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DETROIT(AP)
Josh Beckett
had to warm up in an crooked bullpen before Wednesday's game against the
Detroit Tigers
.
It didn't seem to bother him.
Beckett didn't allow a hit until the seventh inning and
David Ortiz
hit a two-run double, leading the
Boston Red Sox
to a 10-5 victory over the
Detroit Tigers
.
''The bullpen's mound had an off-center plate,'' he said. ''But as soon as I got out there for the first inning, I felt good.''
Beckett (6-2) gave up a single to
Curtis Granderson
with two outs in the seventh to end the no-hit bid. He retired 18 straight after walking
Placido Polanco
with one out in the first until he walked
Magglio Ordonez
with one out in the seventh.
Miguel Cabrera
hit a fly to the warning track in right-center before Granderson singled to right.
''He finally gave me a pitch that wasn't on a corner - everything had been on the black all night,'' Granderson said. ''Everyone
knows what is going on - there are scoreboards all over the stadium, so we could all see that we didn't have any runs and
didn't have any hits.''
The Tigers broke up the shutout with five unearned runs in the eighth thanks to three Boston errors and a bases-loaded triple
by Granderson. Beckett left with two outs to a loud ovation from the Comerica Park crowd.
Detroit loaded the bases in the ninth, but
Josh Anderson
lined out to end the game.
''We were hoping that Anderson would get on and Cabrera could hit one, but that's not a very good way to try to win a game,''
Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. ''It's hard to say what would have happened if the game hadn't got to 10-0.''
Beckett (6-2) allowed three unearned runs on two hits and two walks, striking out nine. In his last three starts, he has allowed
one earned run in 22 2-3 innings - a 0.40 ERA.
''I thought he was tremendous,'' Boston manager
Terry Francona
said. ''He had great stuff, and the ball had great movement. It was fun to watch.''
The only Tiger to come close to a hit in the first six innings was
Gerald Laird
, who led off the sixth with a bunt that just rolled foul.
Armando Galarraga
(3-6) fell to 0-6 in seven starts since May 1, allowing four runs - three earned - on six hits and two walks in seven innings.
''He did pretty darn good - he wasn't great, but he gave us a chance,'' Leyland said. ''We just ran into one of the best pitchers
in baseball when he had outstanding stuff.''
For the second straight night, the
Red Sox
needed just two batters to take the lead. This time, it was a
Dustin Pedroia
single followed by J.D. Drew's 200th career homer.
The
Red Sox
doubled their lead in the fifth. With one out,
Jacoby Ellsbury
lined a single off Galarraga, and he scored on
Nick Green
's double. Pedroia then grounded out to third, and when Green tried to advance to third, Cabrera threw wildly.
Green collided with Galarraga, who was backing up the play, and was awarded home, making it 4-0.
The
Red Sox
scored six runs in the eighth, including Ortiz's bases-loaded double.
''That inning shows how important every pitcher on your staff is,'' Leyland said. ''We let the game get away from us in that
inning, and it ended up being important at the end.''
The
Red Sox
got a scare when
Kevin Youkilis
had to leave the game after a freak injury in the eighth inning. Youkilis was stretching for a throw at first when Anderson
kicked his right ankle, but Francona said after the game that it appeared to only be a bruise.
Notes: Beckett hit Laird in his first at-bat after the bunt attempt. ... Ellsbury picked up a hit from Tuesday's game after
a scoring change was announced before Wednesday's first pitch. The second-inning play had originally been ruled an error on
Tigers pitcher
Rick Porcello
. ... Leyland said before the game that he was considering no longer using the usual extreme shift that several teams employ
against Ortiz. He chose to use a modified version of it, playing SS
Adam Everett
just to the left-field side of second base instead of past the bag. ...
Mike Lowell
was ejected after the top of the ninth.
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