Indians, Hafner Slam Orioles, 9-0

Travis Hafner is slam dancing his way to an unforgettable season. Surprisingly, he’s not doing it as an All-Star.

Hafner became the first player in major league history to hit five grand slams before the All-Star break, backing C.C. Sabathia’s fourth career shutout Friday night and sending the Cleveland Indians to a 9-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Cleveland.

Hafner’s second-inning shot against Kris Benson (9-7) padded the gaudy statistics of Cleveland’s hard-hitting designated hitter, who despite being ranked in the top five in the American League in nine offensive categories, won’t be playing in Tuesday’s All-Star game.

“That’s unbelievable,” Sabathia said. “He’s got better numbers than probably anybody in the home run derby. It’s a joke is what it is. He probably should have been an All-Star three years in a row.”

Hafner is seven for 10 with five homers and 25 runs batted in this season with the bases loaded.

Sabathia (7-4) threw a three-hitter -- all singles -- and didn’t allow the Orioles to get a runner to second base.

The fans selected Boston’s David Ortiz as the starting first baseman for the American League. The players voted to add Chicago designated hitter Jim Thome to the roster and first baseman Paul Konerko, his teammate, was added by White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen in conjunction with the commissioner’s office. Hafner then finished third in an Internet poll to determine the AL’s final roster spot.

“It was kind of out of my control,” said Hafner, now one grand slam shy of the season record set by Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees in 1987. “It didn’t happen, but this is the best season that I’ve had, and I’m happy with that.”

With his 25th homer, a laser drive into the seats in right that made it 6-0, Hafner set Cleveland’s season record for grand slams, breaking his tie with Al Rosen, who hit four in 1951.

Hafner is the fourth major leaguer to hit five slams in a season, joining Mattingly and Jim Gentile of the Baltimore Orioles (1961) and Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs (1955), who each had five.

Detroit 6, Seattle 1 -- Jeremy Bonderman (8-4) came within one out of a shutout and Craig Monroe homered to lead the Tigers past the Mariners at Seattle.

Bonderman has 111 strikeouts, the most by a Tigers pitcher before the All-Star break in six years.

New York 1, Tampa Bay 0 -- Jaret Wright (5-5) matched a career high with 10 strikeouts and gave up four hits in six innings, leading the Yankees to victory at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Bernie Williams drove in the only run with a fourth-inning single against Jae Seo (0-2), who was nearly as good as Wright in his second start for Tampa Bay since being acquired last week from the Dodgers in a trade. Seo was 2-4 with the Dodgers.

Kansas City 13, Toronto 3 -- Luke Hudson (2-3) gave up one run in five innings in his first start of the season and John Buck and Matt Stairs homered at Kansas City, Mo., to lead the Royals to their fourth victory in a row. The Royals, who lost 47 of their first 63 games, are 14-6 over the last 20.

Boston 7, Chicago 2 -- David Ortiz became the first player in Red Sox history to hit 30 homers before the All-Star break and rookie Jon Lester (4-0) won his fourth decision in a row as the Red Sox beat the White Sox at Chicago.

Texas 9, Minnesota 4 -- Michael Young and Gary Matthews Jr. homered, helping to lift the Rangers over the Twins at Arlington, Texas. Minnesota has lost three in a row after an 11-game winning streak.