Red Sox prevail 1-0 over Toronto in pitcher's duel on ninth inning RBI hit

Kevin Youkilis lined a run-scoring single to center field in the ninth, ending a brilliant pitching duel between Roy Halladay and Jon Lester and giving the Boston Red Sox a 1-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Halladay (2-4) retired the first two batters in the inning before walking David Ortiz. Manny Ramirez looped a single to center, sending Ortiz to second, and Youkilis hit a ball in front of center fielder Vernon Wells that he couldn't handle.

The hard-luck Halladay pitched his fourth straight complete game, but he's lost the last three.

Orioles 7, Rays 4

At Baltimore, Garrett Olson took a shutout into the seventh inning, and Baltimore ended Tampa Bay's six-game winning streak in a surprising duel for first place in the American League East.

Aubrey Huff homered and Melvin Mora had two RBIs for the Orioles.

Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game, Olson (1-0) gave up two runs and four hits in 6 2-3 innings, walking five and striking out six.

Tampa Bay's Jason Hammel (2-2) allowed three runs, six hits and four walks in 2 2-3 innings, the shortest of his 28 career starts in the big leagues.

Tigers 6, Yankees 4

At New York, Gary Sheffield and Curtis Granderson homered in the third inning, helping old pro Kenny Rogers and Detroit beat road-weary New York.

Magglio Ordonez got Detroit going with a two-run single off Phil Hughes (0-4), who was booed by the crowd of 49,194 for allowing six runs and eight hits in 3 2-3 innings.

Rogers (2-3) held New York in check despite giving up six hits, including Robinson Cano's two-run homer, and four walks in six innings.

Mariners 7, Indians 2

At Cleveland, Adrian Beltre hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in Seattle's five-run ninth inning, making a winner of Mark Lowe.

Jose Lopez singled to start the inning off Rafael Betancourt (1-1) and took second on a soft single by Raul Ibanez. Beltre then hit an 0-1 pitch for his fifth homer and a 5-2 lead. Yuniesky Betancourt added a two-out, two-run single off Craig Breslow.

Lowe (1-1) came on to strike out Jhonny Peralta and end the eighth after Cleveland tied it 2-2 on an RBI groundout by Travis Hafner.

Twins 3, White Sox 1

At Minneapolis, Boof Bonser picked up Minnesota's beleaguered starting rotation with the group's first win in 10 days.

Bonser (2-4) gave up a homer to Joe Crede among six hits and struck out eight. He mixed a sharp curveball and a sneaky slider with a fastball to keep first-place Chicago off balance.

Gavin Floyd (2-1) gave up three runs and five hits in six innings and Crede hit his AL-leading seventh homer of the season.

Royals 9, Rangers 5

At Arlington, Texas, Jose Guillen hit a two-run homer and drove in five runs, helping Kansas City win for the third time in four games after snapping a seven-game losing streak.

Texas has lost 14 of its last 18 games to fall to a major league-worst 9-18.

Texas starter Jason Jennings (0-5) gave up eight hits and five runs before leaving in the third with ulnar nerve irritation in his right arm. Given a 7-2 lead, Brett Tomko couldn't last more than 3 1-3 innings. He gave up five runs and seven hits.

Angels 2, Athletics 0

At Anaheim, California, Joe Saunders outpitched Greg Smith to remain undefeated in six starts, and Los Angeles climbed back into a first-place tie with Oakland in the AL West.

Saunders (5-0) combined with Francisco Rodriguez on the Angels' second shutout victory this season, scattering four hits over eight innings with five strikeouts and a walk. Saunders joined Frank Tanana as the only pitchers in the franchise's 48-year history to go 5-0 in April.

Rodriguez pitched a hitless ninth for his major league-leading 11th save.