NEW YORK — Ichiro Suzuki hit two home runs to power the New York Yankees to a 4-1 home win over struggling rivals the Boston Red Sox Sunday. The Japanese outfielder blasted solo homers in the fourth and sixth innings to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead and support a stellar pitching effort from compatriot Hiroki Kuroda, who gave up a single run in eight innings. Kuroda allowed just four hits and surrendered no walks to improve to 12-8 on the season. Rafael Soriano worked the ninth for his 31st save of the season and New York (72-49) got their second win in the finale of the three-game series. The Bronx Bombers were sparked by the unlikely power surge from Suzuki, who has just seven home runs this season, but received a curtain call from the New York fans after his second blast Sunday. Derek Jeter matched Suzuki's three hits and scored twice while marveling at the former Seattle Mariner. Adrian Gonzalez homered for the Red Sox, who saw Josh Beckett toss six innings in defeat. Boston (59-63) has lost eight of its last 12 games and now trails the first-placed Yankees by 13-1/2 games in the American League East. Rangers 11, Blue Jays 2: Matt Harrison set the tone with a terrific start, and the best offense in baseball took care of the rest. Michael Young hit a three-run homer and added a two-run double to help the Texas Rangers beat the slumping Toronto Blue Jays 11-2 Sunday. Harrison (14-7) pitched eight strong innings to match his career high for wins, set last season. The left-hander allowed two runs and two hits, struck out seven and walked one. David Murphy also connected and doubled twice, and Geovany Soto had three hits as baseball's highest scoring team passed 600 runs for the season. The AL West leaders sit atop the majors with 606 runs scored. Orioles 7, Tigers 5: Nate McLouth hit a go-ahead, two-run triple and the Baltimore Orioles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 7-5. McLouth, Nick Markakis and Mark Reynolds each had two hits for the Orioles, who have won five of seven, including the last two of the key weekend series at Detroit. Chris Davis homered for the second straight game and J.J. Hardy had a two-run double. Baltimore leads Detroit by two games in the race for the second wild-card spot in the American League. Rays 8, Angels 3: Matt Moore shrugged off home runs by Mike Trout and Albert Pujols to win his fourth straight decision, and the Tampa Bay Rays completed a four-game sweep of the fading Los Angeles Angels with an 8-3 victory. Royals 5, White Sox 2: Jeremy Guthrie flirted with a no-hitter, Salvador Perez drove in three runs and Kansas City completed a three-game series sweep of the AL Central leaders. Mariners 5, Twins 1: Michael Saunders hit a two-run homer, Blake Beavan pitched into the sixth inning and Seattle picked up its fifth straight victory. Athletics 7, Indians 0: Jarrod Parker pitched eight sharp innings and Coco Crisp homered and drove in five runs to help Oakland finish off the three-game sweep. — Agencies
