Associated Press
BOSTON ó Jason Varitek capped a four-run eighth inning with a go-ahead single, and the Boston Red Sox rallied past the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 Tuesday night.
Varitek’s big hit scored Mike Lowell, who tied the score with a two-out, two-run double off Chad Qualls (1-6). Varitek was 1-for-30 before that at-bat, dropping his average to .227.
Chris Smith (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings in relief for his first major league win. Jonathan Papelbon struck out two in the ninth, earning his 22nd save in 26 opportunities.
Arizona led 4-1 going into the bottom of the eighth.
Rays 6, Marlins 4
MIAMI ó Dioner Navarro and Eric Hinske drew bases-loaded walks in the eighth inning, Evan Longoria hit a two-run double in the ninth and Tampa Bay beat Florida.
Akinori Iwamura had three hits for the Rays, including his fifth home run. Troy Percival walked four Marlins in the ninth but still managed his 18th save in 20th chances and No. 342 of his career, moving him past Rollie Fingers for ninth place.
Florida starter Scott Olsen allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings but left without a win for the ninth straight time dating to May 6.
Tigers 8, Cardinals 4
DETROIT ó Brian Barton, Skip Schumaker and Brendan Ryan each drove in two runs to lead St. Louis.
Cardinals starter Braden Looper (9-5) gave up four runs on three homers in six-plus innings.
Kenny Rogers (5-5) was roughed up for five runs in 5 1-3 innings, giving up one more run than he had in his previous five starts.
Barton tied the game with a solo homer in the fifth, and St. Louis broke the game open with three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to go ahead 8-2.
Schumaker, pinch-hitting for Barton in the sixth, hit a two-run single and Ryan padded the lead with a two-run double in the seventh inning.
In his first game off the disabled list, Gary Sheffield hit a two-run shot to left field in the seventh inning to pull the Tigers within four runs and chase Looper.
Pirates 12, Yankees 5
PITTSBURGH ó Jose Bautista and Ryan Doumit homered and Pittsburgh turned back the clock nearly a half-century, beating New York for the first time since the 1960 World Series.
The Pirates had been the only team in the majors to not beat the Yankees in a regular-season game.
Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski threw out the ceremonial first pitch to commemorate his memorable home run that beat the Yankees in 1960, still the only homer to end a World Series Game 7, and the Pirates took it from there by opening a 7-1 lead by the fifth. They finished with 19 hits, nine for extra bases.
Giants 3, Indians 2
CLEVELAND ó Jonathan Sanchez won for the fifth time in six starts and Omar Vizquel dropped down a suicide squeeze against his former team in the first game between the clubs here since the 1954 World Series.
Sanchez (7-4) allowed five hits, stuck out eight and improved to 4-0 on the road since May 28.
Brian Wilson worked the ninth for his 20th save in 22 tries, helped by one of Vizquel’s patented defensive gems at shortstop.
Blue Jays 14, Reds 1
TORONTO ó Scott Rolen hit one of Toronto’s three homers and A.J. Burnett pitched eight strong innings for Toronto.
Alex Rios and Gregg Zaun also connected for the Blue Jays, who battered Bronson Arroyo (4-7) for 10 runs in an inning-plus. Rios and Marco Scutaro each had four hits as Toronto set season highs for runs and hits (22).
The struggling Reds have lost seven of nine and 11 of 16.
Angels 8, Nationals 3
WASHINGTON ó Mike Napoli hit a run-scoring double in a six-run first inning and added a two-run homer, and Los Angeles took advantage of four Washington errors.
The Angels have won five straight games and the Nationals have lost seven of eight.
Mariners 11, Mets 0
NEW YORK ó Raul Ibanez homered and drove in three runs, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey tossed seven sharp innings and Seattle blew out the frustrated Mets.
Royals 7, Rockies 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó Zack Greinke matched a career high with 10 strikeouts and Alex Gordon hit a two-run homer as the surging Kansas City Royals beat Colorado. The Royals have won four straight and nine of 10.