American League roundup

[May 11, 2009]  BOSTON (AP) -- The crowd had barely stopped cheering the Bruins' and Celtics' highlights when Jason Bay lofted the go-ahead RBI double off the Green Monster.

Then Jonathan Papelbon closed out a victorious night for Boston sports by fanning three of Tampa Bay's best hitters with the tying run at third, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 victory over the Rays on Sunday night.

The victory capped a big night in Beantown after the Celtics tied their NBA playoff series against Orlando at two games apiece and the Bruins staved off elimination in their NHL playoff series with a win over Carolina in Game 5.

After putting the first two batters on in the ninth, Papelbon struck out pinch hitter Carlos Pena, B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford -- all swinging.

It was just a few years ago that the Red Sox never lost a home series against Tampa Bay, but they needed Papelbon's escape act to end a six-series losing streak.

"Pap really turned into Pap," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "He kept his composure. He didn't get frustrated. He attacked with what he wanted to do."

Relying on his mid-90s fastball, Papelbon earned his eighth save.

Akinori Iwamura walked, advanced on Papelbon's throwing error on a pickoff attempt and moved to third on Jason Bartlett's single to start the ninth.

"I basically just put myself in a situation where I had to go in `punch out' mode," Papelbon said. "It's not something I necessarily want to be in."

Bay doubled against Dan Wheeler to score David Ortiz, who opened the eighth with a double off Brian Shouse (1-1).

"They've had our number for a while now," Bay said of Tampa Bay's recent success in the division rivalry that includes last fall's ALCS.

Ramon Ramirez (3-0) got the final out of the eighth before Papelbon came on.

"Typical," Rays manager Joe Maddon said of the series. "When we play these guys now you're going to see a lot of games like you saw tonight. Both sides are definitely into it. Two good teams. They got us two out of three."

The Rays are 6-4 against Boston this season.

"Anytime you lose a game like that it doesn't sit well," Wheeler said.

Mariners 5, Twins 3

At Minneapolis, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a tying, two-run homer in the eighth inning to help Seattle end a six-game skid.

Wladimir Balentien added an RBI double in the eighth, ruining seven shutout innings by Nick Blackburn and helping the Mariners return to .500.

Brendan Morrow picked up his sixth save with a shaky ninth. Miguel Batista (2-0) got one out for the win.

Jesse Crain (1-1) took the loss.

Angels 4, Royals 3

At Anaheim, Calif., Torii Hunter made a leaping catch above the left-center field fence to rob Kansas City's Miguel Olivo of a tying homer in the ninth inning.

Jeff Mathis delivered a two-run single during a three-run seventh inning for the Angels, who completed a three-game sweep.

Scot Shields (1-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the win and Brian Fuentes got his ninth save.

Jamey Wright (0-1) took the loss.

Blue Jays 5, Athletics 0

At Oakland, Calif., Brett Cecil (1-0) yielded five hits over eight innings for his first major league victory, and Alex Rios drove in three runs as Toronto won its seventh in 10 games.

The 22-year-old left-hander struck out six in his second big league start for Toronto, which headed home from its five-game California road swing alone atop the AL East.

Dallas Braden (3-4) gave up nine hits and three runs in six innings for the A's, who have lost six of eight.

Tigers 5, Indians 3

At Cleveland, Rick Porcello extended Detroit's streak of strong pitching, and the Tigers completed a three-game sweep.

The Indians, losers of seven of nine, have the worst record in baseball at 11-21. They turned four double plays but the offense sputtered again following consecutive Tigers shutouts the previous two days.

Porcello (3-3) gave up one run over five innings to win his second consecutive start.

Grady Sizemore's RBI single in the second snapped Cleveland's 22-inning scoreless streak.

Granderson's two-run single capped a four-run second against Anthony Reyes (1-1)

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Yankees 5, Orioles 3

At Baltimore, Johnny Damon hit a three-run homer off Jim Johnson (2-1) in the seventh inning to lead New York.

Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano also connected for the Yankees, who received a gritty pitching performance from Joba Chamberlain (2-1) to win the rubber game of a three-game series.

Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his sixth save in seven opportunities.

Aubrey Huff hit a three-run homer off Chamberlain in the first.

Alex Rodriguez went 1 for 4 for New York in his third game since returning from hip surgery. He is 1 for 10 since homering in his first at-bat Friday night.

Rangers 7, White Sox 1

At Chicago, Hank Blalock homered twice, Vicente Padilla allowed one hit in seven innings and the Rangers ended Bartolo Colon's dominance against them.

Padilla (2-2) pitched around four walks in his second straight impressive outing. He became the first Rangers starter to give up one hit or less in back-to-back starts.

Colon (2-3) had won 12 straight starts against Texas since Aug. 21, 2003, with a 2.50 ERA. It was the longest active winning streak against one opponent in the majors.

Blalock had his seventh career multihomer game and first since April 2006.

[Associated Press]

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