Red Sox back Wakefield with five HRs
Tim Wakefield became the oldest pitcher to win for Boston, and the Red Sox backed the 44-year-old knuckleballer with five home runs last night to rough up the Rays, 11-5.
Marco Scutaro hit two homers and Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz and Victor Martinez also connected at Fenway. Four homers came off Matt Garza (14-8).
Wakefield (4-10) surpassed Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, who was 43 when he got his last win for the Red Sox.
The Rays fell 21/2 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees. Boston is nine back.
Twins 4, Royals 3
Brian Duensing (8-2, 2.02 ERA) allowed one run in eight innings as the host Twins completed a three-game sweep. Minnesota's sixth straight win extended its AL Central lead over the White Sox to 51/2 games.
Tigers 5, White Sox 1
Jeremy Bonderman (8-9) pitched eight strong innings for host Detroit, which beat Chicago for the second straight game.
Derek Holland won for the first time since mid-May as the AL West leaders stopped their losing streak at five. Former Met Jeff Francoeur had three hits for the visiting Rangers.
Phillies 10, Marlins 6
Ryan Howard hit his 28th homer and had six RBIs as the host Phillies backed Cole Hamels (10-10), who went seven innings and extended his scoreless streak to 25. The NL East leaders tied a season high with 18 hits and remained half a game ahead of the Braves.
Braves 9, Pirates 3
Derek Lowe (12-12) beat host Pittsburgh for the 10th straight time as Atlanta ended a three-game losing streak.
Diamondbacks 3, Giants 1
Daniel Hudson pitched seven strong innings and host Arizona snapped the Giants' four-game winning streak.
Ump: Fan ejected for slur
Umpire Bob Davidson said he ejected a fan Tuesday night at Miller Park in Milwaukee because the fan used a homophobic slur aimed at Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.
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