MLB: Ciriaco on song again as Red Sox defeat Yankees

Pedro Ciriaco continued his rivalry with New York despite being with Boston for less than a month after his big hit helped take the Red Sox to a 3-2 win.

Boston's Pedro Ciriaco jumps over Jayson Nix of the Yankees as he turns a double play during their fixture in New York
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Pedro Ciriaco has been with the Boston Red Sox for less than a month and already he is proving a New York Yankees nemesis.

Ciriaco blooped an RBI single in the 10th inning for his latest big hit in this rivalry, and the Red Sox squeaked out a 3-2 victory Sunday night moments after manager Bobby Valentine was ejected.

Ryan Sweeney hit an early two-run double for Boston, which took two of three in its first visit to New York this season despite grounding into four double plays against Hiroki Kuroda.

The last-place Red Sox (51-51) left town 9 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees.

"We're trying to win series now," Valentine said. "We did it the hard way. After losing the first, we battled in two tough games. I'm proud of the guys. That's a great effort."

The Tampa Bay Rays defeated Los Angeles 2-0 as Zack Greinke was outpitched by Jeremy Hellickson on his Angels debut.

The 2009 American League Cy Young pitching award winner, signed from Milwaukee on Friday, allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings and struck out eight.

Greinke (0-1), eligible for free agency after the season, was 9-3 with a 3.44 ERA in 21 starts with the Brewers.

The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Oakland Athletics 6-1 with rookie Chen Wei-yin striking out a career-high 12 and Matt Wieters hitting a three-run homer.

Scott Feldman equalled a career high by pitching eight shutout innings as the Texas Rangers ended a two-game skid with a 2-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Jhonny Peralta hit two home runs and Doug Fister pitched eight innings as the Detroit Tigers won 4-1 against the Toronto Blue Jays and avoided a three-game sweep in the process.

The Minnesota Twins won 5-1 against the Cleveland Indians with Justin Morneau hitting a two-run homer and Brian Duensing throwing six smooth innings as a late fill-in for Francisco Liriano. The win saw Minnesota finish a three-game sweep of Cleveland.

At Seattle, Felix Hernandez shook off a line drive to his left wrist and threw seven strong innings as the Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 7-6 for a four-game sweep.

The Cincinnati Reds posted their 10th straight win and matched their best streak in 14 years as Mat Latos pitched eight strong innings and Drew Stubbs homered in a 7-2 victory over Colorado in the National League.

The Houston Astros ended their team-record losing streak at 12 games as they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-5 thanks to three hits and three RBIs from Marwin Gonzalez.

The Los Angeles Dodgers won 4-0 against the San Francisco Giants as Clayton Kershaw pitched a five-hitter for his second shutout of the season.

The Washington Nationals needed 11 innings to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11-10 as Michael Morse hit a tying, two-run homer in the ninth and then delivered a two-run double in the 11th.

The Atlanta Braves won 6-2 against the Philadelphia Phillies to complete a three-game sweep as Jason Heyward and Chipper Jones homered off Roy Halladay.

RA Dickey rebounded from his first loss in three months to gain his National League-leading 14th win for the New York Mets who beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1.

The Miami Marlins beat the San Diego Padres in 10 innings as Josh Johnson tied a career high with six walks to help his side rally from a two-run deficit.

The Chicago Cubs won 4-2 over the St Louis Cardinals with Anthony Rizzo hitting a two-run homer in the 10th.