MLB roundup Tuesday’s games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Red Sox 5, Tigers 0

BOSTON — The Red Sox trotted out the champions of Boston’s past to celebrate their latest World Series win, with Hall of Famers Bobby Orr and Bill Russell among those carrying their sports’ trophies onto the Fenway field to join the two won by the Red Sox. Daisuke Matsuzaka was too busy warming up to see much. “I did feel a little jealous,” Matsuzaka said after the Red Sox ended their three-country, 16,000-mile odyssey with a 5-0 victory over the winless Detroit Tigers in their home opener Tuesday. “The ring had been put in my locker at some point during the game. I tried it on, and I must say it looked pretty good.” In an hourlong pregame ceremony that turned emotional when once-scorned first baseman Bill Buckner was given an enthusiastic welcome, the Red Sox received their World Series rings and raised a championship banner above center field. Then, they began to focus on the work of repeating. “We needed to get through this day,” said Boston manager Terry Francona, who took his team to Japan, California and Canada before opening up at home. “Now we can go about the business of playing baseball and seeing how good we can be.” Buckner, a goat of the 1986 World Series collapse that helped extend the team’s title drought until 2004, received a standing ovation when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch to former teammate Dwight Evans. Current Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis went over to meet him. “I’ve probably never almost been in tears for somebody else on a baseball field. I think that was just the most unbelievable thing,” Youkilis said. “I wanted to shake his hand, because that’s a true man in life.” Youkilis had three hits and two RBIs for the Red Sox, who began the day last in the AL East following a trip to Tokyo (where they went 1-1), Oakland (2-0) and Toronto (0-3). But they responded well in their return to Fenway, where they were 51-30 during the regular season last year and 6-1 in the postseason. Matsuzaka (2-0) allowed four hits in 62‚Ñ3 innings with seven strikeouts and four walks. Detroit, the only winless team in the majors despite the big leagues’ second-highest payroll, is 0-7 for the first time since dropping its first nine games in 2003 en route to an AL record 119 losses. “You get angry if people are going through the motions and if they’re not trying,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “But that’s not what’s happening.” Kenny Rogers (0-2) allowed three runs — two earned — eight hits and three walks in 42‚Ñ3 innings. The Tigers are batting just .235 and have scored 15 runs this year, ahead of only Colorado (12) entering play Tuesday night. The Tigers didn’t hit, managing just five singles. They didn’t field well, committing two errors after making three in their previous game. They didn’t pitch well, allowing 12 hits, six walks and a balk.

Royals 5, Yankees 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brian Bannister and the Kansas City Royals got the best of Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod struck out four times in a game for only the fourth time in his major league career, and the Royals won their home opener. In a matchup of top young pitchers, Bannister (2-0) bested Phil Hughes (0-1) as the Yankees opened a stretch that has them playing 18 of 20 games on the road — returning home only for two meetings with the World Series champion Boston Red Sox on April 16-17. With captain Derek Jeter sidelined for the three-game series by a strained left quadriceps, the Yankees (4-4) wasted a 2-1 second-inning lead against a team it took nine of 10 from last season. New York struck out 11 times in all, three by Jeter’s replacement at shortstop, Wilson Betemit.

Orioles 8, Rangers 1

ARLINGTON, Texas — Scott Moore and Luke Scott hit early home runs and Baltimore ruined Texas’ home opener. The Orioles (6-1) have the American League’s best record and a six-game winning streak, already matching their longest of last season. Moore led off the second with a homer, and Scott followed an inning later with a two-run shot that made it 4-0 off Jason Jennings (0-2). Aubrey Huff matched a career high with four hits, and drove in four runs. Brian Burres (1-0) allowed only one run pitching into the seventh, when he gave up a leadoff single that turned into the only Texas run. Burres struck out three and allowed seven hits, six of them singles.

Athletics 9, Blue Jays 8

TORONTO — Ryan Sweeney hit a tiebreaking triple in the ninth inning, and the Athletics ended the Blue Jays’ three-game winning streak. Kurt Suzuki singled up the middle off right-hander Jeremy Accardo (0-1) with two outs in the ninth. Sweeney then hit a triple to right. He finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Alan Embree (1-1) got the win despite allowing a two-run homer to Frank Thomas in the eighth to make it 8-all. The homer was Thomas’ third in three games. Huston Street worked the ninth for his first save.

Mariners 6, Rays 5

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Moving from Baltimore to Seattle hasn’t changed Erik Bedard’s mastery of Tampa Bay. The left-hander, acquired in an offseason trade, struggled through six innings but got enough support from the Mariners’ sputtering offense to ruin the Rays’ home opener.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Phillies 5, Mets 2

NEW YORK — Carlos Delgado and the New York Mets botched the final home opener at Shea Stadium the same way they squandered a big lead in the NL East last year. April or September, doesn’t seem to matter. The Mets can’t find a way to hold off Philadelphia. Jamie Moyer (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, Jayson Werth hit a tiebreaking single and the Phillies rallied past New York. Philadelphia, which took advantage of the Mets’ epic collapse last September to win the division title, has won nine in a row against New York. Chase Utley tied a major league record by getting hit by a pitch three times for the Phillies.

Cardinals 5, Astros 3

HOUSTON — Troy Glaus hit a two-run double in the eighth inning to propel the Cardinals. Glaus’ hit, off Geoff Geary (0-1), bounced off the lower portion of the bullpen wall in right-center field and scored Chris Duncan and Albert Pujols. Anthony Reyes (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings of one-hit ball, and Jason Isringhausen worked a perfect ninth for his fourth save.

Rockies 4, Braves 3

DENVER — Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez overcame a shaky start and Matt Holliday hit two run-scoring singles in the Rockies’ win over the hard-luck Braves. Each of the Braves’ five losses so far have come by one run. The Rockies still haven’t busted out of their offensive funk, but they finally topped the three-run mark in a game. Coming in, they had scored just 12 times in their first seven games, the lowest run production in the majors and half the number of runs that they had scored in their previous worst start, in 2002.

Associated Press