Kevin Brown pitched seven sharp innings for his 199th victory and Jason Giambi snapped a sixth-inning tie with an RBI single Wednesday to helping the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 3-2.
A day after hitting his first homer for the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez drove in a run as the Yankees strung together four consecutive hits in the sixth off Paul Abbott (0-1), who held the defending American League champions hitless for five innings.
PHOTO: AP
"That was too close for comfort," said Rodriguez after bailing Mariano Rivera out of a bases-loaded jam by fielding Brook Fordyce's grounder, stepping on third and throwing to first.
"Everything is new. It's fun, but stressful at times ... The game on the line with Mariano. I've never practiced that in my life."
Brown (2-0) allowed one run on five hits and struck out five to beat Tampa Bay for the second time in eight days. Tom Gordon pitched the eighth, and Mariano Rivera survived a shaky ninth for his first save.
Rivera allowed Eduardo Perez's RBI double, but escaped a bases-loaded jam when Brook Fordyce grounded sharply to the new third baseman. Rodriguez, a former Gold Glove shortstop, fielded the ball and stepped on the bag before throwing to first for a game-ending double play.
White Sox 4, Royals 3
In Kansas City, Missouri, Miguel Olivo, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Lee homered as Chicago beat Kansas City to give Ozzie Guillen his first victory as a major league manager.
In their opener Monday, the Royals scored six runs in the ninth to win 9-7, the largest ninth-inning comeback in an opener in 103 years.
Esteban Loaiza handed the bullpen a lead, and Mike Jackson, Cliff Politte and Billy Koch stopped the Royals over the final three innings.
Darrell May (0-1), the Royals' pitcher of the year last season, gave up all three homers and was charged with four runs and six hits through five innings.
Rangers 2, Athletics 1
In Oakland, California, Colby Lewis and the Texas bullpen outpitched Barry Zito as the Rangers snapped a nine-game losing streak against Oakland.
Zito lost to Texas for the first time in 18 career starts, allowing seven hits and four walks over eight innings. The 2002 AL Cy Young pitching award winner had been 11-0 with a 2.40 ERA against the Rangers.
Eric Young had an RBI single and Kevin Mench hit a sacrifice fly in the early innings against Zito. That was enough for Lewis and his relievers, who held Oakland to five hits -- none after the sixth inning.
Francisco Cordero picked up his first save.
Red Sox 10, Orioles 3
In Baltimore, Johnny Damon went 5-for-5 with two RBIs as Boston used a seven-run second inning to cruise past Baltimore.
David Ortiz homered and Kevin Millar had three hits for the Red Sox, who have won two straight after losing to Baltimore on opening night.
The second-inning outburst featured six hits, three walks and three defensive lapses by the Orioles. The seven runs, all of which scored with two outs, were more than Boston tallied in its first two games combined.
Derek Lowe (1-0) allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings.
Tigers 6, Blue Jays 3
In Toronto, Eric Munson hit a three-run homer as Detroit beat Toronto to open the season with a three-game winning streak for the first time in 19 years.
Rondell White also homered for the Tigers, who are off to their best start since 1985, when they won their first six games. Detroit started last season 0-9 en route to an AL-record 119 losses.
The Tigers, who play their first home game on Thursday against Minnesota, swept the Blue Jays in a three-game series for the first time since 1987.
Angels 10, Mariners 7
In Seattle, Vladimir Guerrero hit a three-run homer and Garret Anderson connected twice to lead Anaheim over Seattle.
Guerrero hit a 130.5m shot to center off Joel Pineiro (0-1) in his second at-bat, his first homer with the Angels after leaving Montreal to sign a US$70 million, five-year contract in the offseason.
The All-Star slugger went 3-for-4 and scored three times, finishing a triple short of the cycle. He drew a two-out walk in the fourth before Anderson's first homer.
Jarrod Washburn (1-0) was handed an 8-0 lead, but he lasted just 5 1-3 innings. Troy Percival pitched a perfect ninth for his first save.
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