With a Little Help, Wakefield Wins

In Tim Wakefield’s previous three decisions, the Boston Red Sox scored a total of two runs. They topped that in one inning Saturday night at Fenway Park.

Manny Ramirez walked twice during a five-run second inning and homered in the fourth as the Red Sox staked Wakefield to a big early lead and helped him beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-3.

“It made my job a lot easier,” said Wakefield, who lost three in a row before a no-decision against the New York Yankees on Monday. “I was pitching well, but you’re on the short end of the stick sometimes.”

Wakefield (2-4) yielded three runs and seven hits, walked two and hit a batter as the Red Sox beat the Orioles for the 10th consecutive time.

Oakland 3, Tampa Bay 2 -- Jay Payton scored the winning run when Jason Kendall’s ground ball went between third baseman Aubrey Huff’s legs with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Moments earlier, Payton stayed on second following a wild 6-4-5-6-4 double play in which Dan Johnson was forced at second right before Payton returned to the bag after running on Marco Scutaro’s ground ball. Scutaro was headed for second too and became the second out when he arrived at the bag at the same time.

Chad Orvella (1-3) gave up Payton’s single to start the ninth, then walked Johnson. With the count 1-2 on Scutaro, Manager Joe Maddon brought in Tyler Walker. After Scutaro’s play, Kendall hit a routine grounder to third that Huff missed, allowing Payton to score.

Minnesota 7, Detroit 6 -- Luis Castillo singled through a drawn-in infield, lifting the Twins over the Tigers at Minneapolis.

Todd Jones (0-1) blew his first save in seven chances, with a one-out walk followed by Shannon Stewart’s triple that tied the score. Then came Castillo’s hit, giving the Twins their first win over the Tigers in five games.

Seattle 4, Cleveland 1 -- Joel Pineiro (4-2) pitched eight strong innings at Seattle and the Mariners ended a four-game losing streak.

Pineiro yielded four hits to the Indians, who came into the game leading the majors with an average of 6.6 runs per game and batting .311. He retired 17 in a row before Casey Blake singled to lead off the eighth inning.

Chicago 9, Kansas City 2 -- Javier Vazquez (4-1) took a perfect game into the sixth inning at Chicago. He pitched 7 2/3 innings, yielding four hits and both runs in winning his fourth consecutive start. He struck out six -- all in the first five innings -- and did not walk a batter.

New York 6, Texas 1 -- Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run homer and Jason Giambi had a solo shot to lead the Yankees at Arlington, Texas. Manager Joe Torre got his 999th victory in 11 seasons with the team.