BOSTON — J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell hit grand slams to help Daisuke Matsuzaka remain unbeaten, and the Boston Red Sox completed a sweep of their seven-game homestand with an 11-8 win over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
Drew and Lowell were the first Red Sox to hit slams in the same game at Fenway Park since Tony Armas and Bill Buckner on Aug. 7, 1984. The last time Boston had two slams in a game was when the switch-hitting Bill Mueller hit both — one from each side — at Texas on July 29, 2003.
Matsuzaka (8-0) gave up three runs on six hits, walked six, struck out seven and threw two wild pitches while becoming the AL’s first eight-game winner.
Jonathan Papelbon got the final three outs for his 14th save.
Brian Bannister (4-6), who allowed seven runs on 12 hits, couldn’t work his daytime magic against the hot Red Sox. Entering the game, he was 4-0 with a 0.62 ERA in day games.
Blue Jays 4, Angels 3
TORONTO — Lyle Overbay hit a go-ahead solo homer, A.J. Burnett won back-to-back starts for the first time this season and Toronto avoided a three-game sweep.
Overbay finished 2-for-3, adding a double and a walk. Eight of his past 17 hits have gone for extra bases.
Burnett (5-4) gave up three runs and six hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out six.
B.J. Ryan wrapped it up in the ninth for his 10th save.
Overbay’s one out drive to right made a loser of Ervin Santana (6-2), who is 1-2 in May after going 5-0 in April. Santana lost consecutive starts for the first time in 2008.
White Sox 3, Indians 1
CHICAGO — Carlos Quentin hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Chicago won its eighth straight game.
Quentin had two RBIs and Jermaine Dye added a run-scoring single in the eighth to finish off a three-game sweep of the punchless Indians, who have scored only 13 runs during their six-game losing streak.
Scott Linebrink (1-0) got the win, striking out two in the eighth. Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth for his 12th save for the White Sox, who own a 3 1/2-game lead over Minnesota in the AL Central.
Indians starter Aaron Laffey (2-3) was pulled in the eighth for Masa Kobayashi, who got two outs before allowing RBI singles to Quentin and Jermaine Dye.
Yankees 2, Orioles 1
NEW YORK — Robinson Cano singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning, moments after New York manager Joe Girardi was ejected during a theatrical argument.
Hideki Matsui led off the ninth with a single off Jim Johnson (0-2) and later scored from second base, beating left fielder Jay Payton’s high throw.
Mariano Rivera (1-1), in the game earlier than usual as the Yankees convert Joba Chamberlain into a starter, pitched a perfect ninth.
Girardi rushed from the dugout after plate umpire Chris Guccione ruled Jason Giambi was out on a foul tip. Girardi certainly got his money’s worth for his first ejection as Yankees manager — he twice threw down his hat and kicked it once, then kicked the dirt while finishing his rant with crew chief Tim Welke.
Rangers 8, Twins 7 (10)
MINNEAPOLIS — Josh Hamilton hit a two-out homer in the 10th inning to lift Texas.
Hamilton’s drive into the left-field seats against Brian Bass (1-1) gave him 12 homers, matching Chicago’s Carlos Quentin for the AL lead. Hamilton went 2-for-4 and moved past Minnesota’s Joe Mauer for the best average in the league, .335. He has 53 RBIs, too, by far the most in the majors.
Joaquin Benoit (3-1) loaded the bases in the eighth and surrendered a two-run single to Justin Morneau that tied the game at 7, but he settled down for a scoreless ninth and the victory. Closer C.J. Wilson pitched a perfect 10th for his ninth save.
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