First in Payroll, Last in AL East

The high-priced New York Yankees sank to another low against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays: last place.

“The way we’ve been playing, we deserve it,” Derek Jeter said Thursday night after a 6-2 loss at St. Petersburg, Fla., to the team with baseball’s lowest payroll dropped the $200-million Yankees into a tie for last in the American League East.

“You don’t win games on paper. You win on the field,” Jeter said. “The bottom line is, it’s good to have talent so you can have a lot of confidence, but you’ve got to play.”

Mark Hendrickson pitched effectively into the eighth inning, and Alex Sanchez homered and scored four times for the Devil Rays, who won a series against the Yankees for the first time since September 2002, taking three of four from the seven-time defending division champions.

Aubrey Huff and Josh Phelps drove in two runs apiece off Chien-Ming Wang (0-1). The Yankees are eight games behind first-place Baltimore, their largest deficit of the season.

New York (11-18) has lost seven of its last nine games and four consecutive series to plunge seven games under .500 for the first time since July 18, 1995, when it was 33-40. The Yankees share the AL East cellar with the Devil Rays, who have won four of six meetings between the teams after going 4-15 against New York last season.

The Yankees held a team meeting before the game, with Manager Joe Torre urging his players to forget the past and focus on the present as the club tries to fight its way out of its toughest stretch in a decade.

“We continue to do the same things. There’s no place else to go. You keep waiting for a good result. That’s basically what it comes down to,” Torre said.

Boston 2, Detroit 1 -- Bronson Arroyo took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, and David Ortiz’s tiebreaking double in the ninth sent the Red Sox to the win at Detroit.

With two out, Ortiz hit a line drive to right-center off Ugueth Urbina (0-3) to score Trot Nixon from first, giving the Red Sox their fifth win in six games.

Arroyo (4-0) gave up three hits in eight innings to win his ninth decision in a row. Carlos Guillen got Detroit’s first hit, a one-out homer in the seventh, tying the score, 1-1.

Red Sox shortstop Edgar Renteria left with an injured right index finger after he was hit by a pitch while trying to bunt in the second inning. Renteria was replaced by Ramon Vazquez.

The last Boston pitcher to win nine decisions in a row was Pedro Martinez in 2002.

Chicago 2, Kansas City 1 -- Jose Contreras pitched four-hit ball for eight innings at Chicago.

Contreras (1-0) outpitched Royal starter Zack Greinke (0-3), leading the White Sox to their fifth win in a row. They have the best record in the major leagues at 21-7.

Contreras struck out six and walked one in his longest outing of the season. Shingo Takatsu walked two in the ninth but earned his eighth save in nine opportunities.

The White Sox have led in all 28 games, a major league record for games led at the start of a season.

Minnesota 9, Cleveland 0 -- Brad Radke pitched a three-hitter, and Jason Bartlett’s homer sparked a five-run fifth inning at Minneapolis.

Both benches emptied when Shannon Stewart and Cleveland reliever Jason Davis got into a confrontation near the plate after Stewart scored in the seventh. Davis had hit Stewart with a pitch, but no punches were thrown. Radke (3-3) struck out eight in his 10th shutout and 36th complete game.