Rays beat Yankees for fifth straight win

NEW YORK –

Evan Longoria had three hits and two RBIs, sending the AL East leaders to their fifth straight win. Tampa Bay stole six bases against starting pitcher A.J. Burnett – four in a four-run fourth inning – and improved to 29-11, the best record for a big league team after 40 games since Boston had the same mark in 2002.

Trailing 10-2 going into the ninth, New York scored four times with two outs against Andy Sonnanstine. Joaquin Benoit struck out Juan Miranda with two on for his first save since May 3, 2008, with Texas at Oakland.

Handed a six-run lead by the fourth inning, rookie Wade Davis (4-3) held the Yankees in check. Alex Rodriguez hit his 589th home run and Robinson Cano had four hits for New York (25-15), which has dropped seven of 11 since a six-game winning streak.

At Boston, Clay Buchholz gave the struggling rotation a lift and David Ortiz hit a two-run homer as the Red Sox beat the Twina, 3-2.

Buchholz (5-3) allowed two runs and five hits in eight-plus innings five days after giving up one run and three hits in 6 1-3 innings in a 7-2 win at Detroit. In between, four other Boston starters allowed at least four runs in their outings.

Buchholz struck out seven, walked one and faced only four batters over the minimum.

The Red Sox went ahead in the fourth on Ortiz’s two-run homer after a single by Victor Martinez. The umpires first ruled that the high drive to left center didn’t clear the red home run line. But they reviewed it and awarded a homer to Ortiz, his eighth of the year and fourth in six games.

Boston made it 3-1 in the sixth after Scott Baker (4-4) retired the first two batters. Adrian Beltre and Hermida then singled and Bill Hall singled in Beltre.