Matsuzaka stars

The high-priced Japanese pitcher struck out five and walked none in improving his record to 5-2.

"As for throwing a complete game, I'm not that thrilled about that in and of itself," Matsuzaka said.

"But the fact I was able to pitch my first really good game, my first really good showing at Fenway, that I'm really excited about."

Matsuzaka did not allow a runner past second base after giving up a third-inning homer to the Tigers's Curtis Granderson.

"I think it was good that I was able to give our batting line-up a chance to stay in rhythm by keeping my innings short," he added. "I was conscious of throwing strikes and I felt like I pitched at a good tempo today."

The home crowd greeted him with cheers when he came out to pitch the ninth.

"That definitely pumped me up," Matsuzaka added.

Although the right-hander threw 124 pitches, his Major League high so far, manager Terry Francona said, "I didn't see a reason to take him out. He never came out of his delivery.

"He was better at the end than he was at the beginning. He wasn't giving up hits."

The performance impressed Tigers's manager Jim Leyland.

"He's a very good Major League pitcher and I was very impressed with him," Leyland said. "He had composure and he had good stuff. He knows what to do with it. He's the real deal."

Boston tied the score in the bottom of the third on David Ortiz's single. Then Coco Crisp's RBI single made it 2-1 to Boston in the fourth.

The advantage went to 3-1 in the fifth on a run-scoring single by Manny Ramirez and Julio Lugo blew the game open with a three-run triple in the eighth.

Troy Glaus's two-run homer in the eighth inning lifted the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-3 home win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Casey Kotchman hit a first-inning grand slam home run to power the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-2 away win over the Texas Rangers. Texas pitcher Kevin Millwood, who was returning from the disabled list, aggravated his left hamstring injury and left the game after one and two-thirds innings.

John Buck's two-run homer in the ninth led the Kansas City Royals to a 2-1 away win over the Oakland Athletics.

Jason Bergmann flirted with a no-hitter for seven innings as the Washington Nationals surprised the Atlanta Braves 2-1.

Bergmann held the Braves hitless until Brian McCann led off the eighth inning with a home run but the Braves were unable to add to the total and Washington held on for the win.

"It was an unbelievable feeling (watching Bergmann go for the no-hitter)," Nationals manager Manny Acta said.

"It got to a point where I really thought he was going to (throw the no-hitter). The pitch to McCann -- he is a good hitter and he made him pay for it."

Bergmann ended up allowing two hits for his eight-plus innings of work. After McCann's homer, he completed the eighth by retiring three straight batters, but left the game in the ninth following Atlanta's Matt Diaz single.

The right-hander struck out 10 and walked one in gaining his first Major League win since 2005.

"I just felt I was able to throw a lot of strikes early in (the) count," he said in evaluating his performance. "I stayed ahead of hitters all night. The pitches were down and effective. All my pitches were working."

The win was the fourth straight for the National League East cellar-dwelling Nationals.

Ryan Zimmerman drove in the Nationals' opening run with a ground out that scored Cristian Guzman in the first. It came after Guzman had tripled.

Washington made it 2-0 in the seventh when Austin Kearns doubled home Ryan Church. Atlanta pitcher John Smoltz dislocated a finger on his pitching hand while tagging Kearns in a seventh-inning rundown.

Smoltz immediately left the game. He struck out five and walked two in pitching four-hit ball for six and two-thirds innings.

Chicago Cubs reliever Michael Wertz walked three consecutive batters in the ninth inning to plate the winning run and the New York Mets emerged with a 5-4 home win.

The Philadelphia Phillies used a six-run eighth inning for an 8-6 come-from-behind home win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Pittsburgh Pirates rode the shutout pitching of Tom Gorzelanny and a five-run eighth inning to a 7-0 home win over the Florida Marlins. The loss was the fourth straight for the Marlins.

Greg Maddux pitched his first complete game in two years, a two-hitter, and the San Diego Padres handed the Cincinnati Reds their fourth straight loss, a 7-1 setback in San Diego.