Beckett, Red Sox blank Rays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Josh Beckett was a dribbler from being perfect. The Boston righthander pitched the first one-hitter of his career Wednesday night, limiting the Tampa Bay Rays to Reid Brignac's third-inning infield single in a 3-0 Red Sox victory.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Josh Beckett was a dribbler from being perfect.
The Boston righthander pitched the first one-hitter of his career Wednesday night, limiting the Tampa Bay Rays to Reid Brignac's third-inning infield single in a 3-0 Red Sox victory.
"I felt good. They were hitting balls at guys, and that's nice," Beckett said after his fifth career shutout and first complete game since 2009. "When you miss your spot and they still hit it at somebody, it's just one of those nights."
Kevin Youkilis hit a three-run homer and Beckett retired the last 19 batters he faced in outdueling rookie Jeremy Hellickson, who matched the Boston starter out for out into the seventh inning.
Beckett struck out six and walked none while throwing 97 pitches to post his first shutout since blanking Kansas City, 6-0, at Fenway Park on July 12, 2009.
"That's about as good as you can pitch," Boston manager Terry Francona said, noting Brignac's hit came on a low change-up that probably would have bounced if he had swung and missed. "If it wasn't for that little 3-iron out of the rough - that ball was about off the dirt."
Beckett said that as the game progressed he never thought about what might have been if Brignac had not reached base.
"No. Because it was a hit," Beckett said. "It doesn't matter who's playing over there. It doesn't matter how you draw it up. It's a hit. It wasn't a perfect game. It was a one-hitter."
Youkilis homered off Hellickson (7-5) in the seventh, ending the young righthander's streak of consecutive innings without allowing a run at home to 24.
The Red Sox were held to one hit before Dustin Pedroia tripled and AL batting leader Adrian Gonzalez drew an intentional walk to set the stage for Youkilis' towering drive over the left field wall.
The loss dropped the third-place Rays 41/2 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. It was Boston's first win in four games against Tampa Bay this season.
Red Sox 3, Rays 0
Boston 000 000 300 – 3 4 1
Tampa Bay 000 000 000 – 0 1 0
Boston AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Ellsbury cf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .315
Pedroia 2b 4 1 2 0 0 0 .262
Ad.Gonzalez 1b 3 1 0 0 1 0 .343
Youkilis 3b 4 1 1 3 0 1 .259
Ortiz dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 .317
C.Crawford lf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .244
Lowrie ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 .272
J.Drew rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .225
Varitek c 2 0 0 0 1 1 .229
Totals 28 3 4 3 3 2
Tampa Bay AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Damon dh 4 0 0 0 0 1 .277
Zobrist 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .263
Joyce rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .322
Longoria 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .244
Kotchman 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .335
B.Upton cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .213
Jaso c 3 0 0 0 0 0 .230
Ruggiano lf 3 0 0 0 0 2 .348
Brignac ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 .174
Totals 28 0 1 0 0 6
E: Beckett (1). LOB: Boston 1, Tampa Bay 1. 3B: Pedroia (1). HR: Youkilis (10), off Hellickson. RBIs: Youkilis 3 (45). CS: Ellsbury (9). RLSP: Tampa Bay 1 (Damon). GIDP: Pedroia, Ad.Gonzalez. DP: Tampa Bay 2 (Longoria, Brignac, Kotchman), (Longoria, Zobrist, Kotchman).
Boston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Beckett (W 6-2) 9 1 0 0 0 6 97 1.86
Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Hellickson (L 7-5) 7 4 3 3 2 2 94 3.09
C.Ramos 2/3 0 0 0 1 0 15 3.32
A.Russell 11/3 0 0 0 0 0 8 2.13
IR-S: A.Russell 1-0. IBB: off Hellickson (Ad.Gonzalez). Umpires: Home, Rob Drake; first, Gary Darling; second, Bruce Dreckman; third, David Rackley. T: 2:20. A: 19,388 (34,078).
Blue Jays 4, Orioles 1
TORONTO - Ricky Romero allowed three hits in eight innings, and Adam Lind, Yunel Escobar, and Juan Rivera each hit home runs in Toronto's win over Baltimore.
Romero (6-6) tied a career high with 12 strikeouts and walked four for the Blue Jays, who have won 16 straight over the Orioles at the Rogers Centre since Aug. 7, 2009.
Jake Arrieta (8-4) gave up three runs on nine hits in 62/3 innings for Baltimore.
Baltimore 000 000 001 – 1 4 1
Toronto 100 001 20x – 4 11 0
Baltimore AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Hardy ss 4 0 1 0 0 3 .295
Markakis rf 2 1 1 0 2 0 .251
Ad.Jones cf 3 0 0 0 1 1 .291
Guerrero dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 .281
Wieters c 4 0 1 1 0 1 .276
D.Lee 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .219
Mar.Reynolds 3b 2 0 0 0 1 2 .202
Reimold lf 3 0 0 0 0 3 .244
Andino 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .253
Totals 29 1 4 1 4 12
Toronto AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Y.Escobar ss 4 1 3 1 0 0 .292
C.Patterson lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .278
Bautista rf 3 1 0 0 1 1 .333
Lind dh 3 1 2 2 1 1 .337
J.Rivera 1b 4 1 3 1 0 1 .254
Arencibia c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .233
A.Hill 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .247
R.Davis cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .247
J.Nix 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .182
Totals 34 4 11 4 2 7
E: D.Lee (3). LOB: Baltimore 5, Toronto 8. 2B: Hardy (9), J.Rivera (10), A.Hill (13). HR: Y.Escobar (8), off Arrieta; J.Rivera (5), off Arrieta; Lind (13), off Rapada. RBIs: Wieters (31), Y.Escobar (26), Lind 2 (41), J.Rivera (24). RLSP: Baltimore 2 (Guerrero, D.Lee); Toronto 4 (Arencibia 2, J.Rivera, J.Nix). GIDP: Guerrero, D.Lee. DP: Toronto 2 (Y.Escobar, A.Hill, J.Rivera), (J.Nix, A.Hill, J.Rivera).
Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Arrieta (L 8-4) 62/3 9 3 3 2 5 102 4.45
Rapada 0 1 1 1 0 0 4 7.84
Berken 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 10 7.79
Gregg 1 0 0 0 0 2 11 3.08
Toronto IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
R.Romero (W 6-6) 8 3 1 1 4 12 114 3.01
F.Francisco (S 6-9) 1 1 0 0 0 0 13 5.21
R.Romero pitched to 2 batters in the 9th.Rapada pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. IR-S: Rapada 1-1, F.Francisco 2-1. IBB: off Arrieta (Lind). Umpires: Home, Jerry Layne; first, Bob Davidson; second, Hunter Wendelstedt; third, Brian Knight.
T: 2:27. A: 14,541 (49,260).
Twins 4, White Sox 1
MINNEAPOLIS - Carl Pavano kept up his recent surge with a complete-game six-hitter in Minnesota's win over Chicago.
Pavano (4-5) walked three, struck out five, and recorded six one-pitch outs against the free-swinging White Sox, who had won nine of their previous 13 games. The righthander is 2-0 with a 1.44 ERA over his last three starts.
Delmon Young's two-run single capped a three-run second inning against Gavin Floyd (6-6), who also went the distance.
Chicago 000 001 000 – 1 6 0
Minnesota 003 000 01x – 4 11 0
Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Pierre lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .258
Al.Ramirez ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .293
Quentin rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .265
Konerko 1b 3 0 0 0 1 1 .319
Pierzynski c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .279
Rios cf 2 0 0 0 1 0 .210
A.Dunn dh 2 0 1 0 1 0 .183
Beckham 2b 3 1 1 0 0 0 .242
Morel 3b 3 0 1 1 0 1 .253
Totals 29 1 6 1 3 5
Minnesota AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Revere cf 4 1 2 0 0 0 .282
A.Casilla ss 4 1 2 1 0 1 .268
Cuddyer rf 3 2 2 0 1 1 .278
D.Young dh 4 0 1 2 0 0 .246
L.Hughes 1b 4 0 1 0 0 3 .269
Valencia 3b 4 0 1 1 0 0 .218
Dinkelman lf 3 0 2 0 1 0 .286
Repko lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .170
Tolbert 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .193
Butera c 3 0 0 0 0 1 .169
Totals 33 4 11 4 2 6
LOB: Chicago 4, Minnesota 7. 2B: Al.Ramirez (17), A.Dunn (11), Beckham (8), Revere (2), A.Casilla (9), Valencia (12). RBIs: Morel (14), A.Casilla (13), D.Young 2 (19), Valencia (28). SB: Revere (6), A.Casilla (10), Cuddyer 3 (6). RLSP: Chicago 3 (Pierre, Pierzynski 2); Minnesota 4 (D.Young, Valencia, A.Casilla, Tolbert). RA: Beckham. GIDP: Pierre, Pierzynski, A.Dunn, Beckham, Valencia. DP: Chicago 2 (Konerko, Al.Ramirez, Floyd), (Morel, Konerko); Minnesota 4 (Tolbert, A.Casilla, L.Hughes), (L.Hughes, A.Casilla, Pavano), (Pavano, A.Casilla, L.Hughes), (A.Casilla, Tolbert, L.Hughes).
Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Floyd (L 6-6) 8 11 4 4 2 6 117 3.94
Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Pavano (W 4-5) 9 6 1 1 3 5 96 4.20
IBB: off Floyd (Dinkelman). Umpires: Home, Wally Bell; first, Laz Diaz; second, Manny Gonzalez; third, Scott Barry. T: 2:06. A: 37,437 (39,500).
Yankees 12, Rangers 4
NEW YORK - Mark Teixeira hit two-run homers from each side of the plate to power New York over Texas.
Eduardo Nunez and Ramiro Pena also homered as New York handed Texas its fourth straight loss. The Yankees routed the Rangers by the same score Tuesday.
Texas 202 000 000 – 4 10 0
New York 210 123 03x – 12 12 1
Texas AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Kinsler 2b 3 2 2 1 2 0 .236
Andrus ss 4 1 2 0 1 0 .278
J.Hamilton lf 5 1 3 1 0 0 .292
Mi.Young dh 3 0 1 1 1 1 .306
A.Beltre 3b 3 0 0 1 0 0 .262
N.Cruz rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .221
Moreland 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .303
Torrealba c 4 0 1 0 0 1 .253
En.Chavez cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .361
Totals 34 4 10 4 4 4
New York AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Swisher rf 3 1 1 0 2 0 .229
Dickerson rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
Granderson cf 3 2 0 1 1 1 .278
Teixeira 1b 5 3 3 4 0 0 .257
Al.Rodriguez dh 3 1 0 0 2 0 .284
Cano 2b 5 1 2 3 0 1 .286
An.Jones lf 2 1 1 1 1 0 .221
Gardner lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 .279
E.Nunez ss 4 1 2 1 1 0 .250
Cervelli c 3 0 1 1 1 0 .185
R.Pena 3b 4 2 2 1 0 0 .500
Totals 34 12 12 12 8 3
E: E.Nunez (7). LOB: Texas 8, New York 7. 2B: J.Hamilton (12), Swisher (12). HR: Kinsler (8), off Nova; Teixeira (20), off D.Holland; E.Nunez (2), off D.Holland; R.Pena (1), off M.Lowe; Teixeira (21), off M.Lowe; Cano (14), off Feliz. RBIs: Kinsler (24), J.Hamilton (24), Mi.Young (43), A.Beltre (49), Granderson (52), Teixeira 4 (53), Cano 3 (45), An.Jones (11), E.Nunez (9), Cervelli (11), R.Pena (1). SB: Kinsler (13), Al.Rodriguez (4), Cano (6), E.Nunez 2 (8), Cervelli (3). SF: A.Beltre. RLSP: Texas 3 (N.Cruz 2, Andrus); New York 4 (E.Nunez 2, Teixeira, Swisher). RA: A.Beltre, Granderson, Al.Rodriguez, Cano. GIDP: N.Cruz, E.Nunez. DP: Texas 1 (D.Holland, Andrus, Moreland); New York 2 (E.Nunez, Cano, Teixeira), (Teixeira).
Texas IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
D.Holland (L 5-2) 5 7 6 6 5 0 103 4.78
M.Lowe 1 2 3 3 1 2 31 5.00
D.Oliver 1 1 0 0 1 0 24 2.84
Feliz 1 2 3 3 1 1 24 2.31
New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Nova (W 6-4) 52/3 7 4 4 3 2 89 4.46
Ayala (H 1) 11/3 2 0 0 1 1 15 1.25
Wade 1 0 0 0 0 1 13 0.00
Marquez 1 1 0 0 0 0 14 3.00
IR-S: Ayala 1-0. HBP: by D.Holland (Granderson). WP: Nova. Umpires: Home, Mike Winters; first, Mike Everitt; second, Chris Guccione; third, Cory Blaser. T: 3:20. A: 45,969 (50,291).
Indians 6, Tigers 4
DETROIT - Orlando Cabrera had a go-ahead double in the fifth inning to lead Cleveland past Detroit.
Cleveland (36-30) pulled back ahead of Detroit (37-31) at the top of the AL Central by a percentage point.
The Indians broke through with four runs in the fourth inning to win it.
Cleveland 000 410 100 – 6 13 0
Detroit 300 100 000 – 4 8 1
Cleveland AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
G.Sizemore cf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .246
C.Santana 1b 4 0 1 0 1 1 .221
Brantley lf 5 0 0 0 0 2 .278
A.Cabrera ss 5 1 1 0 0 1 .296
Choo rf 4 3 2 0 1 0 .236
LaPorta dh 4 1 2 2 0 1 .247
O.Cabrera 2b 4 1 3 2 0 0 .251
Hannahan 3b 2 0 1 0 1 0 .231
Marson c 3 0 2 1 0 0 .239
Totals 35 6 13 6 3 5
Detroit AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
A.Jackson cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .254
a-Dirks ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .254
Kelly 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .238
Boesch lf 4 1 1 2 1 0 .282
Mi.Cabrera 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .315
V.Martinez dh 4 1 2 0 0 1 .322
Ordonez rf 3 0 1 0 1 1 .173
Avila c 2 0 2 2 2 0 .304
Jh.Peralta ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .294
Santiago 2b 4 1 1 0 0 2 .237
Totals 34 4 8 4 4 8
a-struck out for A.Jackson in the 9th. E: Boesch (2). LOB: Cleveland 8, Detroit 8. 2B: O.Cabrera (9), V.Martinez 2 (19). HR: Boesch (9), off Carmona. RBIs: G.Sizemore (18), LaPorta 2 (31), O.Cabrera 2 (30), Marson (7), Boesch 2 (36), Avila 2 (38). S: Hannahan, Marson, Kelly. SF: G.Sizemore. RLSP: Cleveland 4 (Hannahan, Brantley, Marson, C.Santana); Detroit 4 (Jh.Peralta 3, Mi.Cabrera). RA: G.Sizemore, LaPorta, Boesch. GIDP: G.Sizemore, C.Santana, Mi.Cabrera. DP: Cleveland 1 (A.Cabrera, O.Cabrera, C.Santana); Detroit 2 (Jh.Peralta, Mi.Cabrera), (Mi.Cabrera, Jh.Peralta, Penny).
Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Carmona (W 4-8) 5 8 4 4 2 3 103 5.79
R.Perez (H 6) 1 0 0 0 0 1 15 1.32
Pestano (H 8) 11/3 0 0 0 1 1 15 1.52
Sipp (H 13) 2/3 0 0 0 1 1 13 2.22
C.Perez (S 17-18) 1 0 0 0 0 2 14 2.49
Detroit IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Penny 31/3 8 4 4 2 0 73 4.93
Furbush (L 1-1) 12/3 3 1 1 1 2 41 2.00
Schlereth 11/3 1 1 0 0 2 14 2.61
Alburquerque 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 8 2.53
Purcey 2 1 0 0 0 1 20 2.35
IR-S: Furbush 2-1, Alburquerque 1-1. WP: Penny, Alburquerque. Umpires: Home, Brian Runge; first, D.J. Reyburn; second, Ted Barrett; third, Tim McClelland. T: 3:34. A: 26,711 (41,255).