It’s Just Like Old Times for Boone

Less than two years after hitting one of baseball’s most dramatic home runs, Aaron Boone helped the Cleveland Indians win on a routine April night.

Back from a one-year layoff caused by a knee injury, Boone hit a tiebreaking two-run homer off Ugueth Urbina in the eighth inning Friday night at Detroit, leading the Indians over the Tigers, 4-3.

“Being in here and shaking hands with the music playing is what it is all about,” Boone said. “It’s especially nice when you have a hand in the win.”

Urbina (0-1) started the inning and yielded a one-out single to Travis Hafner. Boone then homered into the bullpen in left.

Detroit loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth on errors by Boone at third base and Jhonny Peralta at shortstop, and Brandon Inge’s single.

David Riske (1-0) struck out pinch-hitter Carlos Guillen, forced in a run by walking Omar Infante on a 3-2 pitch, then started Bobby Higginson out with three balls. Higginson took a strike, then flied out.

Boone is best known for his pennant-winning homer off Boston’s Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of the 2003 American League championship series, and he also homered for the Yankees in Game 3 of that year’s World Series.

But a knee injury sustained in a pickup basketball game caused him to sit out last season and led the Yankees to release him.

Boone signed with the Indians last June, but wasn’t able to make his Cleveland debut until this week.

Tampa Bay 3, Oakland 2 -- Nick Green hit a broken-bat single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Devil Rays the victory.

Joey Gathright led off the 10th with a triple against Juan Cruz (0-1) and Carl Crawford was intentionally walked before Green’s single on an 0-2 pitch.

Danys Baez (2-0) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He faced one hitter in the ninth, getting Erubiel Durazo to hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded. Baez also escaped a two on, one-out jam in the top of the 10th.

Boston 6, Toronto 5 -- Bronson Arroyo won his first start of the season, and Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon homered to lead the Red Sox. A crowd of 50,560 was at the game, the Blue Jays’ largest for a home opener. SkyDome has been renamed the Rogers Centre.

Baltimore 12, New York 5 -- Brian Roberts hit a two-run homer off Jaret Wright -- making his Yankee debut -- drove in four runs and finished a double short of the cycle to lead the Orioles. Sammy Sosa had one hit in four at-bats, was hit by a pitch and was booed each time up in his first game at Yankee Stadium since April 17, 1991, when he was with the Chicago White Sox.

Chicago 5, Minnesota 1 -- Orlando Hernandez pitched seven strong innings in his White Sox debut, and sixth-inning home runs by Paul Konerko and Aaron Rowand helped him beat the Twins at Minneapolis. Hernandez struck out five and retired his last seven batters.

Seattle 9, Texas 6 -- Raul Ibanez hit a two-run homer and Willie Bloomquist had a two-run single as the Mariners rallied in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Eddie Guardado pitched the ninth for his first save since last July 22. He sat out the last two months of last season because a torn rotator cuff and a left knee injury.