BOSTON – The New York Yankees reclaimed the leadership of the American League East division with a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday in the opening game of another vital series between the archrivals.
The win gave New York the division lead for the first time in a month and was only its second win in 10 games between the teams this season.
Yankees reliever Boone Logan (3-2) struck out Adrian Gonzalez with the bases loaded to end the fifth inning, and New York responded, with Nick Swisher getting an RBI double off Jon Lester (11-5) to put the visitors ahead.
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth for his 29th save.
In Arlington, Josh Hamilton drove in the winning run with a two-out infield single in the 11th inning, lifting Texas over Cleveland.
Elvis Andrus sparked the game-ending rally with a two-out bunt single against Rafael Perez (4-2). Andrus advanced to second on Perez’s wild pitch, and Hamilton hit a soft grounder to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.
Hamilton slid headfirst into first, beating Cabrera’s throw. Andrus never stopped after rounding third and beat the one-hop throw to the plate.
Texas’ Neftali Feliz (1-2) pitched 1 2-3 scoreless innings for the win.
In Anaheim, Jered Weaver struck out eight in nine innings in his first start since he was suspended for throwing at a batter, setting up Los Angeles’ tight win over Seattle.
Torii Hunter led off the 10th with a single against rookie Dan Cortes (0-2), advanced on a wild pitch and came home when Vernon Wells lined a pitch to left-center. The victory ended Seattle’s three-game winning streak and sent the Mariners to their 17th loss in their past 19 games at Angel Stadium.
Angels closer Jordan Walden (3-3) pitched a perfect inning for the win.
In St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay starter Jeff Niemann pitched into the ninth inning to guide the Rays past Oakland.
Niemann (6-4) gave up four runs in 8-2/3 innings and was replaced after a couple of runs. He won his fifth consecutive decision since returning from a back injury.
Evan Longoria and Casey Kotchman both had run-scoring doubles, and Matt Joyce hit an RBI single in the fifth that put the Rays up 4-0.
Athletics starter Guillermo Moscoso (4-6) gave up four runs in 4 2-3 innings.
In Kansas City, Brennan Boesch hit a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th inning to lift Detroit past Kansas City.
Wilson Betemit led off the inning with a walk and Andy Dirks took second on a wild pitch by Aaron Crow (3-3) with one out.
Tigers reliever Daniel Schlereth (1-1) worked two scoreless innings and Jose Valverde pitched the bottom of the 10th for his 31st straight save.
Austin Jackson and Boesch opened the game with back-to-back triples in Detroit’s two-run first inning. Alex Avila tacked on a solo homer in the fifth.
In Minneapolis, Chicago snapped a six-game losing skid, beating Minnesota.
Carlos Quentin had two home runs and four RBIs. It was his 14th career multi-homer game, and the two-run shot in the fifth off starter Nick Blackburn (7-9) gave Chicago the lead for good.
White Sox starter Mark Buehrle (9-5) was sharp after a rough first inning, allowing four hits over eight innings, extending his streak of allowing three runs or fewer to 17 straight games. He retired 22 of the last 24 hitters he faced.
In Baltimore, Brett Lawrie got two hits and an RBI in his major league debut, helping Toronto edge Baltimore.
Lawrie, who is the 17th Canadian to play for the Blue Jays, hit a run-scoring single in his first at-bat and singled in the eighth inning, missing a chance for a second RBI when Colby Rasmus was thrown out at the plate.
Aaron Hill drove in two runs for Toronto.
Blue Jays starter Brad Mills (1-1) allowed four hits in 5 1-3 innings to earn his second big league win.
Tommy Hunter (1-2) gave up four runs in four innings for the Orioles.