Boston's Beckett First Pitcher To 7 Wins

Josh Beckett didn't get off to a good start in trying to become the first major league pitcher to reach seven wins. <br/><br/>It didn't matter. <br/><br/>The Boston right-hander gave up a home

Wednesday, May 9th 2007, 7:25 am

By: News On 6

Josh Beckett didn't get off to a good start in trying to become the first major league pitcher to reach seven wins.

It didn't matter.

The Boston right-hander gave up a home run to Alex Rios on his first pitch, then allowed a double to Adam Lind. That was it for Toronto as the Red Sox handed the Blue Jays their seventh straight loss, 9-2 on Tuesday night.

``To his credit, he reeled it back in in a hurry,'' Boston manager Terry Francona said. ``He got down in the zone and made adjustments real quick, which was really good to see.''

Beckett is the first Red Sox pitcher to win his first seven starts of a season since Roger Moret won eight straight in 1973. Babe Ruth (1917), Dave Ferriss (1945) and Moret share the Red Sox record with wins in their first eight games.

Beckett (7-0) worked seven innings, setting down 14 straight during one stretch. He allowed one run and five hits, walked one, struck out five and lowered his ERA to 2.51.

``To give up one run to that lineup, that's a feat in itself,'' Beckett said.

In other AL games, it was: New York 8, Texas 2; Detroit 9, Seattle 7; Baltimore 8, Tampa Bay 3; Oakland 6, Kansas City 1; Minnesota 7, Chicago 4 in 10 innings; and Cleveland 5, Los Angeles 1.

Mike Lowell and Dustin Pedroia each hit three-run homers for Boston, while Jason Varitek and Kevin Youkilis added solo shots. Youkilis later was hit by a pitch above the left knee and left with a bruise.

``There's going to be some tightness,'' said Youkilis, who was hit on the same leg Sunday. ``Hopefully I'll get through it and be all right.''

Youkilis got the Red Sox started with a home run in the first inning, and Boston led 8-1 by the third.

Beckett said he made an effort to mix up his pitches even with the big lead.

``When you get a bigger lead you're throwing more fastballs, trying to get ahead in the count, but you definitely don't forget about your secondary stuff,'' Beckett said.

In the third, Manny Ramirez singled and J.D. Drew walked before Lowell and Varitek both homered.

Toronto DH Frank Thomas said the three-run homers were ``dagger killers.''

``When they go in your chest, they hurt really bad,'' Thomas said. ``We're struggling and that was not what the doctor ordered.''

It was the first time the Red Sox hit consecutive homers since hitting four in a row against the Yankees on April 22. Varitek's homer finished Victor Zambrano (0-2).

Varitek finished 4-for-4 with a walk and scored three runs.

Yankees 8, Rangers 2

Alex Rodriguez hit his 15th homer _ his first in 15 days _ and Andy Pettitte pitched seven sharp innings for the Yankees in their seventh straight victory over the Rangers.

Derek Jeter drove in two runs for New York, which has won six of eight overall. Pettitte (2-1) allowed one run and seven hits for his first win in five starts.

Hank Blalock doubled three times and walked for the visiting Rangers, who were coming off a three-game sweep of Toronto.

Tigers 9, Mariners 7

Omar Infante drove in a career-high four runs and Gary Sheffield homered for Detroit in its eighth straight victory, the longest current winning streak in the majors. Infante had a double and a triple in each of the Tigers' three-run innings and his RBI single in the sixth put them ahead 7-5.

Jeremy Bonderman (2-0) gave up five runs and seven hits over six innings.

Richie Sexson hit a three-run homer in the first for Seattle.

Orioles 8, Devil Rays 3

Jeremy Guthrie allowed one run in six innings to earn his second major league victory, and Baltimore got home runs from Nick Markakis and Jay Gibbons.

Melvin Mora drove in two runs and Miguel Tejada had three hits for the Orioles. Guthrie (2-1) gave up six hits and one run in his second start of the season.

Jae Seo (1-3) allowed five runs and six hits in three innings. He has given up 56 hits, an AL-high 37 runs in only 32 2-3 innings and had an 8.82 ERA.

Athletics 6, Royals 1

Chad Gaudin (2-1) allowed five hits and struck out a career-high eight in eight innings. He lowered his ERA to 2.18, third in the AL as the A's won consecutive games for the first time since April 23-24 at Baltimore.

Jorge De La Rosa (3-3), who entered with an AL-best 0.82 home ERA, was roughed up for six runs _ five earned _ and 10 hits in 4 1-3 innings. His home ERA jumped to 2.39. The Royals have lost four straight and are 2-6 on the 10-game homestand, their longest of the season.

Twins 7, White Sox 4, 10 innings

Justin Morneau's second homer of the game, a three-run shot off Nick Masset in the 10th, gave the Twins the win. Juan Rincon (2-0) pitched a scoreless 10th for the victory.

Joe Crede had a homer and two RBIs for the White Sox, who took advantage of a throwing error by Minnesota starter Boof Bonser to take a 4-1 lead in the sixth. The White Sox entered with an AL-worst .222 batting average.

Indians 5, Angels 1

Cliff Lee (1-0) tossed a three-hitter for his 50th career victory and Cleveland won for the 13th time in 16 games. Victor Martinez homered and had an RBI single and Casey Blake drove in two runs for the Indians.

Ervin Santana (2-5) allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out six and walked three in losing his third straight.