NEW YORK—Joba Chamberlain struggled with his control, walked off the mound in the third inning and threw his glove in the dugout.

His first major league start was a memorable one, all right. Just not for the reasons he’d hoped.

Chamberlain lasted just 2 1-3 innings and Roy Halladay held the New York Yankees in check despite some control problems of his own, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a 9-3 victory on Tuesday night.

Alex Rios extended his hitting streak against the Yankees to 24 games and David Eckstein had three RBIs for Toronto, which patiently concentrated on Chamberlain’s pitch count and forced New York to use six pitchers total.

Halladay (7-5) won his fourth straight decision and improved to 5-1 with a 2.58 ERA in his last seven games. He allowed two runs and six hits in six innings.

Dan Giese (0-1) took the loss in relief of Chamberlain.



Red Sox 7, Rays 4

BOSTON—The Red Sox kept winning at home even without David Ortiz. Coco Crisp hit a tie-breaking double and Boston won the matchup of the AL East’s top two teams.

Crisp snapped a 1-for-25 slump with the two-run double in a four-run sixth inning and Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a sacrifice fly.

With Ortiz sidelined for at least three weeks with a left wrist injury, the Red Sox won their 11th straight game at home, matching the longest AL streak of the season held by the Rays. Boston cut Tampa Bay’s lead in the division to one-half game.

Justin Masterson (2-0) allowed four runs in six innings. Jonathan Papelbon struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 19 opportunities.

Matt Garza (4-2) gave up seven runs—five earned—in 5 1-3 innings.



Orioles 5, Twins 3

MINNEAPOLIS—Radhames Liz made a solid 2008 debut and got help from homers by Kevin Millar and Melvin Mora in Baltimore’s 5-3 victory over Minnesota.

Liz (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in 5 1-3 innings for the Orioles, who snapped a nine-game losing streak to Minnesota and improved to 25-8 when scoring at least four runs in a game.

Kevin Slowey (2-5) gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings for the Twins, who got going a little too late against Liz.

The 24-year-old Dominican breezed through the first five innings, allowing just one hit and one walk as the Orioles jumped out to a 4-0 lead.



White Sox 9, Royals 5

CHICAGO—Carlos Quentin, A.J. Pierzynski, Nick Swisher and Alexei Ramirez homered and the White Sox beat the Royals and Zack Greinke.

Gavin Floyd (6-3), allowed four runs—two earned—and six hits in seven innings, including Mark Teahen’s two-run homer in the seventh.

Pierzynski’s first homer since April 22, a two-run shot, capped a four-run second against Greinke (5-3) and put the White Sox ahead 6-0.

Greinke allowed nine hits and eight earned runs in six innings. His ERA rose from 2.88 to 3.56.