Yankees roar past Red Sox

BOSTON (Reuters) - The New York Yankees roared to life with six runs in the eighth inning for a dramatic 8-7 win over the Boston Red Sox in the opening game of their American League East showdown on Friday.

Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano hit back-to-back homers in the decisive inning as the Yankees rallied from a 7-2 deficit to cut the Red Sox's division lead to four and a half games. It was the Yankees' eighth win in 10 games.

"We never put our heads' down," Cano told reporters.

Bobby Abreu had a two-run double around run-scoring singles by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez to complete the turnaround.

"I think it was our biggest win of the year, certainly," Rodriguez told reporters. "You certainly feel like you stole it."

Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka struggled at times but held the Yankees to four hits and two runs while striking out seven and walking five in five-plus innings.

But the Boston bullpen could not finish the job, yielding eight hits and six runs.

Reliever Hideki Okajima yielded four runs and Jonathan Papelbon two as the Yankees burst to life in the eighth.

New York relievers Luis Vizcaino and Mariano Rivera then kept the Red Sox scoreless for their remaining two innings.

Brian Bruney got the win for the Yankees after starter Andy Pettitte lasted only four innings.

Damon powered the Yankees' offense with four hits in six at-bats against his former team.

Dustin Pedroia's two-run single and Mike Lowell's infield hit had given Boston a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning.

The Red Sox made it 7-2 in the sixth on run-scoring singles by Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew before the Yankees rallied.

The game, which lasted four hours and 43 minutes, was the second longest nine-inning contest in Major League history.

*Casey Blake homered in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Cleveland Indians a clutch 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The win put the Indians five and a half games ahead of Detroit in the American League Central Division.

*Ichiro Suzuki scored on Jose Guillen's bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the ninth inning and the Seattle Mariners pulled out a 2-1 home win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The victory was the third in a row for the Mariners.

(Writing by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina)