Yankees clip Red Sox once again

Derek Jeter's leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth inning against Keith Foulke gave the New York Yankees a 4-3 victory Tuesday, their second in a row over Boston to begin the season.

Mariano Rivera picked up right where he left off last October, blowing another lead against the Boston Red Sox.

"We escaped today," New York manager Joe Torre said. "Mariano is still the best in the game as far as I'm concerned. That doesn't mean that clubs aren't going to get to him once in a while. These guys we're playing are the world champs."

Jason Varitek lined a 1-2 pitch from Rivera over the right-field wall in the ninth to tie it, robbing Carl Pavano of a win in his Yankees debut. Rivera blew two saves against the Red Sox during New York's collapse in the American League championship series.

"I don't think we take the air out of him. He still has that confidence," Boston's Johnny Damon said of Rivera.

Hideki Matsui homered off Matt Clement, his second in two games. Clement lasted only 4 1-3 innings in his Boston debut, while Pavano allowed two runs -- including David Ortiz's solo homer in the fourth -- and struck out seven in 6 1-3 innings.

Blue Jays 6, Devil Rays 3

In St. Petersburg, Florida, Shea Hillenbrand's bases-loaded single off loser Seth McClung snapped a sixth-inning tie and gave Toronto a win over Tampa Bay.

Gustavo Chacin allowed two singles and Alex Gonzalez's solo homer in five innings to get his second major league victory, and Miguel Batista worked the ninth, finishing a seven-hitter for his second save in as many chances.

Tampa Bay starter Scott Kazmir, the second-youngest player in the majors at 21 years, two months, allowed one run and three hits in five innings.

Angels 3, Rangers 2

In Anaheim, California, Vladimir Guerrero homered and doubled to help the renamed Los Angeles Angels defeat Texas for their first win. Guerrero hit a solo shot in the first and had an RBI double in the sixth, and Bengie Molina singled home another in the seventh.

Bartolo Coon allowed one run over 6 2-3 innings for the victory, while losing pitcher Ryan Drese gave up three runs on six hits over seven innings. Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth to earn the save.

Mark Teixeira accounted for both the Rangers' runs, with an RBI single in the third and a solo homer off Scot Shields in the eighth.

Twins 8, Mariners 4

In Seattle, Jacque Jones hit a two-run home run and Minnesota survived an ugly start by Cy Young pitching award winner Johan Santana to beat Seattle.

The Twins batted around and scored seven runs in the fifth inning to help Santana, who gave up four runs in the first inning. He left after five innings, allowing five hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

Jones finished with three RBIs and Justin Morneau had three hits for the Twins.

Adrian Beltre had a two-run double and Richie Sexson had an RBI double during the first for Seattle. Matt Thornton allowed three runs in one-third of an inning for the loss.

Juan Encarnacion hit a grand slam to cap a five-run first inning Tuesday, and Carlos Delgado had four hits in his Florida debut to lead the Marlins over the Atlanta Braves 9-0 in their opener.

John Smoltz, making the transition from All-Star closer back to the rotation, lasted just five outs. He threw 65 pitches and gave up seven runs, six of them earned, for a 32.40 ERA.

"It's the worst feeling in the world," Smoltz said. "Obviously I wouldn't have thought this was possible. It's numbing. You want a mulligan."

By pitching 1 2-3 innings, the former Cy Young pitching award winner matched his shortest outing as a starter. It happened three other times, most recently on May 3, 1994, also against Florida.

Josh Beckett allowed two hits in six innings for the victory.

Giants 4, Dodgers 2

In San Francisco, Ray Durham scored the go-ahead run on Jose Valentin's seventh-inning error at third, and Jason Schmidt struck out nine in seven strong innings to lead San Francisco over Los Angeles.

Armando Benitez worked the ninth for his first save with the Giants.

Derek Lowe lost in his Dodgers' debut, allowing two earned runs and eight hits in seven innings with six strikeouts and two walks. Cesar Izturis homered for Los Angeles on the second pitch of the game.

Barry Bonds, on the disabled list after two operations on his right knee, received a 1-minute standing ovation from the sellout crowd and emphatically declared "I will be back!" when introduced before the game.