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BOSTON — Josh Beckett allowed two hits in eight shutout innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 4-0 on Sunday night to take two out of three games from their rivals after opening the season with six straight losses.
Beckett (1-1) was dropped to fourth in the season-opening rotation but struck out 10 and walked one while retiring the last 14 batters he faced.
The Red Sox returned home after the worst start to a season since they lost their first eight games in 1945. They ended that by beating the Yankees 9-6 on Friday before losing 9-4 on Saturday.
White Sox 6, Rays 1
CHICAGO — Paul Konerko hit two home runs and Gavin Floyd pitched eight masterful innings Sunday as the Chicago White Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1.
Konerko’s solo homers in the first and fifth innings gave him three on the season. He has a 10-game hitting streak dating back to last year and has driven in a run in all but one game for Chicago this year.
Rays manager Joe Maddon was ejected in the sixth inning for arguing a reversed call.
Royals 9, Tigers 5
DETROIT — Wilson Betemit went 4 for 4 with two doubles, and the Kansas City Royals beat the mistake-prone Detroit Tigers.
Luke Hochevar pitched seven solid innings for Kansas City, and every Royals starter had a hit. Miguel Cabrera, Jhonny Peralta and Alex Avila all homered for Detroit, but the Tigers made four errors.
Rangers 3, Orioles 0
BALTIMORE — Derek Holland allowed five hits over six innings, Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler homered, and the Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles to win their third consecutive series.
The Rangers took two of three from Baltimore and improved to 8-1, matching the best start in franchise history (1989). The only other seasons in which Texas opened with more than two successive series wins were 1989 (five straight) and 1993 (four).
Athletics 5, Twins 3
MINNEAPOLIS — Hideki Matsui homered to help the Athletics break out of a season-long offensive slump and Brandon McCarthy pitched into the eighth inning in Oakland’s victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Angels 3, Blue Jays 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jered Weaver struck out a career-high 15 and the Los Angeles Angels took advantage of a costly error by Toronto center fielder Rajai Davis to beat the Blue Jays.
Weaver allowed four hits in 7 2-3 innings and Peter Bourjos tripled home a pair of unearned runs to help the Angels take two of three in the series.
Indians 6, Mariners 4
SEATTLE — Asdrubal Cabrera welcomed Erik Bedard back to Safeco Field with a solo homer and the surprising Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners for their seventh straight victory.