Ivan Rodriguez and the Detroit Tigers roared back from two big deficits to avoid another loss. The Boston Red Sox also rallied, same as last October.

The struggling Tigers twice trailed by five runs Monday night, but Rodriguez tied it with a two-run triple during a huge eighth inning and scored the go-ahead run on Jacque Jones’ sacrifice fly in an 11-9 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins.

One night after manager Jim Leyland lashed into his team following an 11-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox, Detroit responded. The big bats finally broke loose and the Tigers scored six times in the eighth, improving to 1-6 at home this season and 3-10 overall — still the worst record in baseball.

Not the start this $139 million team was looking for, but better than 2-11.

“That’s what everybody expected from this lineup,” said Carlos Guillen, who had three RBIs. “But we have to be more consistent because it’s a long season.”

Rodriguez also homered in the seventh and the Tigers’ much-hyped lineup finally came through by setting a season high for runs.

Todd Jones put two on with two outs in the ninth and needed a tricky catch by left fielder Ryan Raburn to nail down his second save.

Red Sox 6, Indians 4

It was a long winter for the Cleveland Indians after they blew a 3-1 lead against Boston in the AL championship series, and the first meeting between the teams this season had a familiar ending.

Six months later, the Red Sox came back on Cleveland again.

Manny Ramirez hit a two-run homer — No. 493 of his career — and Boston rallied for three runs in the ninth inning against closer Joe Borowski (0-2) for a 6-4 win over the Indians in a stunning rerun of their 2007 playoff series.

Julio Lugo hit a leadoff double in the ninth against Borowski, snapping an 0-for-16 slump, and scored on Dustin Pedroia’s sacrifice fly to tie it 4-all.

With the Indians shifted to the right, slumping David Ortiz dropped a bloop single into left — his second hit. Ramirez then belted Borowski’s first pitch into the left-field seats, a place he frequently visited with long balls while a member of the Indians.

Yankees 8, Rays 7

At St. Petersburg, Fla., Robinson Cano’s pinch-hit homer off Al Reyes (1-2) snapped an eighth-inning tie, and Alex Rodriguez hit No. 521 to match Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Willie McCovey for 15th on the career list.

With shortstop Derek Jeter back in the lineup, Yankees starter Ian Kennedy cruised into the seventh with a 7-2 lead before he was hit on the right hip by Jason Bartlett’s line drive, knocking him out of the game.

The Rays quickly rallied, tying it on homers by Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton and rookie Evan Longoria — his first in the majors.

Rodriguez finished with four hits and Mariano Rivera got four outs for his fourth save. Johnny Damon and Morgan Ensberg also homered for the Yankees, who scored more than six runs for the first time this season.

Kennedy expects to make his next start.

Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain left the team after his father collapsed at home in Nebraska, and the pitcher was placed on the bereavement list. Harlan Chamberlain was hospitalized Monday at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln.

Royals 5, Mariners 1

At Seattle, Zack Greinke (3-0) pitched a five-hitter for his third career complete game, and Kansas City got homers from Billy Butler and Miguel Olivo off Jarrod Washburn (1-2). Greinke’s ERA climbed from 0.60 to 0.75. The right-hander faced only three batters more than the minimum.

Orioles 4, Blue Jays 3

At Baltimore, Kevin Millar homered and drove in three runs to back a fine pitching performance by Matt Albers (2-0). Adam Jones had three hits for the Orioles, who beat Dustin McGowan (0-1) and won their sixth straight home game. George Sherrill earned his sixth save.

Athletics 2, White Sox 1

At Chicago, Greg Smith (1-0) outpitched Mark Buehrle (1-1) for his first major league win, and Kurt Suzuki went 4-for-4 as Oakland won its eighth in 10 games.

The A’s are 6-1 on their first road trip this season and they improved to 9-5 overall for their best 14-game start since opening 10-4 in 1992.

Angels 7, Rangers 4

At Arlington, Texas, Ervin Santana (2-0) rebounded from a three-run first to pitch seven strong innings, and Mike Napoli homered off Jason Jennings (0-3) as Los Angeles handed Texas its fourth straight loss. Francisco Rodriguez got his fourth save.