Youkilis tossed for sparking brawl before Lowell’s 2 homers lift Red Sox past Tigers 7-5

Lowell comes off bench to lead Red Sox past Tigers

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox may have found a solution to their surplus of corner infielders — for a while, anyway.

Kevin Youkilis was ejected and faces a suspension for charging the mound after getting hit by a pitch and throwing his helmet at Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello on Tuesday night. That would give more playing time to Mike Lowell, who pinch ran for Youkilis and hit two homers to lead the Red Sox to a 7-5 victory over Detroit.

“I’m sure something will happen,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “Youk’s a real good player and his versatility makes him even better for us. But we have guys, we should be able to do this.”

Lowell hit a solo homer in the third to break a 3-3 tie, then added a two-run shot in the fifth to make it 6-3. He also scored on Jason Bay’s three-run homer after entering the game as a pinch-runner when Youkilis and Detroit starter Rick Porcello were ejected for sparking the second-inning melee.

“The important thing was: we answered back right away,” said Lowell, who has been part of a rotation at the corner infield positions since the Red Sox acquired Victor Martinez at the trading deadline.

The 2007 World Series MVP started the game on the bench, with Youkilis at third and Martinez at first.

“He starts out there watching and pretty quickly he’s down there stretching and he ends up having a huge impact on the outcome of the game,” Francona said. “That’s not easy to do.”

Junichi Tazawa allowed three runs — just one earned — while walking two and striking out six in five innings in his first major-league start. In his only other appearance he lost to the New York Yankees on Friday after giving up Alex Rodriguez’s two-run, game-ending homer in the 15th inning.

Chris Lambert (0-1) allowed five runs on five hits and four walks in five innings, striking out three in relief after Porcello hit Youkilis in apparent retaliation for Tazawa’s plunking of Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera, who like Youkilis was also hit in the series opener on Monday night, later left the game with a bruise on his left hand.

At New York, Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada hit back-to-back homers leading off the eighth inning and the Yankees won their eighth in nine games.

New York has hit consecutive homers in three straight games for the first time since 1983 and has gone back-to-back 13 times this season.

David Robertson (2-1) retired the only batter he faced to get the win and Mariano Rivera allowed Edwin Encarnacion’s first homer with Toronto before finishing for his 33rd save in 34 opportunities.

At Anaheim, Calif., Ervin Santana (5-6) pitched a three-hitter for his first home win of the season, and Jeff Mathis hit a three-run double.

Reggie Willits’ two-run single in the fifth broke open a scoreless game for the Angels, who boosted their AL West lead over Texas to five games with their 18th win in 25 games.

Vladimir Guerrero extended his hitting streak to 13 games with two singles for the Angels.

Newcomer Gregg Zaun had two hits for the Rays, who have lost four of five on their West Coast trip.

At Seattle, Alexi Ramirez hit a three-run homer with one out in the top of the ninth off closer David Aardsma.

The White Sox were held to one hit over six innings by Seattle starter Doug Fister, who was making his major league debut. Aardsma (3-4) had his third blown save of the season.

John Danks (10-8) pitched eight innings, scattering seven hits and striking out eight, and Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for his 23rd save in 27 attempts.

At Cleveland, Aaron Laffey pitched effectively into the seventh inning to remain undefeated at home for the Indians.

The Indians improved to 13-6 since losing 21 of 28 from June 15 to July 19. Texas came in tied with Boston for the wild card lead in the AL, but fell to 3-5 in August.

Laffey (6-3) allowed six hits and three walks in 6 2-3 innings. He is 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA in five home starts.

At Baltimore, David Hernandez outpitched Trevor Cahill in a duel between rookie right-handers, and the Orioles ended a nine-game losing streak against Oakland.

Brian Roberts had three hits, an RBI and two stolen bases for the Orioles, who beat the A’s for the first time since July 22, 2007.

Hernandez (4-4) allowed two runs, six hits and a walk in 6 2-3 innings.

Cahill (6-12) gave up three runs and eight hits in seven innings but lost his fourth straight start. His 12th defeat of the season left him tied for most in the AL.

At Minneapolis, Miguel Olivo homered and drove in three runs to help Kansas City to its highest run total of the season.

Olivo and David DeJesus both had three hits for the Royals.

Joe Mauer had three hits and Orlando Cabrera extended his career-best hitting streak to 20 games for Minnesota, which has lost five of six and eight of 10.

Kyle Davies (4-8) allowed one earned run and five hits in five innings.

Minnesota’s Nick Blackburn (8-7) allowed six runs — four earned — and six hits in 1 2-3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.