AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Indians Solve Darwin and Beat Red Sox, 6-4

Eric King’s first game with his new team went a lot better than Danny Darwin’s debut.

King pitched six scoreless innings and Brook Jacoby drove in three runs as the Cleveland Indians spoiled Boston’s 91st home opener Thursday with a 6-4 victory over the Red Sox.

Darwin, one of Boston’s new millionaires, was booed after giving up six runs on five hits, three walks and a hit batter in 1 2/3 innings.

Darwin threw 41 pitches in a 22-minute first inning.

“I just didn’t throw the ball well, that’s the bottom line,” said Darwin, who signed with the Red Sox as a free agent after leading the National League in earned-run average last season at Houston.

“I was excited. Maybe I was trying too hard. You’re going to have bad ones and, unfortunately, it had to be on my first day for the Red Sox. I was missing all day, hanging sliders and throwing fastballs on the other side of the plate. I (usually) don’t hit batters and I don’t walk many batters.”

King, acquired with Shawn Hillegas in a winter deal that sent Cory Snyder to the Chicago White Sox, blanked Boston for six innings and improved to 8-1 on the road in the past two seasons.

The Red Sox knocked out King in a three-run seventh, but Doug Jones pitched the ninth to get his second save.

The Indians rocked Darwin for three runs in the first inning and added three in the second, the last two coming on Jacoby’s triple off reliever Tom Bolton.

King retired the first 11 batters before Mike Greenwell’s broken-bat single in the fourth.

In the seventh, Boston spoiled the shutout bid on singles by Jack Clark and Carlos Quintana and Tony Pena’s two-run double. Steve Olin replaced King and gave up a run-scoring single to Tim Naehring.

Detroit 11, New York 5--Cecil Fielder drove in three runs and scored four times as the Tigers overcame Roberto Kelly and the Yankees at Detroit.

Fielder, who led the majors last season with 51 home runs and 132 runs batted in, singled home two runs in the seventh and drove in another with a fielder’s choice grounder in the eighth. He has five RBIs in three games.

Pete Incaviglia, signed the day before the season started, hit a two-run homer for the Tigers and Travis Fryman added three RBIs.

Kelly hit a three-run homer in the first inning and drove in all of the Yankee runs, a career high.

Paul Gibson (2-0), the second of four Detroit pitchers, gave up one hit in three innings.

Toronto 7, Milwaukee 3--David Wells pitched the first complete game of his career and Devon White and Joe Carter provided the offense in the victory at Toronto.

Wells (1-0), who had 28 previous starts, allowed three runs on eight hits. He struck out two and walked one.

Carter, acquired from San Diego, drove in two runs, giving him five in four games while batting .400. White, the former Angel, went three for five and scored three runs, giving him five for the season to go with a .389 average.

Bill Spiers hit a two-run homer for the Brewers.