BOSTON — A sore-kneed David Ortiz chugged around third base, with home plate and the end of a scoreless pitching duel in sight.

Third-base coach DeMarlo Hale energetically waved the 230-pound designated hitter on and Ortiz scored easily when Vernon Wells picked up and then dropped Kevin Youkilis' ninth-inning single to center field.

Ortiz was mobbed by his teammates. Toronto's Roy Halladay trudged off the mound, a 1-0 loser last night as the Red Sox ended a five-game losing streak.

It was Halladay's fourth straight complete game. He's lost the last three.

"DeMarlo said in the sixth inning, 'it's going to come down to us sending somebody,' " Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "I said, 'go ahead and send him.' The way Halladay was pitching, take your chance with one because that might be all we had."

It's all they needed against the Blue Jays, thanks to Jon Lester's pitching and Dustin Pedroia's fielding.

Lester allowed just one hit in eight innings, a clean single on Lyle Overbay's liner in the fifth over second baseman Pedroia's head.

Lester struck out six and recorded 16 outs on grounders.

For Halladay, it was another hard-luck loss. He allowed just three hits in the first eight innings before giving up two to the last two hitters. He also retired 16 batters on grounders.

Orioles 7, Rays 4: Garrett Olson (1-0), who had a shutout for six innings, gave up two runs and four hits in 6 2/3 innings, Aubrey Huff homered and Melvin Mora had two RBIs to help host Baltimore end Tampa Bay's six-game winning streak.

Tigers 6, Yankees 4: Magglio Ordonez had a two-run single in the first, Gary Sheffield and Curtis Granderson homered in the third, and 43-year-old Kenny Rogers (2-3) gave up two runs and six hits in six innings to lead visiting Detroit over New York.

Mariners 7, Indians 2: Adrian Beltre hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in a five-run top of the ninth inning, Yuniesky Betancourt added a two-out, two-run single and Mark Lowe (1-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings after halting a Cleveland rally in the eighth to lead Seattle.

Twins 3, White Sox 1: Boof Bonser (2-4) gave up a homer to Joe Crede among the six hits he allowed in seven innings and struck out eight, and Jason Kubel hit a two-run homer in a three-run fourth as host Minnesota beat Chicago.

Angels 2, Athletics 0: Joe Saunders (5-0) gave up four hits over eight innings, Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth for his major league-leading 11th save as host Los Angeles climbed back into a first-place tie with Oakland in the AL West.

Royals 9, Rangers 5: Jose Guillen hit a two-run homer and drove in five runs, helping visiting Kansas City beat Texas to win for the third time in four games after snapping a seven-game losing streak.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

ROCKIES 3, GIANTS 2: Chris Iannetta, who replaced the injured Troy Tulowitzki in the first, homered in the second and scored on a debated seventh-inning balk by Tim Lincecum that led visiting Colorado past San Francisco.

With Iannetta at third base and one out in the seventh inning, Giants catcher Bengie Molina appeared to ask for a timeout with Yorvit Torrealba at the plate. But plate umpire Gary Darling called a balk on Lincecum to score Iannetta for the go-ahead run.

PHILLIES 7, PADRES 4: Cole Hamels (3-3) allowed five hits and two runs in 7 1/3 innings, and Philadelphia scored four insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning in beating San Diego and denying Greg Maddux (2-2) his 350th career victory.

Mets 5, Pirates 4: David Wright hit a one-out single over a pulled in outfield with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th inning, lifting New York over Pittsburgh. The Mets' Billy Wagner blew his first save of the season, wasting a two-hit performance by Johan Santana.

Nationals 6, Braves 3: Ryan Zimmerman had three hits, including a homer and tiebreaking two-run double in a four-run seventh off reliever Blaine Boyer (0-3), and Nick Johnson also went deep as host Washington handed Atlanta its third straight loss.

Dodgers 7, Marlins 6: Jeff Kent's two-out single drove in Andre Ethier to break a ninth-inning tie and Takashi Saito pitched a perfect ninth for his third save in five chances as visiting Los Angeles beat Florida for its fourth straight victory.

Cardinals 7, Reds 2: Joel Pineiro (2-2) pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, St. Louis jumped on rookie Johnny Cueto (1-3) for seven runs in the first two innings and Albert Pujols walked in the eighth to reach base safely in all 28 games as visiting St. Louis beat Cincinnati.

Brewers 10, Cubs 7: Mike Cameron, back after serving 25-game suspension for testing positive twice for a banned stimulant while with San Diego, had three hits, including a two-run single in the seventh, to help visiting Milwaukee beat Chicago.

Astros 6, Diamondbacks 4: Geoff Blum, who was batting .206 entering the game with three RBIs, doubled in three runs during a four-run third as Houston handed Arizona only its third home loss in 13 games his season.