BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox are 8-0 against the New York Yankees, and they'll have most of the summer to lord it over their AL East rivals.

J.D. Drew hit an RBI single to spark an eighth-inning rally, then he scored the go-ahead run on Mike Lowell's fly ball to help the Red Sox beat New York, 4-3, last night. Boston has swept New York in all three series so far this season, and the teams don't meet again until Aug. 6.

"I know the fans probably love it," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Good for them; they should. We just want to win every game."

It's the first time the Red Sox have opened the season with eight straight wins against their New York rivals since they helped christen the brand-new Fenway Park by winning the first 14 matchups against the Highlanders in 1912. Counting the last time they met last season, Boston has won nine straight.

"We definitely didn't envision this when we started off the three-game road trip. We came in here expecting to win some games," Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon said. "We've got over 100 games to go. Our day will come."

With the latest sweep, Boston went from a game behind to two games up in the division. The Red Sox left afterwards for Philadelphia, an NL city — so designated hitter David Ortiz will have to sit or play first base, just as he seemed to be snapping out of his season-long slump.

"We're playing good right now," said Ortiz, who hit his third homer in five games. "When things are happening, you've got to keep them rolling."

Takashi Saito (1-0) earned his first AL victory with four outs of scoreless relief, and Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 16th save.

Brad Penny pitched six shutout innings before the Yankees scored three times off Manny Delcarmen in the seventh to take a 3-1 lead.

A'S 4, TWINS 3: Adam Kennedy hit a tying two-run homer in the three-run eighth and Rajai Davis slapped an RBI single in the ninth inning as host Oakland rallied past Minnesota.

Rangers 1, Blue Jays 0: Kevin Millwood (6-5) spaced five hits over 7 2/3 innings and Marlon Byrd hit a sacrifice fly off Ricky Romero (3-3) in the second to lift host Texas over Toronto.

White Sox 4, Tigers 3: Scott Podsednik singled off Joel Zumaya with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, lifting Chicago in a game delayed nearly three hours by rain at the start.

Rays 11, Angels 1: Carlos Pena hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs, and Dioner Navarro homered and had three RBIs as host Tampa Bay won the final two games of the three-game series.

Indians 4, Royals 3: Shin-Soo Choo lined a single off a low-flying seagull, driving in Mark DeRosa from second base in the botttom of the 10th inning to lift Cleveland over Kansas City.

Mariners 5, Orioles 2: Russell Branyan hit a sacrifice fly during a three-run rally in the third, then capped his night with a two-run 450-foot blast in the seventh to power visiting Seattle.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

ROCKIES 5, BREWERS 4: Aaron Cook (5-3) gave up a run and seven hits in six innings, and Ian Stewart homered and scored three times as visiting Colorado won its eighth straight, sweeping a three-game series from Milwaukee.

Phillies 6, Mets 3: Raul Ibanez hit his 21st homer of the season, a three-run blast with two outs in the top of the 10th inning as Philadelphia handed NL East rival New York its second consecutive extra-inning loss.

Astros 2, Cubs 1: Geoff Blum drove in the winning run for the second straight game, hitting an RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning off Jose Ascanio to score Hunter Pence that lifted Houston over Chicago.

Diamondbacks 2, Giants 1: Max Scherzer (3-4) allowed three hits over 7 2/3 scoreless innings and Justin Upton homered in the third and hit an RBI single in the seventh for a 2-0 lead as host Arizona held off San Francisco.

Cardinals 6, Marlins 5: Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning to close the deficit to 4-3, and pinch-hitter Colby Rasmus capped a three-run eighth with a go-ahead single, sending St. Louis over Florida.

Pirates 3, Braves 1: Andy LaRoche hit a two-out, two-run single in the top of ninth inning on a 3-2 pitch from Rafael Soriano (1-1) as Pittsburgh beat Atlanta to split the four-game series.

Nationals 3, Reds 2: Cristian Guzman scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error by Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Washington.