Tomlin took a shutout into the eighth inning against A-Rod and the rest of New York’s potent lineup to win his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians, 4-1, last night in Cleveland.

“That was an outstanding effort by the kid,’’ Indians manager Manny Acta said. “He’s the poster boy for what we want — pitchers throwing strikes.’’

Getting one more chance at hitting his 600th homer with two runners on and two outs in the ninth, Rodriguez grounded into a forceout to shortstop to end the game. He went 0 for 4 on his 35th birthday.

“That would have been a fantastic present, but it didn’t work out,’’ said Rodriguez, 0 for 8 in two games against Cleveland and 5 for 20 in five games since hitting No. 599 Thursday.

It was a memorable day for Tomlin (1-0). The 25-year-old outpitched former Indians ace CC Sabathia (13-4), handing the lefthander his first loss in 12 starts since May 23.

Rays 3, Tigers 2 — James Shields (9-9) gave up two runs over 6 2/3 innings and Matt Joyce hit a tiebreaking RBI double as host Tampa Bay beat Detroit ace Justin Verlander (12-6).

Twins 11, Royals 2 — Danny Valencia drove in three runs, Carl Pavano (13-6) won his eighth straight decision, and visiting Minnesota completed the worst three-game pitching span in Kansas City history. In their last three games, the shell-shocked Royals have been beaten 12-6 by the Yankees and 19-1 and 11-2 by the Twins, snapping the team record of 40 runs allowed in three consecutive games.

Rangers 3, Athletics 1 — Nelson Cruz hit a two-run homer in the 10th to lift host Texas after Rangers starter Cliff Lee struck out a career-high 13 and scattered five hits in a nine-inning no-decision.

Phillies 9, Diamondbacks 5 — Ryan Howard hit a tiebreaking two-run homer, Jayson Werth and Cody Ransom also connected, and host Philadelphia posted its season-high sixth straight win. The Phillies moved 3 1/2 games behind East-leading Atlanta.

Reds 12, Brewers 4 — Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, and Scott Rolen had four hits apiece and visiting Cincinnati roughed up Yovani Gallardo (9-5) to move into a tie for first in the NL Central. The top four hitters in Cincinnati’s lineup — Phillips, Orlando Cabrera, Votto, and Rolen — finished 15 for 22 with eight runs and seven RBIs.

Giants 6, Marlins 4 — Juan Uribe hit a tiebreaking home run leading off the eighth inning to spark host San Francisco to its 16th win in 20 games. Buster Posey extended his major league-leading hit streak to 20 games, two shy of the Giants’ franchise rookie record held by Willie McCovey.

Dodgers 2, Padres 0 — Pinch-hitter Andre Ethier delivered a clutch two-run single with two outs in the seventh off Jon Garland (9-7) to give visiting Los Angeles the win over the NL West-leading Padres.

Blue Jays 8, Orioles 2 — Jose Bautista hit two home runs, giving him a major league-leading 30, and Ricky Romero (8-7) pitched 7 2/3 strong innings as host Toronto posted its 11th straight win over Baltimore.

Mets 8, Cardinals 2 — Shut out four times during a 2-9 road trip, New York came home and ended Adam Wainwright’s career-best scoreless streak at 26 innings, tagging the St. Louis ace for a season-worst six runs.

White Sox 11, Mariners 0 — Alexei Ramirez, Andruw Jones, and Paul Konerko homered to power Gavin Floyd and host Chicago.

Astros 6, Cubs 1 — Brett Myers (8-6) pitched a complete game and Lance Berkman hit a grand slam to lift host Houston.

Pirates 4, Rockies 2 — Zach Duke (5-9) threw six solid innings to help visiting Pittsburgh snap a four-game skid.