American League roundup

Red Sox 8, Royals 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Red Sox left fielder Jacoby Ellsbury was helped off the field after colliding with third baseman Adrian Beltre in the ninth inning of Boston's 8-6 win Sunday over the Kansas City Royals.

Ellsbury and Beltre were chasing Mitch Maier's foul fly ball when they ran into reach other. Ellsbury remained on the grass for several minutes and isn't sure if he'll be able to play Monday at Minnesota.

Beltre had three hits and three RBIs. Dustin Pedroia got four hits, including a home run.

Jose Guillen homered twice and drove in four runs for the Royals.

Clay Buchholz (1-0) worked five innings and Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his second save in two opportunities. Gil Meche (0-1) lasted just 3 1-3 innings, allowing seven runs and eight hits.

White Sox 5, Twins 4

CHICAGO (AP) - J.J. Hardy was nailed at the plate for the final out when he tried to score on pinch-hitter Jim Thome's long drive, and the Chicago White Sox held off the Minnesota Twins.

Hardy singled with two outs against Bobby Jenks and took off when Thome hit a shot into the left-center field gap. Left fielder Juan Pierre retrieved the ball on the warning track and threw to third baseman Mark Teahen.

Teahen's relay to catcher A.J. Pierzynski arrived in plenty of time, and Hardy was beaten by so much that he didn't slide or go barreling home.

Pinch-hitter Andruw Jones singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth. Mark Buehrle (2-0) pitched eight innings and Jenks held on for his first save.

Twins starter Nick Blackburn (1-1) pitched 7 2-3 innings.

Tigers 9, Indians 8

DETROIT (AP) - Carlos Guillen scored on fill-in closer Chris Perez's wild pitch with two outs, capping a three-run ninth inning and lifting the Detroit Tigers over the Cleveland Indians.

Guillen hit an RBI double to get the Tigers within a run. After Brandon Inge grounded out, Perez (0-1) issued consecutive walks to Ramon Santiago and Johnny Damon to force home the tying run. His next pitch bounced past Lou Marson, allowing Guillen to scamper home.

Perez is serving as Cleveland's closer while Kerry Wood is on the disabled list with a strained muscle below his right shoulder.

Phil Coke (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the Tigers, who trailed 7-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

Athletics 9, Angels 4

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Adam Rosales homered in his first AL at-bat, added a go-ahead single and finished with four RBIs as the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels.

Rosales, a backup infielder with Cincinnati the last two seasons, hit a solo home run in the second inning and sprinted around the bases. His drive was Oakland's only hit through the first six innings against Joe Saunders (0-2).

Saunders retired 13 in a row before giving up three straight hits to start a three-run seventh. Rosales capped the rally with a two-run single, dropping the AL West champion Angels to 2-5.

Dallas Braden (1-0) allowed three runs and five hits over six innings. Rookie Tyson Ross pitched three innings for his first major league save.

Yankees 7, Rays 3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - A.J. Burnett pitched seven strong innings and Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez drove in two runs apiece to lead the New York Yankees over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Burnett (1-0) allowed two runs and six hits as the World Series champions wrapped up a season-opening six-game road trip with a pair of wins after dropping the opener of a weekend series at Tropicana Field.

Posada's two-run homer off Randy Choate (0-1) gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the sixth.

Rangers 9, Mariners 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Scott Feldman pitched seven solid innings and Michael Young homered, helping the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners.

Vladimir Guerrero finished with three hits for Texas, boosting his average to .500, and Joaquin Arias had his second straight three-hit game.

Feldman (1-0) allowed two runs and seven hits in his second start of the season. Ian Snell (0-1) lasted only three innings, allowing five runs, four earned, and eight hits.

Blue Jays 5, Orioles 2

BALTIMORE (AP) - Jose Bautista and Alex Gonzalez hit consecutive homers in the eighth inning after a two-out error by Miguel Tejada, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles for a three-game sweep.

Kevin Millwood (0-1) took a three-hitter and a 2-1 lead into the eighth. He retired the first two batters before Tejada - a career shortstop now playing third base - misplayed a sharp grounder by John McDonald.

Bautista then homered and Gonzalez followed with his second home run of the game.

Casey Janssen (3-0) won in relief and Kevin Gregg finished the Blue Jays' first sweep in Baltimore since August 2004 by getting three outs for his second save.