Beckett (1-1) was dropped to fourth in the season-opening rotation but struck out 10 and walked one while retiring the last 14 batters he faced.
The Red Sox returned home after the worst start to a season since they lost their first eight games in 1945. They ended that streak by beating the Yankees 9-6 on Friday before losing 9-4 on Saturday.
Dustin Pedroia reached base all five times he went to bat with three singles, all against CC Sabathia (0-1), an intentional walk and a force play. Mike Cameron had a run-scoring single, David Ortiz doubled home a run and Marco Scutaro had a two-run double for Boston.
Alex Rodriguez had flulike symptoms and was a late scratch from the New York lineup.
Angels 3 Blue Jays 1: In Anaheim, California, Jered Weaver struck out a career-high 15 and Los Angeles took advantage of a costly error by Toronto center fielder Rajai Davis in the win.
Weaver allowed four hits in 7 2-3 innings and Peter Bourjos tripled home a pair of unearned runs to help the Angels take two of three in the series.
In the eighth, it came down to a showdown between Weaver (3-0) and Jose Bautista , last year’s major league home run leader. Bautista represented the go-ahead run at the plate after a pair of one-out walks, but Weaver struck him out with his 125th and final pitch.
Hisanori Takahashi came in to retire cleanup hitter Adam Lind on a comebacker and Fernando Rodney pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.
Indians 6 Mariners 4: In Seattle, Asdrubal Cabrera welcomed Erik Bedard back to Safeco Field with a solo homer and the surprising Cleveland Indians beat Seattle for their seventh straight victory.
Cleveland completed an impressive three-game sweep of the struggling Mariners and is off to a 7-2 start for the first time since beginning the 2002 season 8-1.
Cabrera, who had three hits, was only the beginning of Cleveland’s hit parade against Bedard, who was making his first home start for the Mariners since late July 2009. Bedard (0-2) gave up another homer to Jack Hannahan in the fourth, and doubles to Michael Brantley , Lou Marson and Orlando Cabrera . The left-hander lasted just four innings as Seattle dropped its seventh straight.
Rangers 3 Orioles 0: In Baltimore, Derek Holland allowed five hits over six innings, Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler homered, and Texas topped Baltimore to win its third consecutive series.
The Rangers took two of three from the Orioles and improved to 8-1, matching the best start in franchise history (1989). The only other seasons in which Texas opened with more than two successive series wins were 1989 (five straight) and 1993 (four).
Holland (2-0) struck out six, walked two and hit a batter with a pitch. The left-hander had only one perfect inning, but he never failed to get the outs he needed.
Neftali Feliz got four outs for his third save.
Beltre hit a solo homer off Jeremy Guthrie (1-1) in the fourth and Kinsler connected with a man on in the seventh off Jim Johnson .
Royals 9 Tigers 5: In Detroit, Wilson Betemit went 4 for 4 with two doubles and Kansas City beat the mistake-prone Detroit Tigers.
Luke Hochevar (1-1) pitched seven solid innings and every Royals starter had a hit.
Miguel Cabrera , Jhonny Peralta and Alex Avila all homered for Detroit, but the Tigers made four errors.
Hochevar easily outpitched Rick Porcello (0-2) in a matchup of first-round draft picks. Three relievers finished for the Royals, with Joakim Soria getting two outs for his third save.
It was the first four-hit game for Betemit since July 14, 2007. He also drew a walk.
White Sox 6 Rays 1: In Chicago, Paul Konerko hit two home runs and Gavin Floyd pitched eight masterful innings as Chicago beat the slumping Tampa Bay Rays.
Konerko’s solo shots in the first and fifth gave him three home runs this season. He has a 10-game hitting streak dating to last year and has driven in a run in all but one game for Chicago this year.
Gordon Beckham also homered in the first inning for the White Sox.
The loss dropped the Rays to 1-8, the worst start in franchise history, and manager Joe Maddon was ejected for arguing a call at first base. Tampa Bay has scored 11 runs in its eight losses.
Floyd (1-0) struck out eight, allowing just four hits and one unearned run.
Athletics 5 Twins 3: In Minneapolis, Hideki Matsui homered to help the Athletics break out of a season-long offensive slump and Brandon McCarthy pitched into the eighth inning in Oakland’s victory over Minnesota.
McCarthy (1-0) allowed two runs and nine hits with five strikeouts in 7 1-3 innings and Josh Willingham also went deep for the A’s, who took two of three in the Twins’ first home series of the season. Brian Fuentes earned his third save. Justin Morneau had three hits and an RBI for the Twins and Jim Thome hit his first homer of the season. But their three-run eighth was too little, too late in another slow day for the offense.
Red Sox go one up on Yankees
Publication Date:
Mon, 2011-04-11 22:12
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