Jonathan Papelbon powered his way out of a ninth inning jam with three straight strikeouts after Jason Bay doubled home the go-ahead run in the eighth, and the Red Sox beat Tampa Bay 4-3 last night in Boston.

The Red Sox took two of three from the Rays, snapping a streak of six consecutive series victories by the Rays against Boston.

Ramon Ramirez (3-0) got the final out of the eighth before Papelbon escaped a two-on, none-out mess for his eighth save.

Akinori Iwamura walked and went to third on Jason Bartlett’s single to start the ninth. But Papelbon got Carlos Pena, B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford to go down swinging.

Rangers 7, White Sox 1

In Chicago, Hank Blalock homered twice, Vicente Padilla allowed one hit in seven innings and the Rangers beat the White Sox.

Tigers 5, Indians 3

In Cleveland, Rick Porcello extended Detroit’s streak of strong pitching, and the Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the struggling Indians.

Mariners 5, Twins 3

In Minneapolis, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a tying two-run homer in the eighth inning to rouse the Mariners in a victory over the Twins that stopped their six-game losing streak.

Angels 4, Royals 3

In Anaheim, Torii Hunter made a leaping, homer-saving catch in the ninth inning to help the Angels hold off the Royals.

Blue Jays 5, Athletics 0

In Oakland, Brett Cecil yielded five hits over eight impressive innings to earn his first major league victory, Alex Rios drove in three runs and the Blue Jays beat the Athletics for their seventh win in 10 games.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Braves 4, Phillies 2

In Philadelphia, Casey Kotchman had three hits and three RBIs, Kenshin Kawakami pitched six effective innings and the Braves rallied past the Phillies.

Kotchman hit a two-out, two-run single off Jack Taschner (1-1) in the seventh inning to give the Braves a 3-2 lead. He also had an RBI double in the ninth.

Giants 7, Dodgers 5 (13)

In Los Angeles, Randy Winn hit a tiebreaking two-run single with the bases loaded in the 13th inning and finished with four hits, leading the Giants to victory.

D’backs 10, Nationals 8

In Phoenix, Chris Snyder and Eric Byrnes each drove in three runs and the Diamondbacks gave manager A.J. Hinch his first victory by beating the Nationals, whose Ryan Zimmerman pushed his hitting streak to 28 games with a double and two singles.

Astros 12, Padres 5

In Houston, Miguel Tejada and Carlos Lee each drove in four runs to help Roy Oswalt get his first win of the season, powering the Astros to victory.

Cubs 4, Brewers 2

In Milwaukee, Alfonso Soriano hit a towering two-run homer in a four-run third inning and the Cubs survived another shaky outing by their bullpen.

Cardinals 8, Reds 7 (10)

In Cincinnati, Colby Rasmus doubled home a run in the 10th inning, and the Cardinals overcame five Reds homers for the win.

Rockies 3, Marlins 2

In Denver, Aaron Cook pitched six solid innings and Troy Tulowitzki homered as part of a third consecutive multihit game in the Rockies’ win over the Marlins.