Tigers 3, Blue Jays 2: Anibal Sanchez allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings and host Detroit beat Toronto for the second straight night.

Prince Fielder and Jeff Baker had RBI singles to back Sanchez and help the Tigers stay on the heels of division-leading Chicago in the American League Central.

Sanchez (2-3), who was making his fifth start since he was acquired in a trade with Miami, rebounded from back-to-back ragged outings by striking out six and allowing six hits to send Toronto to its fourth consecutive defeat.

Joaquin Benoit wriggled out of an eighth-inning jam before Jose Valverde finished up in the ninth for his 25th save and 100th in three years with Detroit.

Blue Jays left-hander Aaron Laffey (3-5) gave up three runs - two earned - on five hits in six-plus innings but remained winless in five career starts against the Tigers.

Detroit broke on top in the second when Omar Infante tripled and scored on a wild pitch. An RBI single by Baker in the fifth made it 2-0, but Edwin Encarnacion doubled home a run in the sixth to cut the deficit in half.

Fielder restored the two-run lead with an RBI single following an intentional walk to Miguel Cabrera in the sixth, but Adeiny Hechavarria's sacrifice fly in the seventh got Toronto within 3-2.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Blue Jays 1B David Cooper exited the game in the sixth inning with a jammed neck sustained while sliding back into first base. He is listed as day-to-day. ... Sanchez's first-inning strikeout was the 1,000th of the season for Detroit, marking the 13th time the club had reached that milestone. The Tigers are on pace for more than 1,300 strikeouts, which would shatted the franchise record of 1,115 (1968). ... Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, who led the majors in homers last year and had hit 27 when he was sidelined with a sprained wrist in mid-July, is scheduled to return to the lineup Friday night in Baltimore. RHP Brandon Morrow (strained left oblique), who has not pitched since June 11, is set to start Saturday's game against the Orioles. ... Tigers RHP Doug Fister (groin) is looking less likely to be able to make his scheduled start Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels. LHP Drew Smyly will likely pitch if Fister can't go. ... Toronto placed SS Yunel Escobar on the paternity list Wednesday afternoon and recalled RHP Chad Beck from Triple-A Las Vegas. ... Gymnast Jordyn Wieber, a gold medalist in the Olympics, and a robot built by local high school students threw out the first pitches before the game.