NEW YORK — Waiting well past midnight for a clutch hit — any hit, really — Alex Rodriguez provided a big one.

Rodriguez broke up an electric pitchers' duel in the 15th inning with his first homer in three weeks, giving the New York Yankees a 2-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox last night.

"Both teams were remarkable," Rodriguez said. "It was a heavyweight fight, and we were fortunate to have the last hit."

Once the game entered the 15th it became the longest scoreless matchup between the longtime rivals. Rodriguez's two-out homer came at 12:42 a.m., off Boston's eighth pitcher, Junichi Tazawa, who was making his major league debut.

New York's A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett of the Red Sox set the tone — then both remained in the dugout for the remainder of the 5-hour, 33-minute game.

Burnett allowed a leadoff single and five relievers finished the four-hitter in the first Boston-New York game to go into extra innings scoreless since 1976.

"This would've been a very hard game to lose," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Nobody left. It just shows the importance of the game."

Derek Jeter singled to lead off the 15th against Tazawa (0-1). After two outs, Rodriguez lined a shot into the bullpen in left-center giving New York its 10th walkoff win of the season.

RANGERS 11, ANGELS 6

Omar Vizquel drove in three runs with four hits, including one of Texas' five homers, and Josh Hamilton hit an early three-run shot for the visiting Rangers. Hank Blalock, Michael Young and Taylor Teagarden also connected for the Rangers.

INDIANS 6, WHITE SOX 2

Kelly Shoppach hit a two-run homer and added a solo shot, leading visiting Cleveland over Chicago. The Indians won despite grounding into six double plays, tying an American League record.

ATHLETICS 9, ROYALS 4

Vin Mazzaro ended a personal eight-game losing streak and Cliff Pennington had his first career three-hit game for visiting Oakland. Mazzaro (3-8) gave up three runs and eight hits.

ORIOLES 7, BLUE JAYS 5

Nolan Reimold had two RBIs to help visiting Baltimore beat Toronto. Rookie right-hander Jason Berken (2-9) won for the first time since May 26. He allowed three runs and five hits in six innings.

TIGERS 10, TWINS 8

Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila homered in a six-run first inning and host Detroit beat Minnesota. The Tigers stretched their lead in the AL Central to 5 1/2 games over third-place Minnesota.

MARINERS 7, RAYS 6

Ryan Langerhans hit a 2-2 pitch from closer J.P. Howell into the right-field bleachers for a game-ending, two-run home run for host Seattle. Langerhans golfed a low pitch from Howell (6-3) for his first career game-ending hit.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

CARDINALS 6, PIRATES 4

Ryan Ludwick's sacrifice fly in the eighth inning scored the go-ahead run and visiting St. Louis stretched Pittsburgh's losing streak to six games. With the score tied at 4, Matt Holliday singled in the eighth off Jose Ascanio (0-2), stole second and moved to third on a misplay. Ludwick followed with his sacrifice fly to right.

PADRES 6, METS 2

Rookie Everth Cabrera hit a grand slam in the ninth inning off closer Francisco Rodriguez to give host San Diego a victory over New York. Cabrera, who struck out three times, connected on a 3-2 pitch from Rodriguez (2-3) into the right-field stands to give the Padres their 11th win over New York in 14 games.

ASTROS 6, BREWERS 3

Jason Michaels homered twice for host Houston and Bud Norris struck out seven in six effective innings in his Minute Maid Park debut. Norris (2-0), a 24-year-old rookie, allowed two runs and three hits in his second major-league start.

NATIONALS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 6

Josh Willingham hit a two-run single in the seventh inning, and host Washington won its season-best sixth straight. The Nationals spotted Arizona a 5-0 lead in the second, when the Diamondbacks hit three homers off Collin Balester.

ROCKIES 6, CUBS 2

Ubaldo Jimenez (9-9) allowed two runs — one earned — and four hits in 6 2/3 innings for his third consecutive victory as host Colorado beat Chicago. Colorado's Chris Iannetta hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Jeff Samardzija.

REDS 10, GIANTS 5

Brandon Phillips drew a tie-breaking bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning and visiting Cincinnati beat San Francisco. The Reds then took advantage of two San Francisco errors and a wild pitch to tack on four more runs.

BRAVES 9, DODGERS 5

Garret Anderson drove in the tying run with a ninth-inning single against Jonathan Broxton and scored the go-ahead run on a single by Yunel Escobar during a four-run 12th for visiting Atlanta. Ryan Church capped the inning with a three-run homer.

MARLINS 3, PHILLIES 2

Ricky Nolasco pitched seven sharp innings, Nick Johnson and Cody Ross hit solo home runs and visiting Florida beat Philadelphia. Nolasco (8-7) allowed two runs and four hits, striking out seven.

NOTES

Athletics: Jason Giambi was released by Oakland, cutting short the struggling slugger's second stint with his first major league club. The 38-year-old first baseman and designated hitter had returned to Oakland this season after seven years with the New York Yankees. He was batting .193.

Trade: Craving help for their starting rotation, the Minnesota Twins have turned to Carl Pavano. The Twins agreed to send the Cleveland Indians a player to be identified later in exchange for Pavano, who has gone 9-8 with a 5.37 ERA in 21 starts for the Indians.

Red Sox: Boston cut John Smoltz a day after the New York Yankees sent the 42-year-old righty to yet another early exit. After eight starts, the numbers weren't pretty for a pitcher with Hall of Fame credentials: 2-5 with an 8.32 ERA.