The finale of the Red Sox’s memorable four-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals was grand.
J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell hit grand slams Thursday to help Daisuke Matsuzaka remain unbeaten, and Boston completed a perfect seven-game homestand with an 11-8 win over the Royals.
The series started with Jon Lester’s no-hitter on Monday and closed with Lowell and Drew joining the club’s record books. It was just the fourth time Boston has had two slams in a game at home.
“It closed a nice homestand for us,” Lowell said. “The thing I like most is we plugged two new guys in.”
After Lester’s gem, rookie Justin Masterson and former Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon were called up from Triple-A Pawtucket and picked up wins.
Drew and Lowell were the first Red Sox to hit slams in the same game at Fenway since Tony Armas and Bill Buckner did it Aug. 7, 1984. The last time Boston had two slams in a game was when the switch-hitting Bill Mueller hit both – one from each side – at Texas on July 29, 2003.
“They started it off by a no-hitter and we didn’t pitch good against their potent offense,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said. “We didn’t do a whole lot offensively until today.”
Jose Guillen went 4-for-5 with a solo homer and three RBIs, and Miguel Olivo had three hits and five RBIs for Kansas City.
In other AL games, Detroit 9, Seattle 2; Texas 8, Minnesota 7, 10 innings; New York 2, Baltimore 1; Toronto 4, Los Angeles 3; and Chicago 3, Cleveland 1.
In Boston, Matsuzaka (8-0) gave up three runs on six hits, walked six, struck out seven and threw two wild pitches in becoming the AL’s first eight-game winner. Arizona’s Brandon Webb has nine wins.
Jonathan Papelbon got three outs for his 14th save.
Matsuzaka became only the second Japanese-born pitcher to start a season 8-0 in the majors. Hideki Irabu started 1999 with eight wins for the New York Yankees.
“I’m very grateful that I’ve been given the chance to get these wins under these circumstances,” Matsuzaka said of the run support through a translator.
With Boston trailing 1-0 in the second, Manny Ramirez, Lowell and Kevin Youkilis each singled before Drew drove Brian Bannister’s fastball into the second row of the Green Monster seats. Youkilis’ RBI single made it 5-1 in the third.
“I fouled a ball off my foot and walked around a little bit, thinking before I got back in the box,” Drew said. “It’s kind of nice to be home and play well in front of your fans.”
Lowell hit his slam off reliever Jimmy Gobble to cap a six-run sixth that made it 11-3, after Ramirez was intentionally walked.
Bannister (4-6), who allowed seven runs on 12 hits, couldn’t work his daytime magic against the Red Sox. Entering the game, he was 4-0 with a 0.62 ERA in starts under the sun.
Rangers 8, Twins 7, 10 innings
At Minneapolis, Josh Hamilton hit a two-out homer in the 10th inning to lift Texas.
Hamilton’s drive into the left-field seats against Brian Bass (1-1) gave him 12 homers, matching Chicago’s Carlos Quentin for the AL lead.
Hamilton went 2-for-4 and moved past Minnesota’s Joe Mauer for the best average in the league, .335. He has 53 RBIs, too, by far the most in the majors.
Joaquin Benoit (3-1) loaded the bases in the eighth and surrendered a two-run single to Justin Morneau that tied the game at 7, but he settled down for a scoreless ninth. Closer C.J. Wilson earned his ninth save.
Tigers 9, Mariners 2
At Detroit, Brandon Inge and Matt Joyce homered, and after scoring 14 runs in their previous seven games – six of them losses – the Tigers scored 30 in a sweep of Seattle.
Jeremy Bonderman (3-4) won for the first time in four May starts, allowing two runs and eight hits with two walks in six innings. He struck out two.
Freddy Dolsi picked up his first major league save with three shutout innings.
Miguel Batista (3-6) fell to 1-4 in his last six starts.
Blue Jays 4, Angels 3
At Toronto, Lyle Overbay hit a go-ahead solo homer, A.J. Burnett won back-to-back starts for the first time this season and the Blue Jays avoided a three-game sweep.
Overbay finished 2-for-3, adding a double and a walk. Eight of his past 17 hits have gone for extra bases.
Burnett (5-4) gave up three runs and six hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out six.
B.J. Ryan wrapped it up in the ninth for his 10th save.
Overbay’s one out drive to right made a loser of Ervin Santana (6-2), who is 1-2 in May after going 5-0 in April.
White Sox 3, Indians 1
At Chicago, Carlos Quentin hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and the White Sox won their eighth straight game.
Quentin had two RBIs and Jermaine Dye added a run-scoring single in the eighth to finish off a three-game sweep of the Indians, who have scored only 13 runs during their six-game losing streak.
Scott Linebrink (1-0) got the win, striking out two in the eighth. Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth for his 12th save for the first-place White Sox.
Indians starter Aaron Laffey (2-3) pitched into the eighth.
Yankees 2, Orioles 1
At New York, Robinson Cano singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning, moments after Yankees manager Joe Girardi was ejected during a theatrical argument. Girardi rushed from the dugout after plate umpire Chris Guccione ruled Jason Giambi was out on a foul tip.
Hideki Matsui led off the ninth with a single off Jim Johnson (0-2) and later scored from second base, beating left fielder Jay Payton’s high throw.
Mariano Rivera (1-1), in the game earlier than usual as the Yankees convert Joba Chamberlain into a starter, pitched a perfect ninth.
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