Boston’s 27 Hits Rip Yankees, 17-1

Edgar Renteria hit a grand slam, Manny Ramirez had four singles and the Boston Red Sox stopped a four-game losing streak with 27 hits in a 17-1 victory Saturday over the Yankees at New York.

Trot Nixon homered and drove in five runs for the Red Sox, who backed Matt Clement (6-0) with their biggest scoring burst of the year. Johnny Damon also had four hits and scored three times, and John Olerud had three hits in his first major league game since last fall.

It was Boston’s largest margin of victory over the Yankees, surpassing a 15-1 win on Sept. 1, 1990, at Fenway Park, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“It’s kind of obvious that we needed that,” Red Sox Manager Terry Francona said. “Not only to win, but to have a little bit of room there, to take some deep breaths and let our staff pitch.”

Starter Carl Pavano (4-3) gave up five runs in 3 2/3 innings and Paul Quantrill gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings for the Yankees, who had their five-game winning streak end and lost for only the third time in 19 games.

They had won nine consecutive games at home.

“We’ll look for a pick-me-up tomorrow,” Yankee Manager Joe Torre said. “You’ve got to brush it off.”

The 27 hits were the most for the Red Sox since they tied the club record of 28 on June 27, 2003, against Florida. Pavano started that game as well, for the Marlins.

Boston came within one hit of matching the Yankees’ record for hits allowed.

Minnesota 4, Toronto 3 -- Kyle Lohse pitched seven innings, and Juan Castro and Shannon Stewart hit back-to-back homers to lead the Twins at Toronto. The Twins have won eight of 11 to move 10 games over .500 for the first time this season.

Lohse (4-3) has given up only seven runs in five starts in May, dropping his earned-run average from 6.65 to 4.22. Toronto’s David Bush (0-5) hasn’t won in 10 starts.

Detroit 5, Baltimore 3 -- Omar Infante homered off Jorge Julio (1-1) to break a 3-3 eighth-inning tie, and Jason Johnson (3-4) earned his first win since April 18, pitching eight innings to lead the Tigers at Baltimore.

Craig Monroe also homered for the Tigers, who can complete a three-game sweep today.

Seattle 3, Tampa Bay 2 -- Aaron Sele (4-4) gave up two runs and four hits in 6 2/3 innings at St. Petersburg, Fla., to help the Mariners stop a four-game losing streak.

Pat Borders, the 42-year-old who was called up from triple-A Tacoma on May 20, gave Seattle a 3-1 lead with a solo homer in the seventh. It was his first since July 16, 2004, and second since the start of the 2000 season.

Eddie Guardado pitched the ninth for his 12th save in 13 opportunities for the Mariners, who also stopped a seven-game road skid.

Cleveland 6, Oakland 3 -- Ben Broussard and Jhonny Peralta each drove in two runs to lead the Indians at Cleveland as the Athletics’ losing streak stretched to seven games.

The A’s have lost 19 of 23 and are a major-league worst 5-19 in May, their most losses in a month since going 8-19 in July 1997.

Chicago at Texas, ppd. -- The game, ruled a rainout before play began, won’t be made up until the White Sox return to Texas for a series beginning Aug. 29. Chicago starter Jon Garland, who would have had a shot to become the first nine-game winner in the major leagues, said he never began his pregame warmup and was scheduled to start today.