Dice-K Finds Rhythm And Shuts Down Blue Jays

The extra work Daisuke Matsuzaka put in between starts seems to have paid off. <br/><br/>Unhappy with the way he's pitched from the stretch this season, the Japanese right-hander fine-tuned his delivery

Thursday, May 10th 2007, 7:32 am

By: News On 6

The extra work Daisuke Matsuzaka put in between starts seems to have paid off.

Unhappy with the way he's pitched from the stretch this season, the Japanese right-hander fine-tuned his delivery and the results showed. He won his third straight decision and the Boston Red Sox beat Toronto 9-3 on Wednesday, sending the Blue Jays to their eighth consecutive loss.

Matsuzaka (4-2), who allowed a season-high seven runs in his last start, was much more effective against Toronto. He struck out eight in seven innings, allowing just one run and five hits.

``When I had struggled, the coaches and I talked about some of the difficulties with rhythm and timing and in my bullpen session and long toss this week. I definitely worked on those two elements,'' Matsuzaka said through a translator.

``Once I got up on the mound today, I was not overconscious about timing, but having gone through those in practice, I was able to move things in a more positive direction.''

In other AL games, it was: Baltimore 1, Tampa Bay 0 in 10 innings; New York 6, Texas 2; Seattle 9, Detroit 2; Kansas City 3, Oakland 2; Chicago 6, Minnesota 3; and Los Angeles 3, Cleveland 2.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Matsuzaka looked more comfortable than in his last outing.

``He wasn't forcing the issue, he was trusting his ability and his command,'' he said. ``He worked hard this week and it paid off. He threw everything for strikes and he located very well. He threw up, he threw down. He executed all his pitches very, very well. It was exciting to watch.''

The matchup between Matsuzaka and Toronto's Tomo Ohka was just the fourth time in major league history that two Japanese starters have faced each other. The last time it happened was June 19, 2002, when Ohka, then with Montreal, beat Kansas City's Mac Suzuki.

``Nothing special,'' Ohka said. ``I wanted to try and stop the losing streak.''

Toronto has dropped eight straight games.

Orioles 1, Devil Rays 0, 10 innings

Aubrey Huff homered with one out in the 10th against his former team, giving the host Orioles a victory over the Devil Rays.

After James Shields pitched nine brilliant innings for Tampa Bay, Brian Stokes (1-4) faced only two batters before giving up the game's lone run. Ramon Hernandez hit a fly to center before Huff drove a 1-1 pitch over the wall in center, his fourth homer of the season and second against the Devil Rays.

John Parrish (1-0) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th.

Yankees 6, Rangers 2

Derek Jeter drove in three runs, Mike Mussina pitched three-hit ball for six innings and the Yankees extended their domination of the visiting Rangers.

Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui each hit an RBI double in a four-run first off Robinson Tejeda (3-3), helping the Yankees improve to 18-2 against Texas since July 20, 2005 _ including 5-0 this year.

Mussina (2-1) beat Tejeda for the second time in six days.

Mariners 9, Tigers 2

Jose Guillen hit a three-run homer, Cha Seung Baek pitched a six-hitter and visiting Seattle snapped Detroit's eight-game winning streak.

Curtis Granderson homered for Detroit, which had tied San Francisco for the longest winning streak in the majors this season.

Baek (1-0) struck out four and didn't walk a batter in his first career complete game.

Tigers starter Nate Robertson (3-2) lasted only 4 2-3 innings, despite retiring the first seven batters. He allowed six runs and 10 hits.

Royals 3, Athletics 2

Mike Sweeney hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth inning and host Kansas City beat Oakland to stop a four-game losing streak.

Sweeney hit a 1-0 pitch from Justin Duchscherer (3-2) out to left for his 194th career homer, moving him into second place on the Royals' list. Only Hall of Famer George Brett has more with 317.

Jimmy Gobble (1-1) pitched the eighth, and rookie Joakim Soria worked the ninth for his sixth save.

White Sox 6, Twins 3

John Danks got his first major league victory, pitching Chicago past visiting Minnesota.

Danks (1-4) didn't give up a hit until the fifth and a run until the seventh _ the only run he allowed in 6 2-3 innings. He held Minnesota to three hits. Bobby Jenks got three outs for his 11th save after walking the first two batters in the ninth.

Angels 3, Indians 2

Kendry Morales hit a two-run homer, Gary Matthews Jr. added a solo shot and Los Angeles rallied to beat visiting Cleveland, snapping a three-game losing skid.

Dustin Moseley (3-0) allowed one hit in two innings of relief. Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth for his 11th save.

Matthews greeted Fernando Cabrera (1-2) in the eighth with his third homer of the season, hitting the first pitch into the seats.