The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Odd plays somehow seem to happen whenever the Yankees play the Boston Red Sox. They just always seem to go New York's way.

The Yankees blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning, preserved a tie with an alert play by Alfonso Soriano in the field and then beat the Red Sox 6-5 Wednesday night when Brandon Lyon walked Jorge Posada with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.

"We took a chance, they made a play. That's why they're the Yankees," said Boston's Shea Hillenbrand, who was thrown out at home to end the top of the ninth.

The win wrapped up a difficult homestand for New York on a winning note. After losing the first five games, the Yankees beat Boston in the final two games of a three-game series.

It was the second straight week New York took two of three from the Red Sox, who still lead the Yankees by a half-game in the AL East.

"It's early in the season," Lyon said. "We're not going to dwell on it too much. It would have been nice to win the series. But this team will keep fighting."

New York broke out to a 5-0 lead after seven innings behind stellar pitching from Mike Mussina. Boston then began its comeback, spoiling the shutout bid on Hillenbrand's one-out solo homer in the eighth.

The Red Sox knocked out Mussina when the first two batters reached in the ninth and then rallied against the usually reliable Rivera.

Todd Walker singled to load the bases and Nomar Garciaparra hit a two-run single. Rivera (1-0) retired the next two batters before Hillenbrand's RBI single made it 5-4.

Bill Mueller then beat out an infield single that tied the game and the Red Sox nearly took the lead one batter later.

Trot Nixon hit a hard grounder off first baseman Todd Zeile's glove. The ball changed directions and bounced away from second baseman Soriano, who deflected it, recovered and threw out Hillenbrand at the plate, drawing cheers from owner George Steinbrenner.

"It was a big uplift for us when we made that play to end the ninth," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "It was a big game for us to win."

The Yankees then won it in the bottom half against Lyon (1-2).

Hideki Matsui doubled to left with one out and went to third when Manny Ramirez's throw got past Garciaparra and rolled along the edge of the Boston dugout long enough for Matsui to advance on the error.

"That play put us in a bind," Red Sox manager Grady Little said. "We tried to work our way out of it but it didn't happen."

After intentional walks to Soriano and Jason Giambi, Lyon thought he struck out Posada on a close 2-2 pitch.

"It's close but it's not a strike," Posada said. "Replays showed it clearly."

The Red Sox wouldn't comment about the call.

Lyon then missed low with the next one, scoring the winning run. Catcher Jason Varitek punched the air in frustration, spiked the ball and then yelled at umpire Joe West as he walked back to the dugout.

"It's just a shame that we lost," Varitek said. "I was caught up in the heat of the moment."

White Sox 8, Blue Jays 0

TORONTO - Jon Garland pitched eight scoreless innings and Magglio Ordonez hit a three-run homer as part of a six-run ninth inning as Chicago ended Toronto's six-game winning streak.

Garland (3-4) won for the first time since May 1, a span of four starts. The 23-year-old right-hander allowed five hits while striking out six and walking none.

Garland and Billy Koch combined for Chicago's fourth shutout of the season.

Toronto's Kelvim Escobar (2-2) allowed two runs on four hits in 4 1-3 innings in his third start of the year.

A crowd of 36,806, the third largest of the season, turned out at SkyDome after the Blue Jays offered $2 tickets in an effort to show that Toronto remains vibrant despite SARS.

Indians 8, Tigers 2

DETROIT - Jody Gerut homered and drove in three runs to lead Cleveland over Detroit, preventing the Tigers from winning a home series for the first time this season.

Tim Laker had three hits and drove in three runs for Cleveland, which has won three of its last four games, splitting the first two games of the series.

Detroit dropped to 13-38, the worst record in the major leagues, and is 4-19 at Comerica Park.

Ricardo Rodriguez (3-5) won for the first time in eight starts since April 13, allowing two runs and eight hits in seven innings.

Tigers starter Mike Maroth (1-10) lasted 1 1-3 innings before leaving with a strained hamstring. He gave up four runs - two earned - two hits and two walks.

Twins 6, Athletics 5

MINNEAPOLIS - Doug Mientkiewicz, Jacque Jones and Dustan Mohr homered as Minnesota beat Oakland and extended their winning streak to four.

Joe Mays (6-3) won his third straight start, allowing four runs and eight hits in six innings.

Eddie Guardado pitched the ninth for his 15th save in as many chances, and his 20th straight extending to last year.

Chris Singleton homered for Oakland, which has lost eight of its last 14 games.

John Halama (2-4) gave up six runs - five earned - and five hits, including the homers.

Minnesota has won six of its last seven games and eight of its last nine series.

Mariners 5, Royals 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Jamie Moyer won his fifth straight start, and Dan Wilson went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Seattle over Kansas City.

Moyer (8-2) allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings, tying Toronto's Cory Lidle for the AL lead in wins. Kazuhiro Sasaki worked the ninth, finishing the five-hitter for his eighth save in 12 chances.

Wilson, the No. 9 hitter, hit a two-run double in the second inning and added an RBI single in the sixth, both off Jeremy Affeldt (3-3).

After winning their first 11 home games, the Royals have lost nine of their last 11 at Kauffman Stadium. They have lost 21 of 31 overall following a 16-3 start, dropping 41/2 games behind first-place Minnesota in the AL Central.

Orioles 6, Angels 2

BALTIMORE - Brian Roberts hit his second grand slam in seven days and Melvin Mora went 3-for-3 with two walks as Baltimore beat Anaheim.

Roberts, summoned from the minors last week, put Baltimore up 4-0 in the second. He has hit safely in all seven games since his recall and has driven in 10 runs.

Deivi Cruz homered to help the Orioles complete a two-game sweep of the defending World Series champions.

Jason Johnson (5-2) gave up two runs on eight hits in six innings. He has already matched his win total of last year, when he went 5-14.

An error by Anaheim shortstop David Eckstein preceded Roberts' slam and led to four unearned runs against Ramon Ortiz (4-5).

Devil Rays 6, Rangers 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Ben Grieve homered twice and drove in four runs to lead Tampa Bay over Texas.

Grieve hit a solo shot in the second inning, his first homer at home since Sept. 22, and added a three-run drive in the fourth. Grieve went 3-for-3 and had his fourth two-homer game, his first since April 12, 2002.

Jeremi Gonzalez (2-1) gave up four runs, two hits, four walks in five-plus innings and hit a batter. He is just the second Devil Rays starter to win back-to-back starts this season.

Rangers starter Alan Benes (0-3) allowed four runs, six hits and four walks in 3 1-3 innings.

Lance Carter got three straight outs for his 10th save in 14 chances.