BOSTON — Jonathan Papelbon walked into the middle of the clubhouse and patted his right arm that was wrapped in ice. He wanted to get through his postgame session with reporters faster than he dispatched the Rays.

"Let's go," he said.

The Red Sox All-Star closer put himself in a jam, then powered his way out of it in the ninth inning to close out Boston's 4-3 win over Tampa Bay last night.

"I basically just put myself in a situation where I had to go in 'punch out' mode," said Papelbon, who got his eighth save. "It's not something I necessarily want to be in."

Akinori Iwamura walked, advanced on Papelbon's throwing error on a pickoff attempt and moved to third on Jason Bartlett's single to start the ninth. But Papelbon, using high 90s heat, got Carlos Pena, B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford to go down swinging.

"We just swung at his pitches out of the strike zone," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Jason Bay doubled home the go-ahead run in the eighth as the Red Sox took two of three from Tampa Bay, snapping a streak of six consecutive series victories by the Rays against Boston, including last fall's ALCS.

MARINERS 5, TWINS 3:

Ken Griffey Jr. hit a tying, two-run homer in the eighth inning, and Wladimir Balentien added an RBI double in the breakthrough inning as Seattle stopped a six-game losing streak by beating host Minnesota.

ANGELS 4, ROYALS 3:

Jeff Mathis delivered a two-run single during a three-run seventh inning and Torii Hunter made a leaping catch above the left-center field fence to rob Miguel Olivo of a tying homer in the ninth inning as host Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep.

BLUE JAYS 5, ATHLETICS 0:

Brett Cecil yielded five hits over eight innings to earn his first major league victory, Alex Rios drove in three runs and Toronto beat host Oakland for its seventh win in 10 games.

TIGERS 5, INDIANS 3:

Rick Porcello (3-3) gave up one run over five innings, and Curtis Granderson's two-run single capped a four-run second against Anthony Reyes (1-1) as Detroit completed a three-game sweep of host Cleveland.

YANKEES 5, ORIOLES 3:

Johnny Damon hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning, and Joba Chamberlain (2-1) allowed three runs in six innings as New York won the decisive matchup of the three-game series at Baltimore.

RANGERS 7, WHITE SOX 1:

Hank Blalock homered twice, Vicente Padilla (2-2) allowed one hit in seven innings and Texas won two of three from host Chicago. Chris Davis also homered and added an RBI double for the Rangers.

CARDINALS 8, REDS 7:

Colby Rasmus doubled home a run off Francisco Cordero (0-2) in the 10th inning, and visiting St. Louis overcame five Cincinnati homers — including two solo shots in the ninth — to salvage the final game of the series. Albert Pujols hit his 12th homer for the Cardinals.

METS 8, PIRATES 4:

Livan Hernandez (3-1) allowed two runs in six innings, and Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo and Omir Santos each drove in a pair of runs as host New York won its seventh straight game.

CUBS 4, BREWERS 2:

Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer in a four-run third inning, and Sean Marshall (1-2) allowed a pair of runs and five hits in five innings as Chicago beat host Milwaukee to avoid a series sweep.

BRAVES 4, PHILLIES 2:

Casey Kotchman had three hits and three RBIs, and Kenshin Kawakami (2-4) allowed two runs in six innings as Atlanta took two of three from host Philadelphia. Kotchman hit a two-out, two-run single off Jack Taschner (1-1) in the seventh inning to give the Braves a 3-2 lead.

ROCKIES 3, MARLINS 2:

Aaron Cook (2-1) allowed two runs in six innings and Troy Tulowitzki homered as host Colorado avoided a series sweep by beating Florida.

D'BACKS 10, NATIONALS 8:

Chris Snyder and Eric Byrnes each drove in three runs and host Arizona gave manager A.J. Hinch his first victory by beating Washington. Ryan Zimmerman pushed his hitting streak to 28 games with a double and two singles, and Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham each hit two homers for Washington, which won two of three in the series.

ASTROS 12, PADRES 5:

Miguel Tejada and Carlos Lee each drove in four runs, and Ivan Rodriguez had four hits to help Houston ace Roy Oswalt get his first win of the season by beating visiting San Diego. Oswalt (1-2) gave up four runs in six innings as Houston swept San Diego.

GIANTS 7, DODGERS 5:

Randy Winn hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the 13th inning and finished with four hits as San Francisco won two of three from host Los Angeles.