AMERICAN LEAGUE
Jason Bay doubled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and Jonathan Papelbon powered his way out of a ninth inning jam with three straight strikeouts to lead the Boston Red Sox past Tampa Bay 4-3 in the American League on Sunday.
Ramon Ramirez (3-0) got the final out of the eighth before Papelbon escaped a two-on, none-out mess for his eighth save.
PHOTO: AP
Akinori Iwamura walked and moved to third on Jason Bartlett’s single to start the ninth. But Papelbon, using high 90s heat, got Carlos Pena, B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford to go down swinging.
The win capped a very successful sports night in Boston after the Bruins and Celtics both won playoff games.
David Ortiz opened the eighth with a double off the Green Monster against Brian Shouse (1-1) and advanced on reliever Dan Wheeler’s wild pitch.
PHOTO: AP
A few minutes after replays of the Bruins and Celtics wins were played on the scoreboard, Jason Bay doubled off the Wall to score Ortiz.
MARINERS 5, TWINS 3
At Minneapolis, Ken Griffey Jr hit a tying, two-run homer in the eighth inning as Seattle beat Minnesota to stop a six-game losing streak.
Wladimir Balentien added an RBI double in that breakthrough eighth, ruining seven shutout innings by Nick Blackburn and helping the Mariners bring their record back to .500.
Brendan Morrow, making his first appearance since April 23 after sitting out with biceps tendinitis, picked up his sixth save with a shaky ninth. Miguel Batista (2-0) got one out for the win.
YANKEES 5, ORIOLES 3
At Baltimore, Johnny Damon hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning, the biggest blow in a long-ball surge that carried New York past Baltimore.
Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano also connected for the Yankees, who received a gritty pitching performance from Joba Chamberlain (2-1) to capture the decisive matchup of the three-game series.
Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his sixth save in seven opportunities.
Damon connected off Jim Johnson (2-1). It was his ninth homer, the sixth in 10 games, and it marked the seventh straight game in which Damon got at least one extra-base hit.
In Sunday’s other games it was:
• Angels 4, Royals 3
• Blue Jays 5, Athletics 0
• Tigers 5, Indians 3
• Rangers 7, White Sox 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, CINCINNATI, OHIO
Colby Rasmus doubled home a run in the 10th inning Sunday as the St. Louis Cardinals overcame five Cincinnati homers — including two solo shots in the ninth — to beat the Reds 8-7 and salvage their series finale.
Rasmus got his decisive hit off Francisco Cordero (0-2), who is perfect in nine save chances but has lost twice when pitching with the score tied.
Jerry Hairston Jr and Micah Owings, the Reds’ fifth starter and one of their top pinch hitters, homered in the ninth off Ryan Franklin (1-0) to tie it at 7 and end the closer’s run of perfection. Franklin had converted all nine save chances and hadn’t allowed a run all season.
Given another chance to close it out, the Cardinals struggled again.
Cincinnati loaded the bases with two outs in the 10th against Blaine Boyer. Right-hander Chris Perez came on and got pinch-hitter Paul Janish to foul out, picking up his first save this season.
Jay Bruce, Adam Rosales and Joey Votto also homered for the Reds, who had won three in a row for their best record in three years.
Albert Pujols hit his 12th homer for the Cardinals.
GIANTS 7, DODGERS 5, 13 INNINGS
At Los Angeles, Randy Winn hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with the bases loaded in the 13th inning and finished with four hits, leading San Francisco over Los Angeles.
Juan Pierre had three hits for the second straight game and scored three times for the Dodgers, who went 8-3 on a homestand in which they set a modern major league record with a 13-0 start at home and then lost Manny Ramirez to a 50-game suspension.
In Sunday’s other games it was:
• Mets 8, Pirates 4
• Cubs 4, Brewers 2
• Braves 4, Phillies 2
• Rockies 3, Marlins 2
• D’backs 10, Nationals 8
• Astros 12, Padres 5
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