DETROIT — Dane Sardinha felt like a goat after grounding into a rally-killing double play. That made it all the better when his first major league hit made him a hero.

Sardinha, a Kamehameha Schools alum, hit a two-run triple to rally the Tigers to a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies yesterday, giving Detroit a three-game sweep and a winning record for the first time this season.

"It was a pretty good feeling," Sardinha said. "Especially my previous at-bat I had a chance to tie the game, first and third, a sacrifice would have worked but I grounded into a double play to end the inning. I was kind of frustrated. Thank God I redeemed myself the next at-bat."

Detroit, which won its fifth straight and 15th in its past 18, also got three hits and an RBI from Marcus Thames.

Troy Tulowitzki homered for Colorado, which lost its seventh straight.

Kenny Rogers (6-5) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings. Freddy Dolsi pitched two perfect innings and Todd Jones got a 1-2-3 ninth and his 15th save in 16 chances.

Greg Reynolds (2-6) allowed four runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Reynolds left the game leading 3-2 after Edgar Renteria's infield single put runners on first and third with two out in the sixth.

Reynolds was replaced by Matt Herges. Sardinha, a backup catcher who was called up from Triple-A Toledo last week because Brandon Inge went on the DL, lined Herges' 1-0 pitch into the left-center field gap to score Thames and Renteria.

"What he does is a bonus and today it was a huge bonus. I couldn't be happier for him," said Tigers' manager Jim Leyland. "That's good tonic, a guy comes up like that and gets a big hit for you second game in. That's good stuff."

Angels 1, Dodgers 0: John Lackey held the Dodgers to three hits for 8 2/3 innings, Francisco Rodriguez retired James Loney with the bases loaded for the final out and the Angels avoided a sweep at Dodger Stadium. Mike Napoli's RBI single off Derek Lowe (5-8) in the second inning helped Lackey (6-1), who struck out nine and walked two.

Twins 5, Brewers 0: Kevin Slowey beat Ben Sheets (9-2) and Milwaukee with a three-hit shutout for host Minnesota. Delmon Young had a two-run homer and Carlos Gomez added an RBI triple to back Slowey (5-6) who struck out eight in his first career shutout.

Mets 3, Yankees 1: Carlos Delgado homered, and the host Mets won this year's Subway Series when Billy Wagner closed out the Mets' fourth win in the six-game rivalry. Oliver Perez (6-5) limited the Yankees to one run and three hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts.

Astros 3, Red Sox 2: Mark Loretta had a pinch-hit, RBI single in the eighth inning off Hideki Okajima (1-3) as host Houston took two of three from Boston. Boston's Josh Beckett gave up two runs on eight hits and teammate Manny Ramirez tied the game in the seventh with a solo homer off Oscar Villareal.

Cardinals 9, Royals 6: Jason LaRue drove in four runs with a home run and a triple and Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer, leading St. Louis over host Kansas City. Rookie reliever Chris Perez (2-0) got the victory, pitching 1 2/3 innings and giving up two hits and one run on Mark Teahen's RBI single.

Mariners 9, Padres 2: Ichiro Suzuki went 5 for 5, Adrian Beltre and Jeff Clement homered and Seattle beat Jake Peavy and host San Diego for a three-game sweep. Erik Bedard (5-4) and three relievers held San Diego to six hits. Peavy (5-5) allowed three runs and a season-high 10 hits in six innings while striking out six.

Reds 9, Indians 5: Bronson Arroyo won his fifth game and Adam Dunn hit a three-run homer to help Cincinnati beat Cleveland for the fifth time in six games this season. Arroyo (5-7) struck out six and gave up two runs over six innings. Dunn connected off Rick Bauer in the seventh, a 412-foot shot to right that was his 20th of the season.

Rays 4, Pirates 3: Backup catcher Shawn Riggans homered and drove in two runs as Tampa Bay beat host Pittsburgh. Andy Sonnanstine (9-3) limited Pittsburgh to two runs, one earned, in seven innings.

Blue Jays 1, Braves 0: A.J. Burnett pitched seven shutout innings, Alex Rios drove in the only run of the game and host Toronto beat Atlanta. Burnett (8-7) struck out a season-high 11 and walked four — one intentional — while allowing four hits.

Nationals 3, Orioles 2: Ronnie Belliard hit a two-run homer in the 12th inning as host Washington beat the Orioles in front of 39,824 fans — the largest crowd in the three-month history of Nationals Park. Belliard drove a 1-2 pitch off George Sherrill (2-3) for his sixth homer of the year.

Giants 11, Athletics 1: Rich Aurilia homered and matched his career-high with five RBIs to help Jonathan Sanchez (8-4) win his fifth straight road start and lead visiting San Francisco to its first series win in the Bay Area rivalry in two years.

Rangers 5, Phillies 1: Eric Hurley pitched into the sixth inning to earn his first major league win and Chris Davis homered to lead host Texas over Philadelphia. Hurley (1-1) allowed one run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked two.

White Sox 5, Cubs 1: Carlos Quentin, Brian Anderson and Jim Thome homered to back Mark Buehrle's seven innings as the White Sox completed a three-game sweep at U.S. Cellular Field by beating the Cubs. Buehrle (6-6) won his fourth straight decision, allowing six hits and an unearned run in seven innings.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Marlins 4, Diamondbacks 3: Jorge Cantu hit a game-ending RBI single, Hanley Ramirez hit a tying home run and host Florida came back to beat Arizona. Ramirez's 18th home run of the season tied the game 3-all in the ninth. Jeremy Hermida then doubled, and took third on a wild pitch by closer Brandon Lyon (2-2) to setup Cantu's single.