Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Justin Verlander struck out 10 batters over 6 2/3 solid innings, as the Detroit Tigers downed the Oakland Athletics, 6-1, in the second of three straight games at McAfee Coliseum.

Verlander (15-5) allowed one run and six hits with three walks for Detroit.

Curtis Granderson homered and finished 4-for-5 for the Tigers, who are 5 1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central and remain three behind New York for the AL wild card.

The Indians blanked the White Sox, 7-0, Saturday night, while the Yankees already beat the Devil Rays earlier in the afternoon.

Magglio Ordonez and Ryan Raburn both added RBI doubles.

Dan Haren (14-6) gave up five runs on a season-high 11 hits with four strikeouts and a walk over six-plus innings for Oakland.

Mike Piazza homered for the Athletics, who had won two straight games. Shannon Stewart and Kurt Suzuki both ended with a pair of hits in the loss.

Detroit plated a run in the first when Granderson and Placido Polanco led off with singles. Raburn then grounded into a double play but Granderson made it to third, from where he scored on Ordonez's double.

The Tigers scored a pair of runs in the third sparked by Granderson's lead-off homer to right field on a 2-2 pitch. Polanco next singled and scored on Raburn's double. A coaching visit to the mound calmed down Haren, who then retired three straight to escape without further damage.

The A's got on the board in the fourth on Piazza's lead-off long ball to left field on a 1-1 pitch.

Detroit put up another two-spot in the seventh ignited by a Timo Perez single, a Granderson double, and a Polanco RBI single, prompting Santiago Casilla to replace Haren on the mound. The reliever thew a wild pitch that put both runners in scoring position before striking out Raburn swinging and intentionally walking Ordonez for Carlos Guillen, who scored Granderson on a sacrifice fly.

The Tigers added an insurance run in the eighth off reliever Andrew Brown, who yielded a single to Perez before the right fielder stole second, and then scored on a Granderson single.

Oakland started to rally in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs as Detroit replaced Verlander with reliever Bobby Seay, who struck out Jack Cust looking.