Lee torments Red Sox in Phillies’ 3-1 victory
BOSTON: Cliff Lee pitched eight innings of four-hit ball and Jonathan Papelbon earned his first save at Fenway Park as a Red Sox opponent on Tuesday night, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-1 victory over Boston.
Michael Young and Domonic Brown homered for the Phillies, and Erik Kratz singled in the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning to snap Boston’s four-game winning streak.
Lee (6-2) allowed a first-inning run and then retired 22 of the next 23 batters to win his fourth consecutive decision. He struck out eight to match his season high and walked none.
Ryan Dempster (2-6) allowed two runs on six hits and three walks, striking out four in seven innings for Boston.
Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save. The Red Sox closer from 2005-11 — including their 2007 World Series title — he entered to a chorus of boos and without the theme song “Shipping up to Boston” he used for much of his career here.
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Desmond Jennings drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Rays to a victory over the Marlins.
The Rays came back from an early 4-0 deficit and won their third in a row. Miami lost its seventh straight game.
Kelly Johnson opened the ninth with an infield single and took second on Evan Longoria’s single off Mike Dunn (1-1). With two outs, Jennings singled against Chad Qualls.
Fernando Rodney (2-2) got the win.
Jennings, Luke Scott and Yunel Escobar each had three of Tampa Bay’s 16 hits.
In Cincinnati, Xavier Paul singled home a pair of runs in the first inning, and the Reds completed a two-game home sweep of the Indians.
The intrastate rivals headed to Cleveland for two more games. The Indians lead the all-time series 42-41.
The Reds have won 14 of their past 17 games overall, leaving them with the second-best record in the majors at 33-19. They trail NL Central-leading St. Louis.
Cleveland has dropped
five straight — matching its season high — and seven of eight.
Mat Latos (5-0) handled a slumping lineup, allowing one run in 6 1-3 innings. The Indians have been outscored 33-14 during their losing streak.
The Reds had 18 hits, one shy of their season high.
Paul’s two-run single put the Reds ahead 3-0 in the first against Zach McAllister (4-4).
In Toronto, Brian McCann hit two home runs, including a solo shot in the 10th inning that lifted the Braves over the Blue Jays 7-6.
McCann and rookie Evan Gattis hit back-to-back homers off Ramon Ortiz in the sixth, giving the Braves a 6-5 lead. The Blue Jays tied it on J.P. Arencibia’s RBI double in the seventh.
McCann connected for a leadoff drive in the 10th against Thad Weber (0-1) for his sixth home run. It was McCann’s first multihomer game of the season and the ninth of his career.
Cory Gearrin (2-1) pitched one inning for the win. Craig Kimbrel celebrated his 25th birthday by finishing for his 16th save in 19 chances.
Jordan Schafer also homered for the Braves.
In Houston, Michael Cuddyer had three hits, including an RBI single in the ninth inning that gave the Colorado Rockies a win over the Astros.
Troy Tulowitzki doubled off Houston closer Jose Veras (0-4) to start the ninth and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Cuddyer followed with his single, which sailed just out of reach of leaping third baseman Matt Dominguez.
Tulowitzki had an RBI single in the first. Chris Carter tied it in the fourth with an RBI grounder.
Matt Belisle (2-2) threw a perfect eighth for the win. Closer Rafael Betancourt struck out two in the ninth for his 11th save.
In Kansas City, Missouri, Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer against his former team, rookie Tyler Lyons made another dazzling start and the Cardinals beat Kansas City for the Royals’ 10th consecutive home defeat.
The only two hits that Lyons (2-0) allowed over seven innings were to Billy Butler — a two-out RBI double in the first inning and
a bloop single in the seventh.