BOSTON — David Ortiz was back. Josh Beckett was pitching for the Red Sox. The Fenway Park crowd was pumped up for the renewal of the rivalry with the Yankees.

None of that bothered Joba Chamberlain.

The right-hander took another big step in his transition from the bullpen to the rotation with his best major league start as surging New York beat Boston, 1-0, last night for its seventh straight win.

The third-place Yankees pulled within two of Boston and stayed three back of AL East-leading Tampa Bay, which won 5-3 at Kansas City.

"I've had quality starts against everybody," Chamberlain said. "You understand it's going to be a tough game. He (Beckett) is an unbelievable pitcher. He battles and claws."

So does Chamberlain.

"I was the second-best pitcher today," Beckett (9-7) said, "and ultimately that gets you a loss most of the time."

Chamberlain (3-3) gave up three singles — one to Ortiz, who missed the previous 45 games with a left wrist injury — and struck out nine in a career-high seven innings.

"He matched Beckett inning for inning," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Mariano Rivera shut down a threat in the eighth and finished for his 26th save, helping the Yankees remain undefeated since the All-Star break.

The only run scored in the third inning when Jason Giambi took advantage of an infield shift and hit a tapper to the spot vacated by shortstop Jed Lowrie, playing to the right of second base. By the time Lowrie retrieved the ball, Bobby Abreu, who had singled and advanced to third on Alex Rodriguez's single, scored easily.

Beckett (9-7) said his location was a little off on the pitch Giambi hit for an infield single.

"But it was actually sufficient enough to get a weak groundball," Beckett said. "It just happened to be in a position where nobody was playing."

Rays 5, Royals 3: Edwin Jackson (6-7) allowed two solo homers over five-plus innings, four relievers gave up four hits the rest of the way and Carlos Pena homered, helping visiting Tampa Bay beat Kansas City to snap a seven-game road losing streak.

White Sox 6, Tigers 5: Jermaine Dye hit a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning as Chicago won its third straight game, rallying past Detroit, which took a 5-4 lead in seventh on Carlos Guillen's bases-empty homer.

Angels 6, Orioles 5: Juan Rivera and Casey Kotchman homered in support of Joe Saunders (13-5), who allowed four runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings and Francisco Rodriguez gave up a run, but hung on to earn his major-league leading 43rd save as visiting Los Angeles beat Baltimore.

indians 5, Twins 4: Cliff Lee (14-2) gave up two runs and six hits with 10 strikeouts in eight innings to become the major leagues' first 14-game winner as host Cleveland scored four runs in the first to beat Minnesota and end an eight-game losing streak inside the AL Central.

Blue Jays 5, Mariners 4: After Seattle went ahead 4-3 in the top of the 10th on Jeremy Reed's RBI single, Joe Inglett had a two-run, two-out single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning as Toronto handed Seattle its sixth consecutive loss.

Rangers 14, Athletics 6: Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer to reach 100 RBIs for the season and Chris Davis added three hits and a home run as visiting Texas overcame a five-run deficit to beat Oakland.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

ASTROS 3, BREWERS 1: Wandy Rodriguez (6-3) allowed one run and three hits over six innings, pinch-hitter Mark Loretta and Kazuo Matsui hit sacrifice flies, and Lance Berkman had an RBI single as visiting Houston snapped Milwaukee's eight-game winning streak.

Mets 7, Cardinals 2: Mike Pelfrey (9-6) allowed one run and seven hits in seven innings to win his seventh consecutive decision, Carlos Delgado homered and Jose Reyes added a two-run triple as host New York handed St. Louis its fifth straight loss.

Marlins 3, Cubs 2: Jeremy Hermida hit a pinch-hit home run leading off the top of the ninth inning, Justin Miller (3-2) earned the win by getting the final two outs in the eighth, and Kevin Gregg earned his 21st save with a perfect ninth as Florida beat Chicago.

Braves 8, Phillies 2: Rookie right-hander Jair Jurrjens (10-5) allowed three hits and, struck out six over eight scoreless innings and Brian McCann hit two homers, including a grand slam off Brad Lidge during a seven-run ninth, to lead visiting Atlanta over Philadelphia.

Padres 6, Pirates 5: Adrian Gonzalez homered, Josh Bard had two RBIs and former Pirate Brian Giles scored two runs as visiting San Diego won for only the second time in 11 games, while ending Pittsburgh's four-game winning streak.

Rockies 7, Reds 2: Brad Hawpe hit a two-run homer, Jeff Baker added a solo shot and Aaron Cook (13-6) allowed a run and five hits in eight solid innings as Colorado snapped a four-game road losing streak with a victory over Cincinnati.

Dodgers 3, Nationals 2: Chad Billingsley (10-9) allowed two runs and five hits over 7 2/3 innings and Nomar Garciaparra singled home the tying and go-ahead runs during a three-run bottom of the sixth inning, helping Los Angeles rally past Washington.

Diamondbacks 10, Giants 2: Mark Reynolds hit a three-run homer, Conor Jackson and Chad Tracy also connected to back Dan Haren (10-5), who gave up two runs and nine hits over eight innings, as visiting Arizona routed San Francisco.