Associated Press
The American League Roundup …
NEW YORK ó Joba Chamberlain struggled with his control, walked off the mound in the third inning and threw his glove in the dugout.
His first major league start was a memorable one, all right. Just not for the reasons he’d hoped.
Chamberlain lasted just 21/3 innings and Roy Halladay held the New York Yankees in check despite some control problems of his own, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a 9-3 victory on Tuesday night.
Alex Rios extended his hitting streak against the Yankees to 24 games and David Eckstein had three RBIs for Toronto, which patiently concentrated on Chamberlain’s pitch count and forced New York to use six pitchers total.
Halladay (7-5) won his fourth straight decision and improved to 5-1 with a 2.58 ERA in his last seven games. He allowed two runs and six hits in six innings.
Dan Giese (0-1) took the loss in relief of Chamberlain.
Red Sox 7, Rays 4
BOSTON ó The Red Sox kept winning at home even without David Ortiz. Coco Crisp hit a tie-breaking double and Boston won the matchup of the AL East’s top two teams.
Crisp snapped a 1-for-25 slump with the two-run double in a four-run sixth inning and Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a sacrifice fly.
With Ortiz sidelined for at least three weeks with a left wrist injury, the Red Sox won their 11th straight game at home, matching the longest AL streak of the season held by the Rays. Boston cut Tampa Bay’s lead in the division to one-half game.
Orioles 5, Twins 3
MINNEAPOLIS ó Radhames Liz made a solid 2008 debut and got help from homers by Kevin Millar and Melvin Mora in Baltimore’s 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Liz (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in 51/3 innings for the Orioles, who snapped a nine-game losing streak to Minnesota and improved to 25-8 when scoring at least four runs in a game.
White Sox 9, Royals 5
CHICAGO ó Carlos Quentin, A.J. Pierzynski, Nick Swisher and Alexei Ramirez homered and the White Sox beat the Royals and Zack Greinke.
Pierzynski’s first homer since April 22, a two-run shot, capped a four-run second against Greinke (5-3).
Rangers 12, Indians 7
ARLINGTON, Texas ó Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley hit consecutive homers to set the tone in a four-run first inning and the Texas Rangers went on to a 12-7 victory.