BOSTON — Jason Varitek finally delivered a big hit. So did a few of his teammates.

Varitek began working his way out of a long slump and the Boston Red Sox emerged from a short one, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 Tuesday night with a four-run eighth inning capped by the captain’s go-ahead single.

“I had some feeble at-bats over a few weeks and I had some really good ones,” said Varitek, who was one for 30 before his decisive hit.

He’s also had some tough breaks, hitting the ball hard for outs. With runners at first and second and two outs in the first, he lined a ball up the middle that hit pitcher Doug Davis and ricocheted to shortstop Stephen Drew, who threw out Varitek at first.

“Tek’s been a little bit unlucky,” said Mike Lowell, whose two-run double tied the game at 4. “He’s hit better than just those numbers, but it always feels good for a ball to drop, especially in a big situation.”

They were dropping all over the place in the eighth. Boston had six hits in the inning, one more than it totaled in the first seven and two more than the Red Sox managed in Monday night’s 2-1 loss in the series opener. The win maintained their one-game lead in the AL East over Tampa Bay, which beat Florida 6-4.

“Any comeback win is big,” Lowell said, “especially when I saw Tampa Bay won and we can stay atop our division.”

In other games on Tuesday: INTERLEAGUE

Rays 6

Marlins 4

MIAMI — Dioner Navarro and Eric Hinske drew bases-loaded walks in the eighth inning, Evan Longoria hit a two-run double in the ninth and Tampa Bay beat Florida.

Athletics 5

Phillies 2

OAKLAND, Calif. — Emil Brown hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh to spoil a strong outing by Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton ended a four-start losing streak.

Tigers 8

Cardinals 4

DETROIT — Brian Barton, Skip Schumaker and Brendan Ryan each drove in two runs to lead St. Louis.

Pirates 12

Yankees 5

PITTSBURGH — Jose Bautista and Ryan Doumit homered and Pittsburgh turned back the clock nearly a half-century, beating New York for the first time since the 1960 World Series.

Giants 3

Indians 2

CLEVELAND — Jonathan Sanchez won for the fifth time in six starts and Omar Vizquel dropped down a suicide squeeze against his former team in the first game between the clubs in Cleveland since the 1954 World Series.

Blue Jays 14

Reds 1

TORONTO — Scott Rolen hit one of Toronto’s three homers and A.J. Burnett pitched eight strong innings for Toronto.

Angels 8

Nationals 3

WASHINGTON — Mike Napoli hit a run-scoring double in a six-run first inning and added a two-run homer, and Los Angeles took advantage of four Washington errors.

Mariners 11

Mets 0

NEW YORK — Raul Ibanez homered and drove in three runs, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey tossed seven sharp innings and Seattle blew out the frustrated Mets.

Orioles 7

Cubs 5

CHICAGO — Brian Roberts had three hits against the team that was interested in acquiring him and Baltimore ended Chicago’s 14-game home winning streak in their first visit to Wrigley Field.

Royals 7

Rockies 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Zack Greinke matched a career high with 10 strikeouts and Alex Gordon hit a two-run homer as Kansas City won its fourth straight.

White Sox 6

Dodgers 1

LOS ANGELES — Mark Buehrle pitched eight solid innings, Jermaine Dye hit a two-run homer, and Chicago snapped a nine-game road losing streak.

Astros 4

Rangers 3

HOUSTON — Lance Berkman hit a two-run homer to lead Houston, and Jose Valverde hung on for the save.

Twins 3

Padres 1

SAN DIEGO — Brendan Harris and Brian Buscher hit solo home runs on consecutive pitches against Trevor Hoffman in the ninth inning to give the Minnesota Twins a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night. National League

Brewers 4

Braves 3

ATLANTA — Dave Bush earned his first road victory of the season, scattering four hits over seven innings, and Milwaukee held on in the ninth. The Brewers are 18-21 on the road with four straight wins, including two in a row over the Braves.