By The Associated Press

BOSTON - Shea Hillenbrand broke a ninth-inning tie with his fourth hit of the game, and the Boston Red Sox withstood a collapse by their bullpen to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6-5 Tuesday night.

Boston took a 5-1 lead before Ramiro Mendoza gave it all back in the eighth without retiring a batter. But in the ninth, Boston loaded the bases with one out and Hillenbrand bounced a single up the middle to win it against Al Levine (1-1).

Mike Timlin (2-0) inherited a 5-3 lead and two baserunners from Mendoza and gave up the tying, two-run single to pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson. But Timlin retired the next five batters to prevent further damage and earn the win.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 0

NEW YORK - Mike Mussina allowed three hits in eight innings as the Yankees beat Toronto for the best start in franchise history.

Jorge Posada homered and Bernie Williams had three hits and two RBIs for the Yankees, who have won 11 of 13 to open the season for the first time.

Following a 10-9 victory Monday night, when New York used five relievers for 4 2-3 innings, manager Joe Torre was counting on a long outing from Mussina (3-0).

Mussina struck out nine and beat the Blue Jays for the seventh straight time since joining the Yankees. Toronto has lost six in a row.

Indians 8, Orioles 3

CLEVELAND - Matt Lawton hit a three-run homer to help rookie Jason Davis and the Indians defeat Baltimore.

Orioles starter Omar Daal was ejected for hitting Lawton in the back with a pitch in the fifth inning. Lawton simply picked up the ball and good-naturedly flipped it back to the left-hander.

Davis (1-2) allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings.

Milton Bradley and Shane Spencer had three hits each for Cleveland. The Indians got five hits in a four-run fourth inning off Daal (0-2), capped by Lawton's second homer.

Bradley extended his season-opening hitting streak to 13 games.

Royals 8, White Sox 5

CHICAGO - Mike Sweeney hit a two-run homer and Brandon Berger added a two-run single in the ninth inning as the Kansas City Royals rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 8-5 Tuesday night.

Joe Randa also homered for the Royals, who scored four times in the ninth to run their record to 11-1 - their best start ever.

Frank Thomas homered in the bottom of the eighth to give the White Sox a 5-4 lead. The benches emptied in the first inning when Royals starter Miguel Asencio hit Thomas with a pitch for the second time this season. No punches were thrown.

Billy Koch (1-1) took the loss after blowing the save.

Albie Lopez (2-0) got the win.

Umpire Laz Diaz was attacked by a fan who came out of the stands. Security and players immediately came to the aid of Diaz, the first base umpire, and the fan was quickly taken away.

Immediately after Carlos Lee flied out to right to end the eighth, the fan ran on the field and tried to tackle Diaz, wrapping his arms around the umpire's legs.

It was the first appearance by the Royals in Chicago since coach Tom Gamboa was pummeled by a father and son who came out of the stands last September.

Rangers 5, Angels 4

ARLINGTON, Texas - Ryan Christenson had a two-run double hours after being called up from the minors, and Einar Diaz added a two-run single in Texas' five-run fourth inning.

Rookie Colby Lewis (2-0) fell behind 2-0 after three innings, then took advantage of the Rangers' big fourth against Jarrod Washburn (1-2), allowing three runs and seven hits in six innings. Lewis, walked four and struck out two.

The Rangers' bullpen took over in the seventh, and reliever Aaron Fultz gave up a leadoff homer to Darin Erstad to make it 5-4. But Fultz and Ugueth Urbina, who got the final four outs for his fifth save in as many chances - combined to allow one hit over the final 2 2-3 shutout innings.

Twins 6, Tigers 4

MINNEAPOLIS - Torii Hunter broke his slump by going 2-for-4 with a homer, helping Minnesota beat Detroit for the 12th straight time.

Cristian Guzman went 2-for-3 with two walks and an RBI triple for the Twins, who won their fourth in a row since six consecutive losses.

Carlos Pena gave the scoring-starved Tigers a lift and a brief lead with a two-run homer in the fourth, but they fell to 1-11 and dropped the first of a 12-game road trip.

Eddie Guardado worked the ninth inning for his fifth save is as many tries. Hunter, who began the game with one hit in his last 20 at-bats, led off the second with his first homer of the year since signing a four-year, $32 million contract in January.

Mariners 5, Athletics 3

SEATTLE - John Olerud's RBI double in the eighth inning gave Seattle the lead in its fourth consecutive victory.

Seattle's Edgar Martinez, in his third game back after missing a week with a strained left hamstring, was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

Arthur Rhodes (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the victory and Kazuhiro Sasaki worked a perfect ninth - striking out two - for his third save in four opportunities.

After a 7-1 start, the A's lost their sixth game in a row. Eric Chavez and Mark Ellis homered for Oakland.