Baseball roundup: Thursday's action on the diamonds

(CP) - Josh Beckett proved Thursday why he's headed to the all-star game, and a few of his Red Sox teammates made a strong case why they should go with him.

Beckett matched the major-league lead with his 12th victory, getting a first-inning grand slam from Coco Crisp and a career-high five hits from Mike Lowell to lead Boston to a 15-4 victory over Tampa Bay. It was the Devil Rays' 11th consecutive loss.

"A lot of runs," Beckett said with a sense of awe. "These guys never cease to amaze me with the way they swing the bats."

The Devil Rays were swept for the third straight series. A fourth this weekend in Kansas City would pull them within one of the franchise record of 15 straight losses set in 2002.

The Red Sox and their major-league-leading six all-stars headed to Detroit for a series against the Tigers and Jim Leyland, who will manage the AL squad in San Francisco. Beckett (12-2) is among those in contention to start Tuesday night's game.

"There's some other guys as deserving as I am. I'll be happy if he chooses me," Beckett said. "It's a whole new experience for me. It's a very exciting time."

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said he wouldn't campaign for Beckett to start, though he expected to chat with Leyland in Detroit.

"He doesn't need my help," said Francona, who managed in the All-Star game in 2005, a year after Boston won the World Series. "I'm aware of how things work, and I don't want to be a pain in the neck."

Elsewhere in the AL Thursday it was: Yankees 7, Twins 6; Tigers 12, Indians 3; White Sox 11, Orioles 6; Angels 5, Rangers 2; and Athletics 3, Mariners 2.

At Boston, Lowell and Crisp each drove in five of Boston's season-high 15 runs; the 21 hits were also a season-high. David Ortiz went 3-for-5 with four runs as the Red Sox led 6-0 lead after one inning, 9-0 after two and 13-2 after three.

Beckett had already struck out seven by then. He finished with nine, allowing three runs, nine hits and a walk in six innings.

J.P. Howell (1-3) allowed six runs, six hits and two walks, retiring just two of the 10 batters he faced before being chased in the first inning. He even needed good defence to do that: Ortiz was retired on a fielder's choice line drive off the first baseman's glove for the first out in the inning.

After two more singles, Howell walked Jason Varitek with the bases loaded and Crisp sent a high fly just inside the left-field foul pole and over the Green Monster.

"I was trying way too hard out there. I tried to pitch the whole game in one inning in my mind," Howell said. "After the grand slam, I thought we were still in it. But after that, it was over."

Crisp came up with the bases loaded again three more times: in the third, drawing a walk to match his career high for RBIs; again in the sixth, when he hit into an inning-ending double play, and again in the eighth, when he struck out.

Tigers 12, Indians 3

At Detroit, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Guillen and Placido Polanco hit homers off C.C. Sabathia, turning a battle of all-star pitchers into a rout as the Tigers beat Cleveland.

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Yankees 7, Twins 6

At New York, Hideki Matsui hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning and Mariano Rivera got out of a jam in the ninth for his 424th save, tying him with John Franco for third on the career list.

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White Sox 11, Orioles 6

At Chicago, Tadahito Iguchi fell a single shy of the cycle, and Jermaine Dye hit a three-run homer to lead the White Sox over the Orioles.

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Angels 5, Rangers 2

At Arlington, Texas, Kelvim Escobar won his 10th game after being snubbed again for a spot in the all-star game and the Angels avoided a three-game sweep with a victory over the Rangers.

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Athletics 3, Mariners 2

At Oakland, Calif., Nick Swisher and Bobby Crosby hit home runs to help the Oakland Athletics win for the fourth time in six games.

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Barry Bonds' normally cool reception in Cincinnati felt extra cold thanks to Bronson Arroyo.

As if Reds fans mercilessly booing the record-chaser wasn't enough, Bonds managed only a modest single Thursday night, stalling his chase of the home run record, while the Reds rolled to a 6-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants behind their power-hitting pitcher, Arroyo.

Arroyo (3-9) kept Bonds guessing with an assortment of pitches that gave the radar gun a workout, registering between 67 mph and 91 mph. He even brushed Bonds back with an up-and-in fastball that drew one of the loudest cheers of the night.

"It was funny," Arroyo said. "They gave the natural reaction when you're near a guy, then they realized, 'Oh, it's Bonds, we've got to cheer.' I was just trying to throw one off the plate, but it got a little closer than I wanted it to."

Bonds remained at 751 career homers, four away from Hank Aaron's record.

Arroyo also hit his third career homer off Matt Morris (7-5), a solo shot that helped him end the longest slump of his career. The right-hander hadn't won since May 6, going 0-7 in his last 10 tries.

Ken Griffey Jr. doubled home a pair of runs, and Josh Hamilton also homered for the Reds, who took two of three for their first winning series in nearly a month.

"We have to build some momentum and get that winning feeling," said interim manager Pete Mackanin, who took over before the series. "There's a lot of talent on this team. What I need to introduce to this team is a new personality - something to get us going."

Elsewhere in the NL Thursday, it was: Marlins 3 Padres 2; Pirates 6 Brewers 3; Cardinals 3, Diamondbacks 2; Cubs 4, Nationals 2; Mets 6, Astros 2; and Braves 8, Dodgers 6.

At Cincinnati, Bonds left one city known for a historic homer and headed for another.

Aaron tied Babe Ruth's mark of 714 in Cincinnati on opening day 1974, then went home to Atlanta and topped it four days later. During his three-day stay in Cincinnati, Bonds took another step toward Aaron's total, hitting a two-run homer in the series opener.

Now, Bonds is off to a three-game series in St. Louis, where Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' single-season record in 1998.

After that, Bonds will fly back to San Francisco to start in the all-star game. The Giants resume with three home games against the Dodgers, then hit the road for seven games in Chicago and Milwaukee.

If Cincinnati is a barometer, he'd have a much more enjoyable time breaking the record at home.

But it wasn't a totally bad time for Bonds.

The series matched two of baseball's greatest sluggers - Bonds with 751 homers and Griffey with 585. The two buddies shared laughs on the field before games, and had a friendly try-to-top-this competition.

Each can claim they won. Bonds had a 1-0 advantage in homers, but Griffey had more RBIs (4-2). Bonds can point out that he sat out one game, resting his sore legs.

On the final night, the bulky Bonds was outhomered by a lanky, long-haired pitcher who plays guitar in concert and has a nice touch with the bat, too. He connected on a first-pitch fastball from Morris in the second inning.

"You take your chances there," said Morris, who gave up six runs in six innings. "You don't want to be too careful. He's not the best hitter on that team, but he was able to catch one that was right there for him."

Arroyo now has homered off two pitchers - he connected twice last season off the Cubs' Glendon Rusch. Bonds holds the major league record, having homered off 442 pitchers.

Arroyo's name wasn't on Bonds' expansive list, and the right-hander wanted to keep it that way. Arroyo threw him everything he had, at every speed he could find.

Bonds had a tough time guessing what was coming next. In a marathon first at-bat, he saw pitches clocked at 91, 68, 74, 69, 91, 78, 73, 74 and 91 mph. Bonds lined out, singled and popped out against Arroyo.

"It was fun," Arroyo said. "I don't think I want to see him up there five or six times a game, but under the circumstances - having a lead, really not being in a super pressure situation - it was fun."

Marlins 3 Padres 2

At San Diego, Byung-Hyun Kim outduelled all-star Jake Peavy to earn his first victory since May 28.

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Pirates 6 Brewers 3

At Pittsburgh, Adam LaRoche homered twice and Tom Gorzelanny outpitched Ben Sheets as the Pirates handed the NL West leaders their third straight loss.

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Cardinals 3, Diamondbacks 2

At St. Louis, Adam Wainwright carried a five-hit shutout into the eighth inning and Juan Encarnacion hit a three-run homer in the Cardinals' victory over the Diamondbacks.

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Cubs 4, Nationals 2

At Washington, Mike Fontenot broke out of an 0-for-16 skid with three hits, including the tie-breaking single in the seventh inning, and former National Daryle Ward added two hits and two RBIs to lead the Cubs over Washington.

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Mets 6, Astros 2

At Houston, John Maine set a career high with nine strikeouts in 7 2-3 innings and Ramon Castro had a two-run double filling in for suspended Paul Lo Duca, as the Mets beat the Astros.

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Braves 8, Dodgers 6

At Los Angeles, Chipper Jones broke open a tie game with a pair of solo homers that tied and broke Dale Murphy's Atlanta Braves record, and Jeff Francoeur also homered in a win over the Dodgers.