have a bad day,'' Chen said through a translator. ''Definitely, I had a terrible start today.''

The loss ended Baltimore's five-game winning streak and nine-game road run. The Orioles scored the game's first three runs but got only two hits after the second inning - both in the ninth.

''If you came in today thinking you'd get their starting pitcher out of the game after five innings, you'd like your chances,'' manager Buck Showalter said

Baltimore went up 1-0 in the first when Xavier Avery walked, advanced on a fly ball and scored on a single by Nick Markakis.

The Orioles added a pair of unearned runs in the second after Harper drifted from center to left field to chase down a wind-blown fly ball, then dropped it. Robert Andino drove in a run with a groundout and Avery added an RBI single before Strasburg struck out J.J. Hardy with two outs and runners on second and third.

Harper made amends in a three-run third. Strasburg singled, Espinosa doubled and Harper hit a liner to right that a diving Markakis gloved but lost when he hit the ground. The triple scored two runs, and Harper scored on a groundout by Ian Desmond.

Flores gave Washington a 4-3 lead with his first homer since Aug. 18, and that only served as a prelude to Strasburg's drive.

Desmond chased Chen with an RBI single in the fifth, and Espinosa homered with a runner on during a three-run eighth.

NOTES: Orioles C Matt Wieters, who had the day off after a night game, will have to wait until Monday to try to snap an 0-fror-18 slump. ... Tommy Hunter (2-2) takes the mound for Baltimore on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against visiting Boston. ... Gio Gonzalez vies for his sixth win when the Nationals open a nine-game road trip Monday in Philadelphia. ... Avery got his first major league stolen base.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) If he keeps this up, Josh Beckett won't have to worry about hearing boos anymore.

Beckett pitched 7 2-3 strong innings and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a three-run homer to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Mike Aviles also homered and drove in two runs for Boston, which has won eight of 10 games overall after taking the final two of this three-game series.

Beckett (4-4) was booed off the mound May 10 when he allowed seven runs in 2 1-3 innings following news that he had played golf while skipping a start to rest a strained lat muscle - but he has been spectacular since.

After shutting out Seattle in a home win on May 15 by pitching seven scoreless innings and giving up four hits with nine strikeouts and two walks, Beckett allowed one run on seven hits Sunday while striking out five and walking two.

''I was making pitches when I needed to and the defense was unbelievable, everybody contributed,'' Beckett said. ''I was keeping the ball down and I threw a few changeups, or I got ground balls. It's nice to keep the ball in this ballpark.''

His only blemish was Juan Pierre's sacrifice fly in the eighth that gave Philadelphia its only run.

''His stuff was really moving today,'' Boston manager Bobby Valentine said of Beckett. ''He was aggressive in the strike zone and he looked like he wanted it.''

Adrian Gonzalez went 2 for 4 and now is 9 for 16 lifetime against Phillies lefty Cliff Lee.

Lee (0-2), making just his sixth start of the season after spending time on the DL with a strained oblique, had his worst start of the year. In seven innings, he allowed five runs on nine hits - both season highs. He struck out six and walked one.

''They've got a good offense,'' Lee said. ''They make you throw a lot of pitches. They foul off good pitches until they get one to hit. It's definitely the sign of a good offense, which they are.''

The three-time All-Star and 2008 AL Cy Young winner has been pitching well this season, entering with a 1.95 ERA, but has not been getting run support some of the time or bullpen support other times.

The Phillies' offense didn't help Lee, once again, but this time the left-hander wasn't able to keep Philadelphia close.

''Tonight it was definitely my fault,'' he said. ''I've gotta do a better job of that. I gotta get deeper in the game without giving up so many runs. This one falls on me.''

Aviles led off with a homer for the second straight game, ripping Lee's 1-1 cutter into the seats in left.

''I just try to put the ball in play, try to hit the ball up the middle and whatever happens, happens,'' Aviles said. ''I'm just trying to get on base.''

After Aviles' RBI single in the second gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead, Boston went ahead 5-0 in the third inning on Saltalamacchia's three-run homer that cleared the seats in center field and reached Ashburn Alley, the fan walkway behind the outfield seats. Lee said the pitch was a mistake.

''I threw a changeup up out over the plate,'' he said. ''Other than that, I felt like they battled. They fouled off a lot of good pitches, made me work a lot early. They got themselves a nice lead and never really lost it.''

Lee settled down after that, retiring the next 11 batters before Beckett's single off the wall in center to lead off the seventh. But the damage had been done.

''I was hoping once (Lee) settled in he started pitching pretty good we could score some runs for him, but we couldn't do it,'' Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. ''We hit some balls hard early but we couldn't get any big hits and drive runs in.''

Beckett was in total command against a Phillies lineup that had 15 hits the previous night. Other than the third inning, the right-hander allowed just two runners to reach second base prior to the eighth.

''He kept the ball down good,'' Manuel said. ''He hung in there, kept his pitch count down and (it) allowed him to go deep.''

The Phillies threatened in the third, putting runners on second and third with one out after Lee doubled, but Jimmy Rollins grounded out to third and Pierre lined out sharply to first to keep Philadelphia scoreless.

Philadelphia scored its run in the eighth on Pierre's sacrifice fly to left that scored pinch-hitter Pete Orr, who doubled. Valentine lifted Beckett after the right-hander walked Shane Victorino to put runners on first and second. And the bases were loaded when reliever Vicente Padilla walked Hunter Pence. But Padilla got Ty Wigginton to ground out to second to escape the jam.

''That's a situation you want to be in and Padilla did a good job,'' Wigginton said.

The Phillies were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position Sunday, and now are 3 for 21 in their last two games.

Notes: A day after making a sensational catch in center field, Boston's Ryan Sweeney didn't play. Valentine said he would be evaluated further on Monday, mentioning a possible concussion. . Phillies GM Ruben Amaro defended the club's use of a cortisone shot last Sept. 18 on Ryan Howard's injured left foot. The reaction was in response to a Philadelphia Inquirer story Sunday suggesting that the cortisone shot may have contributed to Howard's Achilles' tear last Oct. 7. ... Boston OF Cody Ross didn't play for the second straight game after fouling a ball off his left leg on Friday. ... The crowd of 45,586 was the 225th straight sellout and 241st counting postseason play. ... Philadelphia RHP Kyle Kendrick (0-3, 5.96), filling in for injured right-hander Vance Worley (elbow), is scheduled to face Washington left-hander Gio Gonzalez (5-1, 2.22) on Monday night when the Phillies host the first of a three-game series. ... Boston RHP Clay Buchholz (4-2, 7.77) opposes Orioles RHP Tommy Hunter (2-2, 4.78) when the Red Sox travel to AL East-leading Baltimore on Monday.

CLEVELAND (AP) Chris Perez is throwing some heat at Cleveland fans.

The All-Star closer didn't back down Sunday from comments made Saturday questioning why fans are not turning out to see the first-place Indians and why some in the sparse crowds boo the home team.

''The fans are going to come, I know that,'' Perez said. ''It's just a slap in the face when you're in first place and last in attendance. Last. Not 25th or 26th. Last.''

The right-hander said he has been frustrated by small crowds for a long time and that it came to a head Thursday when he was booed because two men reached base while he eventually saved a win over Seattle.

''That was the last straw,'' said Perez, an outspoken, gregarious team leader who regularly uses social media to interact with fans.

''I got a lot of messages and some of it was funny,'' Perez said of overnight reaction by fans.

While the Indians encourage Perez's aggressive style of challenging opposing hitters, the confrontational comments did not sit well.

Team president Mark Shapiro said the organization differs with the way Perez spoke, adding that the Indians do get fan support. Shapiro said the reliever's words come from a desire to win and get more fans to come to the ballpark.

''We clearly disagree with him about our fans,'' Shapiro said. ''We appreciate our fans. We respect our fans.''

Shapiro said the 26-year-old's comments were likely borne from frustration combined with a desire to succeed.

''He's been one of the more dominant closers,'' Shapiro said. ''What drives him to succeed in that role are emotion and competitiveness and passion, and I think a lot of that was behind what he said.

''It's clear that what's behind the emotion is how great he feels our situation is - how incredible he feels the team is, the ballpark is, and his desire for more people to experience it.

''He's saying, 'Pay attention. Look what we've got here.' ''

After earning his 13th save Saturday by striking out the side on 10 pitches to clinch a 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins, Perez criticized fans who boo the home team and said negative vibes are a reason big-name free agents such as Carlos Beltran don't sign with Cleveland.

It came after the season's second-largest crowd, 29,799. Including a sellout of 43,190 for the April 5 opener, the Indians' 15,188 average through 22 home dates is a far cry from the team-record 455 consecutive sellouts in the late 1990s.

''Nobody wants to play in front of 5,000 fans,'' said Perez on Saturday. ''We know the weather stinks, but people see that (low attendance). Other players know that.

''You had a choice of playing in St. Louis where you get 40,000 like Beltran chose to do, or you can come to Cleveland.''

Perez said Sunday he hadn't spoken to Beltran or others who signed elsewhere, adding that in conversation with teammates, opponents and a few former Indians, he drew the consensus that Cleveland is not now a popular place to play.

''Baseball is supposed to be fun,'' Perez said. ''It is like that in Philadelphia every day. It helps you. You draw energy from the fans.''

Shapiro countered by pointing out that several current Indians enjoy the city and have signed long-term contracts to stay. He thinks the current controversy will blow over and hopefully not impact Perez or the ballclub.

''I really feel like it's a moment in time, a story for right now,'' Shapiro said. ''If you polled our players, by and large, what you'd see is a largely universal appreciation for our fans.''

Perez said he had no ulterior motive for his comments and he isn't trying to draw attention to himself.

''It's just so frustrating,'' Perez said. ''I've been here since 2009, was one of the first guys in the (rebuilding) trades. If this was 2010, I wouldn't say anything. We deserved to be booed, we were bad.''

Cleveland went 65-97 in 2009 and 69-93 the next year, then spent much of last season in first place until fading to finish 80-82. They entered play Sunday 23-17.

Perez has done his part to boost sagging attendance. He has bought six season tickets to give away, understanding how the area has been hit hard by the economy and that some fans can't buy tickets. He doesn't, however, comprehend the overall apathy.

''I don't understand the negativity, in general,'' Perez said. ''Why? We have a first-place team. How many teams in the country would want that right now?

''You think the Tigers are happy? The Tigers are in third place. We're in first place. Enjoy it.''