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Boston's Beckett holds Detroit hitless into 7th

Jun 4, 2009 - 3:26 AM 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.