American League roundup

[May 06, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Jason Bay and the Boston Red Sox have beaten up on the Yankees in almost every way imaginable this season.

Slugfests, pitching duels, late comebacks. In the rain and under the sun. At old Fenway Park and new Yankee Stadium.

Five games, five wins for the Red Sox.

What happened to baseball's best rivalry?

"At this point in the season, they are a better team than us," New York outfielder Johnny Damon said.

The latest example of Boston's superiority was a 7-3 victory Tuesday night. Bay hit a three-run homer in a four-run first inning against Joba Chamberlain, and the Red Sox squished the Yankees 7-3 for a soggy two-game sweep in their first trip to the $1.5 billion ballpark.

"On kind of a miserable night out there, we go home feeling good about ourselves," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

Josh Beckett (3-2) helped Boston improve to 5-0 against New York for the first time since 1985. The Red Sox have outscored the Yankees 38-23.

In 1923, the Red Sox lost their first five games at the original Yankee Stadium. New York is 6-5 overall at its new home following three straight losses.

"It's not any fun, that's for sure. It's frustrating," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's not the way you want to start the season, but it's where we are. We've got to do something about it."

The next time the teams meet is June 9-11 at Fenway Park.

Chamberlain (1-1) allowed hits to his first five batters, then recovered to strike out a career-high 12 in 5 2-3 innings.

"I think that the positive part is after the first inning, he shut down a pretty good lineup. I think that's the positive part of tonight, for Joba," Girardi said. "Positives don't get you wins, though. Yeah, you want to look at the good things and build on the good things, but you have to be ready to go."

Beckett bounced back from two poor outings and allowed his only runs on Damon's three-run homer in the third. He gave up 10 hits in six-plus innings.

"Some laboring times, but I made pitches when I had to," Beckett said.

Chamberlain became the fifth pitcher since 1900 to strike out 12 in 5 2-3 innings or less. The previous one was Philadelphia's Cole Hamels in 5 1-3 innings against Atlanta on July 24, 2006, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"I felt really good in the bullpen. Sometimes it doesn't translate right away," Chamberlain said.

Bay is 10 for 18 (.556) with three homers and 10 RBIs against the Yankees this season.

Tigers 9, Twins 0

At Detroit, Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer, Clete Thomas had three hits in his season debut and rookie Rick Porcello threw seven scoreless innings.

Thomas had a triple, double, single and walk -- driving in two runs -- and Josh Anderson had two hits and an RBI. Cabrera went 3 for 4 with four RBIs.

Porcello (2-3) gave up four hits and lasted seven innings.

Nick Blackburn (2-2) gave up a career-high nine runs -- six earned -- eight hits and three walks over 3 1-3 innings.

Blue Jays 10, Indians 6

At Toronto, Adam Lind hit a three-run homer and Scott Rolen added a solo shot in the Blue Jays' seven-run seventh. Trailing 6-3 after Cleveland scored four times in the top of the inning, the Blue Jays managed seven runs and six hits off four relievers in the bottom half.

Brian Wolfe (1-0) worked 2-3 of an inning for the win.

Rays 6, Orioles 3

At St. Petersburg, Fla., Matt Garza pitched eight strong innings and major league RBI leader Evan Longoria drove in three runs. Garza (3-2) allowed three runs and four hits and improved to 6-0 lifetime against the Orioles.

Brian Roberts and Gregg Zaun homered for Baltimore.

Rangers 7, Mariners 2, 10 innings

At Seattle, Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a grand slam that capped a six-run burst with two outs in the 10th and Texas won its fourth straight.

Marlon Byrd and Nelson Cruz had RBI singles before Saltalamacchia hit his second career slam.

Texas starter Vicente Padilla allowed one hit and one unearned run in eight innings. Darren O'Day (1-0) and Frank Francisco finished.

Royals 8, White Sox 7, 11 innings

At Kansas City, Mo., John Buck lined a game-winning single with the bases loaded in the 11th inning for the Royals, who rallied from a 4-0 deficit.

Juan Cruz (2-0) pitched the 11th.

Mike Jacobs hit a three-run homer and Alberto Callaspo added a solo shot and a run-scoring double for the Royals, who have won four straight and six of seven.

Jermaine Dye and Josh Fields homered and Scott Podsednik drove in two runs for Chicago, which had 16 hits.

Angels 5, Athletics 3

At Oakland, Calif., Gary Matthews Jr. drove in three runs and Shane Loux won his second straight start after a 5 1/2-year stretch without a major league victory as Los Angeles won for the sixth time in eight games.

Chone Figgins had three hits and drove in two runs for the Angels. Loux (2-2) allowed five hits and one run over seven innings.

Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer in the ninth for the A's, who have lost three straight.

[Associated Press; By MIKE FITZPATRICK]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.