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Figuring out Fenway Wells gets rare win in Boston, becomes AL's first to eight
Posted: Friday May 26, 2000 12:00 AM
BOSTON (AP) -- David Wells wouldn't mind a new ballpark in Boston. Fenway Park has never been his favorite stadium. "When they want someone to push the button, I want to be the guy to blow this place up," Wells said Thursday night after leading the Toronto Blue Jays over the Boston Red Sox 11-6. Wells (8-2) became the AL's first eight-game winner, allowing four runs -- three earned -- and 10 hits in seven-plus innings. He had been 6-10 at Fenway Park, his worst record in any stadium. "I love tradition. I love this city. I love coming here," Wells said. "But when I get in the confines for the game, that's when it gets me." The Red Sox hope to build a new ballpark and plans are being debated by Massachusetts officials. While Wells won for the seventh time in eight starts, Shannon Stewart went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and scored four runs. Carlos Delgado went 3-for-5 with three RBIs as Toronto matched its season high with 17 hits. "David pitched well," Toronto manager Jim Fregosi said. "He could have finished up, but he had a little muscle spasm. He's 8-2 and he's pitched as good as anybody in the league -- except maybe for the right-hander [Pedro Martinez] down the hall." Boston, which stranded 10 runners, lost for the fourth time in five games and headed to New York for a three-game series against the Yankees, their first meeting since New York won last year's AL championship series 4-1. The Red Sox and Yankees are tied for the AL East lead. "Sometimes you have games like that," Boston manager Jimy Williams said. "They have a very good-hitting club over there and Wells is tough. He's been tough all year." Pete Schourek (2-4) gave up four runs and six hits in four innings. He had allowed only one earned run in his previous 13 innings. "They're hitting the heck out of the ball and it's my job to shut them down," Schourek said. "I didn't get it done tonight." Carl Everett hit his 14th home run, a two-run shot in the ninth off Paul Quantrill. Jason Varitek's bad-hop RBI grounder over the head of Delgado at first gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the second. Toronto went ahead 3-1 in the third. Darrin Fletcher and Jose Cruz Jr. singled, and Fletcher came around when third baseman Wilton Veras allowed right fielder Donnie Sadler's throw to go between his legs for an error on Cruz's hit. One out later, Stewart homered. Todd Greene's first homer of the year made it 4-1 in the fourth, and the Blue Jays went ahead 6-1 in the fifth off Tim Wakefield on Delgado's 15th homer and a run-scoring double-play grounder. Raul Mondesi and Delgado had run-scoring singles and Tony Batista doubled home two runs as the Blue Jays increased it to 10-2 in the seventh. Delgado had another RBI single in the eighth. Mike Stanley had RBI singles in the fifth and seventh for Boston, and Scott Hatteberg added an RBI double.
Notes: Toronto's Craig Grebeck extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a fifth-inning single. ... Boston's Darren Lewis was back in the lineup after being sidelined since May 17 with a strained left hamstring. ... ... Of the Red Sox' 17 losses this season, nine have been by one run. ... Wells said his back was "very sore" after the game.
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