Boston ? John Burkett thought his career was over just a couple of years ago when he was cut by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during spring training.

He could not have been more wrong.

Boston pitcher John Burkett delivers against Tampa Bay. Burkett pitched six scoreless innings, and the Red Sox defeated the Devil Rays, 4-2, Friday night at Fenway Park.

Burkett pitched six scoreless innings in his Red Sox debut at Fenway Park, and Manny Ramirez hit a two-run homer to lead Boston to a 4-2 victory over the Devil Rays on Friday night.

“It’s only the beginning of the season, but I really feel good about the way I pitched tonight,” Burkett said.

Burkett (2-0) allowed three hits, struck out six and walked one in his second start after beginning the year on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. The 37-year-old right-hander signed an $11 million, two-year contract in the offseason after going 12-12 with a 3.04 ERA for Atlanta last year.

He signed with the Braves in 2000 after being released by Tampa Bay.

“John Burkett was no less than outstanding out there,” Red Sox manager Grady Little said. “His control was pinpoint perfect. He kept them off stride and that’s vintage John Burkett.”

Doug Mirabelli also homered for the Red Sox, who opened a six-game homestand and won for the 10th time in 13 games.

Ugueth Urbina worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save in nine chances.

Burkett retired his first nine batters before Jason Tyner led off the fourth inning with a single to right field. The Devil Rays put runners at the corners with one out, but Burkett struck out Ben Grieve and retired Greg Vaughn on a grounder.

Tampa Bay had runners in scoring position in the fifth and sixth, but Burkett ended both innings with strikeouts.

“You’re not going to get the ball down the middle against Burkett,” said Grieve, who struck out three times, twice against Burkett. “He used both sides of the plate pretty well.”

Mirabelli gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the third inning when he sent a 1-2 pitch from Paul Wilson (1-2) into the screen above the Green Monster in left field for his first home run of the season.

Angels 4, Blue Jays 0

Anaheim, Calif. Kevin Appier pitched 623 scoreless innings and Troy Percival escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the ninth as Anaheim beat Toronto. Appier (2-1) combined with three relievers on the shutout, allowing seven hits and striking out five. Appier stranded runners in scoring position in five consecutive innings, while retiring the leadoff batter in each of the first seven.

Yankees 7, Mariners 1

Seattle Roger Clemens shut down Seattle again and Derek Jeter had three hits as New York beat the Mariners in a rematch of the AL championship series. Clemens (3-2) allowed one run and six hits in eight innings, striking out four. He improved his career record to 22-12 against the Mariners the most wins for any pitcher against Seattle and tied Jim Kaat for 26th place with his 283rd career win.

Athletics 6, White Sox 4

Oakland, Calif. Ramon Hernandez homered twice, and Terrence Long hit a two-run shot as Oakland beat Chicago. Cory Lidle (1-3) got off to a shaky start but worked through seven innings, allowing two runs one earned on five hits. He matched his career high with eight strikeouts. Jim Mecir allowed a two-run homer to Mark Johnson with two outs in the ninth, but Billy Koch retired Kenny Lofton on a groundout with a runner on for his fifth save in seven chances.

Indians 7, Rangers 4

Arlington, Texas Russell Branyan homered twice to lead Cleveland over Texas, the Indians’ second victory in 11 games following a 10-game winning streak. Omar Vizquel also homered for Cleveland, and Chuck Finley (2-2) allowed two runs in five innings. The Rangers dropped to 7-15, one game better than their worst start ever. Texas was 6-16 in 1982.

Tigers 3, Twins 2 (10)

Detroit Robert Fick led off the 10th inning with a home run to give Detroit a victory over Minnesota. Seth Greisinger made his first major league start since Sept. 26, 1998, after missing most of the past three seasons with elbow injuries. Greisinger allowed two runs, six hits and two walks in five innings, striking out five.