Associated Press
BOSTON ó Daisuke Matsuzaka returned from a three-month stint on the disabled list and pitched six shutout innings Tuesday night to lead Boston to a 4-1 victory over Los Angeles Angels.
David Ortiz hit his record-breaking 270th homer as a designated hitter and added an RBI single after Boston broke a scoreless tie in the sixth thanks to a throwing error by John Lackey (10-8). The Red Sox have won six straight.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth and gave up an RBI double to Erick Aybar before Howie Kendrick hit a soft roller to third to end the game.
An 18-game winner last year, Matsuzaka (2-5) was taken out after one batter in the seventh. He allowed three hits and three walks while striking out five for his first win since June 2.
Lackey gave up three runs ó two earned ó and eight hits and three walks, striking out six and leaving after J.D. Drew tripled and scored on Jason Bay’s single to make it 3-0 in the eighth. Ortiz hit Jose Arredondo’s second pitch to straightaway center to surpass Frank Thomas atop the all-time DH home run list.
The Angels won eight of their previous 11.
Blue Jays 10, Yankees 4
NEW YORK ó New York catcher Jorge Posada and Toronto reliever Jesse Carlson got into a fight near home plate, leading to a frenzied, bench-clearing brawl during the Blue Jays’ victory.
Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion and All-Star second baseman Aaron Hill were hit by pitches before Carlson threw behind Posada in the eighth. The benches and bullpens emptied, though the teams never got close to each other and order was quickly restored.
After scoring on Brett Gardner’s double, Posada brushed Carlson, who was on his way to back up the plate. Home plate umpire Jim Joyce ejected Posada as Carlson shouted curses at the catcher. The two wrestled to the ground as the benches and bullpens emptied again and scuffles broke out. Posada and Carlson were ejected.
Roy Halladay (15-9) stymied the Yankees as usual and rookie Travis Snider hit two of Toronto’s five homers. New York’s lead in the AL East was cut to 61/2 games over Boston.
Royals 11, Tigers 1
DETROIT ó Alberto Callaspo, David DeJesus and Miguel Olivo all hit three-run homers for Kansas City. The last-place Royals have beaten the AL Central-leading Tigers five straight times, four in the last eight days.
Robinson Tejada (3-1) beat the Tigers for the second time in less than a week, allowing one run and two hits in five innings.
Orioles 10, Rays 5
BALTIMORE ó Rookie Matt Wieters homered and had a career-high five RBIs, and Luke Scott also connected for Baltimore, which rallied from a five-run deficit.
Brian Roberts and Cesar Izturis had three hits apiece for the Orioles, who trailed 5-0 in the third before scoring six runs over a three-inning stretch against Jeff Niemann (12-6), who allowed six runs and a career-high 11 hits in 41/3 innings.
Wieters put the Orioles ahead for good with a two-run single in the fifth, Scott hit his team-high 22nd homer in the seventh and Wieters clinched it with a three-run drive off Chad Bradford in the eighth.
Twins 5, Indians 4MINNEAPOLIS ó Nick Punto had three hits and two RBIs for Minnesota.
Brian Buscher had a go-ahead RBI single in a two-run sixth inning and Jon Rauch (3-1) pitched 11/3 innings of scoreless relief, helping the Twins pull within 41/2 games of first-place Detroit in the AL Central.
Athletics 6, Rangers 1
ARLINGTON, Texas ó Rajai Davis scored the first run then matched a career best with four RBIs for Oakland.
Texas is 1-4 on its homestand and 51/2 games behind AL wild-card leader Boston. The Rangers have their largest deficit for a playoff spot all season with only 18 games left.
David Murphy’s leadoff homer in the fourth snapped the Rangers’ 22-inning scoreless streak, their longest in five years, but they were down 4-1 and didn’t score again.
Craig Breslow (7-7) worked two scoreless innings in relief.