Sean Rodriguez and B.J. Upton hit three-run homers as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 6-4 Tuesday. The Rays won for the 10th time in 11 games and victory allowed them to move into first place in the American League East. Rodriguez homered in the first inning. Upton put the Rays ahead 6-3 with his tiebreaking drive in the seventh. Jeff Niemann (10-3) allowed three runs and eight hits over seven innings. Tampa Bay moved one game ahead of the New York Yankees, who lost to Toronto 8-2. Rafael Soriano allowed an RBI single to Joe Mauer in the ninth before recording his 31st save. Mauer was back in the starting lineup and went 3 for 4 with three RBIs as the designated hitter. The reigning American League MVP, dealing with tendinitis in his right shoulder, sat out two straight games after receiving a cortisone shot in the shoulder on Saturday. It has not been determined when Mauer will play behind the plate. After pinch-hitters John Jaso and Matt Joyce drew one-out walks from Matt Guerrier (1-6) in the seventh, Upton hit his ninth homer of the season into the left-field seats. Orioles 6, Angels 3: At Baltimore, Buck Showalter's difficult task of turning around the last-place Baltimore Orioles began with a victory over Los Angeles. Luke Scott hit a two-run homer and Josh Bell added a two-run double for his first major league RBIs in a big sixth inning. It was Showalter's first game as a skipper since the end of the 2006 season, when he was with the Texas Rangers. He's the third manager of 2010 for Baltimore, which is a majors-worst 33-73, and drew a roar from the Camden Yards crowd of 16,723 simply by jogging out of the dugout to clarify a call with the plate umpire. Jeremy Guthrie (5-11) went seven innings, allowing three runs and five hits. The right-hander has now won two of his past three starts after going 0-6 in his previous nine. With Los Angeles leading 2-1 in the sixth, Francisco Rodriguez (0-2) replaced Angels starter Trevor Bell after a leadoff walk and immediately gave up Scott's shot to right, his 19th homer. Red Sox 3, Indians 1: At Boston, Mike Lowell hit a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw after coming off the disabled list and Josh Beckett dominated for eight innings as the Boston Red Sox beat Cleveland after a bench-clearing fracas. The Red Sox won on the day they lost first baseman Kevin Youkilis. He went on the 15-day disabled list with a torn muscle in his right thumb and was going to see a hand specialist, unsure whether he would need season-ending surgery. Youkilis was on the field in the eighth inning when the benches emptied. A pitch by Indians reliever Jensen Lewis that sailed behind Adrian Beltre started things. Lewis, Indians third-base coach Steve Smith and Beckett were ejected. No punches were thrown, though Smith and Red Sox manager Terry Francona got into a heated exchange. Beckett (3-1), making his third start after spending just over two months on the DL with a strained lower back, gave up a solo homer to Lou Marson and two singles. He struck out eight and walked none. Jonathan Papelbon worked the ninth for his 25th save. Huff (2-10), recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, gave to three runs, seven hits, walked two and struck out two. Other results: Blue Jays 8, Yankees 2; White Sox 12, Tigers 2 (1st game); Tigers 7, White Sox 1 (2nd game); Royals 3, Athletics 2.
