Boston ? David Ortiz gets frustrated when he lines the ball right at fielders. On Friday night, he hit two drives over all of them and into the stands.

His two-homer game led the Boston Red Sox back from a four-run deficit against the Chicago White Sox and Mark Buehrle to a 9-8 victory in a meeting of the AL’s two best teams.

“As long as they throw you pitches that you can hit, you’ve got to try to not miss it,” said Ortiz, who went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and a career-high six RBIs. “

Fearful of facing Boston’s slugger, pitchers walked him 17 times in 13 games before Friday. He’s also been hurt by a defensive overshift that places three infielders on the right side.

“He’s very proud. When they put that shift on, sometimes he loses hits,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. “He’s been robbed a few times … but those are some beautiful swings.”

Ortiz broke a 5-all tie with a leadoff homer in the seventh then added a three-run shot in the eighth for his 28th homer and 99th RBI of the season.

Boston's David Ortiz, right, accepts congratulations from teammate Manny Ramirez, left, with Edgar Renteria in the middle, after Ortiz hit a three-run, eighth-inning homer. The Red Sox defeated the Chicago White Sox, 9-8, Friday night in Boston.

“This guy is lethal,” Boston starter David Wells said. “The man hits the ball in, away, up, down. You name it. He is up for the challenge every night.”

The Red Sox won their fifth straight game and 13th in 15. It also was their 12th consecutive victory at Fenway Park, their second best home streak in history. Chicago lost its second game in its last six.

Boston held on in the ninth when Curt Schilling allowed a solo homer to Tadahito Iguchi and a two-run shot to Paul Konerko.

“We came back, and that’s something I feel good about,” Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. “We never give up.”

Buehrle (13-5) gave up two homers – a two-run shot by Jason Varitek that tied the game in the fifth and the solo homer by Ortiz. Buehrle had allowed no homers in his previous five starts and one in his last 11. He allowed 12 hits, his second-most this season, in seven innings.

“Toughest (lineup) I’ve faced,” said Buehrle, who gave up five runs and 10 hits on July 21 but got no decision in Boston’s 6-5 victory. Hopefully, “if it comes down to the playoffs, I can get my revenge.”

Chad Bradford (1-0) replaced Wells with two outs and a runner on first in the seventh and retired both batters he faced.

Ortiz, who entered the game with a .206 batting average in 91 at-bats since the All-Star break, doubled in Boston’s first two runs in the third, singled and scored on Varitek’s homer then hit a 2-2 pitch into the left-field seats when he went for the same inside pitch Buehrle had thrown to him several times.

“I finally went, ‘OK, I’ve got to give up on my pitch and try to look for his pitch,'” Ortiz said. “That was the only reason why I hit it.”

In the eighth, he followed walks to Gabe Kapler and Edgar Renteria with a homer to straightaway center off Bobby Jenks.

“You have to be mentally strong to pitch to this lineup,” Jenks said. “You make a mistake, and they’re going to put it into play.”

Twins 1, Athletics 0

Oakland, Calif. – Minnesota’s Johan Santana struck out nine Oakland batters in a masterful three-hitter, sending Dan Haren to his first loss since May 26. Santana (11-6) pitched his second shutout of the season and the third of his career, dominating Oakland’s lineup while extending his AL strikeouts lead.

He won a scintillating duel with Haren (10-8), who also pitched a three-hitter in his third complete game of the season.

Yankees 6, Rangers 5

New York – Derek Jeter hit a go-ahead home run, and New York’s bullpen made it hold up, sending Texas to its fifth straight loss.

With Mariano Rivera and Tom Gordon held out after a heavy workload, the Yankees relied on a different set of relievers. Felix Rodriguez, Wayne Franklin, Shawn Chacon and Tanyon Sturtze did the job, combining for four scoreless innings.

Devil Rays 8, Indians 6

Cleveland – Jorge Cantu homered and had three RBIs, Mark Hendrickson survived a miserable start, and Tampa Bay snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over Cleveland. The Indians hardly played like the same team which just went 6-0 during a road trip to Detroit and Kansas City, vaulting them to within 21â2 games of Los Angeles in the AL wild-card chase.

Blue Jays 12, Orioles 0

Baltimore – Josh Towers scattered nine hits in his third career complete game, Gregg Zaun homered and drove in five runs, and Toronto beat Baltimore.

Angels 9, Mariners 4

Seattle – Vladimir Guerrero hit two solo home runs, and Bengie Molina also connected – each finished with three hits and two RBIs – as Los Angeles beat Seattle. Guerrero led off the fourth and sixth innings with homers.