New York ? Perhaps the best reaction to Melky Cabrera’s game-saving catch that robbed Manny Ramirez of a tying homer Tuesday night came from Red Sox slugger David Ortiz.

“That’s why I hit mine 500 feet,” Ortiz said. “Then I don’t have to deal with that.”

Cabrera made a leaping catch in the eighth inning, and the New York Yankees edged Boston 2-1 behind a strong start from Chien-Ming Wang. Ortiz’s third-inning homer accounted for the only run for the Red Sox.

The Yankees’ left fielder by necessity not choice, Cabrera went to the wall and brought back Ramirez’s drive for the final out of the eighth. The catch was so good, it had center fielder Johnny Damon jumping and pumping his fist in celebration.

Cabrera, whose early experience in left field filling in for injured Hideki Matsui was not always pretty, called this the best catch of his life. Speaking through a translator, he said, “I was aware of the score and I followed the flight of the ball. I knew I had it all the way.”

Athletics 7, Indians 6

Cleveland- Eric Chavez’s clutch two-run homer and Dan Johnson’s RBI single in the eighth inning rallied the Oakland Athletics.

Angels 12, Devil Rays 2

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Ervin Santana allowed two hits in seven innings and Vladimir Guerrero drove in two runs with a pair of singles, leading the Los Angeles Angels over Tampa Bay.

Blue Jays 6, Orioles 4

Baltimore – Alex Rios snapped a tie with a two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Aaron Hill had two RBIs to lift the Toronto Blue Jays.

White Sox 4, Tigers 3

Chicago – Alex Cintron hit a three-run homer off reliever Fernando Rodney in the eighth inning to lead the Chicago White Sox.

Mariners 4, Twins 2

Seattle – Felix Hernandez outlasted Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano in a matchup two of the best young arms in baseball, and the Mariners handed Liriano his first loss.

National League

Braves 5, Nationals 3

Atlanta – The Atlanta Braves finally earned their first win of the month as Horacio Ramirez threw eight strong innings to beat the Washington Nationals 5-3 Tuesday night.

Brewers 5, Padres 1

Milwaukee – Dave Bush pitched a three-hitter and Geoff Jenkins went 4-for-4 to help Milwaukee beat San Diego.

Jenkins, who suffered a mild concussion Sunday during a collision with teammate Prince Fielder, snapped an 0-for-15 slump with four singles. Rickie Weeks had three base hits to break out of a 1-for-22 skid and Corey Koskie hit a solo home run for Milwaukee.

Reds 7, Cardinals 0

St. Louis – Eric Milton threw seven sharp innings and Cincinnati got homers from Felipe Lopez and Adam Dunn, winning their sixth straight game.

Lopez hit his sixth homer in the first off Chris Carpenter for a two-day cycle after hitting a double, triple and single in his last three at-bats on Monday.

Astros 4, Cubs 1

Houston – Wandy Rodriguez threw seven shutout innings and Lance Berkman homered, leading Houston past Chicago for the Astros first victory since re-signing Roger Clemens.

Rockies 5, Pirates 4

Denver – Jeff Francis overcame two home runs to get the win and Jamey Carroll went 4-for-4 with a rare homer to lead Colorado over Pittsburgh, snapping the Rockies’ six-game losing streak.

Phillies 10, D’backs 1

Phoenix – Cole Hamels allowed one run in 52â3 innings to get his first major league win and Philadelphia beat Arizona.

Pat Burrell, Sal Fasano and Shane Victorino homered for the Phillies.

Giants 2, Marlins 1

San Francisco – Jason Schmidt matched a 102-year-old Giants record with 16 strikeouts, fanning his final three batters to escape a ninth-inning jam and preserve San Francisco’s victory over the Florida Marlins.