BOSTON — David Ortiz is getting ready to return to a first-place team.

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched six scoreless innings and the Boston Red Sox reclaimed the AL East lead going into the All-Star break, defeating the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1, yesterday.

The Red Sox moved a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay and took the division lead for the first time since June 28. Boston trailed by a season-high five games last weekend, then won five of six while the Rays lost seven in a row.

"I was talking trash to my teammates to make sure they got back in first place before I came back," Ortiz said. "I can't wait to start playing again and I am feeling good."

Ortiz has missed 39 games because of an injured wrist. The All-Star slugger is expected to return in time for a series against the rival New York Yankees on July 25.

Ortiz will be among seven Red Sox players joining manager Terry Francona and his coaching staff at the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium.

The Red Sox went into the break with the best home record in the majors at 36-11.

"We came into the homestand down five games but this shows anything can happen and hopefully we can keep rolling," reliever Manny Delcarmen said.

Matsuzaka (10-1) struggled with his control, but worked around four hits and five walks. Jonathan Papelbon escaped in the ninth for his 28th save of the season and 100th of his career.

"I would've liked to have done it without giving up a run," Papelbon said. "One hundred down and hopefully 3(00), 400 more to go."

Baltimore lost for the sixth time in seven games, and dropped its 14th straight Sunday game. The major league record for consecutive losses on a specific day is 21 — the 1939 St. Louis Browns and 1890 Pittsburgh Innocents both did it on Tuesdays.

Matsuzaka helped himself by snaring Melvin Mora's hard comebacker with the bases loaded to end the fifth, and has given up just one run in his last 23 1/3 innings. Only twice in 16 starts has he allowed more than three runs.

Even with his impressive record and a 2.65 ERA, Matsuzaka is not among the Red Sox representatives in the All-Star game.

"When he locates, he's as good as there is," Francona said. "He created some jams for himself, but fortunately they did not string together a couple of hits."

Daniel Cabrera (6-5) fell to 2-10 lifetime against Boston. He somehow managed to only allow one earned run despite permitting 13 runners in 4 1/3 innings.

"He competed today and did not give in," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "This is a tough one to lose."

After Red Sox relievers Hideki Okajima and Delcarmen combined for two scoreless innings, Papelbon took over in the ninth with a 2-0 lead. Brian Roberts and Adam Jones singled with one out and Aubrey Huff hit an RBI single with two outs before Mora lined out to end it.

INDIANS 5, RAYS 2

CLEVELAND — Tampa Bay lost its seventh straight game, sending baseball's feel-good story into the All-Star break on a sour note. Jhonny Peralta drove in three runs as Cleveland completed a four-game sweep. Peralta's two-run homer gave Cleveland a 4-2 lead in the fifth inning and helped knock the Rays out of first place in the AL East. They trail Boston, which beat Baltimore 2-1, by a half-game after holding a five-game lead in the division last Monday morning.

RANGERS 12, WHITE SOX 11

ARLINGTON, Texas — All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler extended his majors-best hitting streak to 25 games with three hits and drove in three runs for Texas in the win over Chicago. Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye homered for Chicago, which had a season-high 22 hits.

ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 3

OAKLAND, Calif. — Erick Aybar's infield single drove in the go-ahead run with two outs in the ninth, leading Los Angeles over Oakland. Casey Kotchman hit a home run and Howie Kendrick drove in two runs to help the Angels record their 19th comeback win and improve to a major league-best 36-19 in games decided by two runs or less.

BLUE JAYS 4, YANKEES 1

TORONTO — A.J. Burnett (10-8) came within two outs of a shutout and Marco Scutaro hit a three-run home run as Toronto beat New York for its fifth win in six games. Pitching on three days rest for the third time in his career, Burnett allowed one run and six hits, walked one and struck out eight. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA when pitching on three days rest. Jason Giambi spoiled Burnett's shutout bid in the ninth with his 19th homer of the season.

TIGERS 4, TWINS 2

DETROIT — Justin Verlander (7-9) tossed seven sharp innings and Detroit avoided a four-game sweep by beating Minnesota. Verlander allowed two runs and four hits, improving to 5-0 in his last seven starts. He hasn't allowed more than two earned runs during his unbeaten streak, lowering his ERA from 5.05 to 4.15.

MARINERS 4, ROYALS 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Adrian Beltre scored the go-ahead run on an error in the ninth, giving Seattle a victory over Kansas City. Beltre doubled, went to third on a sacrifice bunt, but then got caught in a rundown when Willie Bloomquist grounded back to Joakim Soria. Soria threw back to catcher John Buck and Beltre was trapped, but a bad throw by Buck went over the third baseman's head. Beltre dashed home and Bloomquist sped into second.