Boston ? There was no blood on Curt Schilling’s sock when he faced the New York Yankees this time.

No bite on his splitter, either.

With the sore-ankled hero of Boston’s 2004 World Series run debuting in his new job as a reliever, Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run homer to break a ninth-inning tie and New York beat the Red Sox, 8-6, Thursday night.

The Yankees won for the eighth time in nine tries to pull within 11â2 games of first place in the AL East, the closest they’ve been to the division lead since winning April 13 at Fenway Park.

“I believe this game, we don’t win it the first two or three months of the year,” Rodriguez said. “It shows you how far we’ve come.”

Cameras flashed, and the sold-out crowd stood to cheer for Schilling in the sixth when he went out to the bullpen, where he’s been shifted to fill a need while closer Keith Foulke recovers from knee surgery. The fans gave him another standing ovation when he came in to pitch the ninth.

But Schilling (1-3) gave up a dart of a double to Gary Sheffield to start the inning – his third extra-base hit of the game – then Rodriguez homered over the bleachers in left-center on the first pitch.

New York's Alex Rodriguez watches his ninth-inning home run. Rodriguez's two-run blast was decisive in the Yankees' 8-6 victory over the Red Sox on Thursday night in Boston.

“I don’t know if I liked it. I just swung hard in case I hit it,” Rodriguez said.

Schilling, who had been on the disabled list since April 23, retired the next three batters to complete his first relief appearance since a late-season tuneup in 2002.

“It was set up to be a situation that was great, if I did what I was supposed to do,” Schilling said. “I made two big mistakes back-to-back. … It’s frustrating, disappointing.”

Tom Gordon (3-3) pitched one hitless inning, and Mariano Rivera struck out all three batters in the ninth for his 21st save in 23 tries; both blown saves were against Boston during the season’s opening series. Jason Giambi, Bernie Williams and Sheffield also homered for the Yankees.

Schilling has struggled to recover from ankle surgery, and when Foulke went on the disabled list the Red Sox decided to put their ace in the bullpen to plug the gap. He had not relieved regularly since 1992, when the Phillies first promoted him to the rotation.

Schilling proved no better than Foulke, but Boston manager Terry Francona isn’t ready to give up on the experiment.

“The only way to do that is to put the guys where you think they belong and let them go,” he said. “With the game on the line, the more he pitches with health … he’s going to be very good.”

Giambi’s homer was his sixth in seven games, and Sheffield homered for the third consecutive game to go with two doubles.

Athletics 6, Rangers 0

Oakland, Calif. – Rich Harden carried a perfect game into the eighth inning, finishing with a two-hitter in Oakland’s victory over Texas.

Harden (6-4) was five outs from the 18th perfect game in major-league history when Alfonso Soriano hit a clean single to center. It was the closest a big-league pitcher has come to a no-hitter this season. Harden was the first to make it through seven innings.

The crowd gave him a warm standing ovation, and he quickly recovered. He allowed a two-out single to David Dellucci in the ninth before retiring Michael Young on a groundout to complete his first career shutout.

Orioles 5, Mariners 3

Seattle – Rafael Palmeiro will have to wait at least one more day. The Baltimore first baseman moved within one hit of 3,000, Daniel Cabrera pitched a two-hitter through eight innings, and the Orioles opened the second half with a victory.

Palmeiro recorded career hit No. 2,999 with a one-out single to right in the fourth. It was a clean hit off Seattle starter Aaron Sele (6-9).

With 566 home runs, Palmeiro is poised to join Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the only players in history with 3,000 hits and 500 homers.

Palmeiro went 1-for-3 with a walk. He grounded out in the second and sixth and walked in the eighth. He was on deck when Miguel Tejada was retired to end the top of the ninth.

Angels 3, Twins 2

Minneapolis – Steve Finley, Maicer Izturis and Adam Kennedy each had two hits and an RBI to lead Los Angeles over Minnesota, snapping the Angels season-high four-game losing streak. Bret Boone, acquired by Minnesota this week after being designated for assignment by the Seattle Mariners, batted third and went 0-for-4.

White Sox 1, Indians 0

Cleveland – Jose Contreras pitched three-hit ball for seven innings to lead Chicago over Kevin Millwood and Cleveland. The White Sox stopped a season-high three-game losing streak. Cleveland, trying to gain ground on the AL Central leaders, lost for the sixth time in seven games and fell 12 games behind Chicago.

Devil Rays 3, Blue Jays 0

Toronto – Casey Fossum and Danys Baez combined on a six-hitter for Tampa Bay’s first shutout of the season. Damon Hollins homered, and Jorge Cantu had two RBIs for the Devil Rays, who have won just two of their last 13 games.