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Lowell, Youkilis propel Red Sox to fourth straight win

May 6, 2008 - 4:06 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis both blasted two-run home runs Monday to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 6-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a four-game series.

David Ortiz also homered and drove in two runs and Daisuke Matsuzaka (5-0) tossed five solid innings for the Red Sox, who have won four consecutive games and six of their last seven contests.

Lowell gave Boston an early 2-0 edge with his first home run of the season, sending a 1-0 offering from Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman (2-3) over the left-center field wall in the second frame.

"It felt good," Lowell said. "I haven't had a lot of success against Bonderman, so this was a good win for us."

After Lowell doubled to lead off the fourth, Youkilis crushed his fourth homer of the campaign to left to extend the Red Sox's advantage to 4-0. Before the blast, Youkilis was 0-for-13 lifetime against Bonderman.

Lowell nearly had another homer in the seventh, but outfielder Gary Sheffield made a catch at the left field wall to take a potential three-run shot away from the 11-year veteran.

Matsuzaka yielded just one run and two hits with one strikeout and a season-high eight walks. The Japanese righthander did not allow a hit over the first three innings, but relinquished five walks and threw 70 pitches in that span.

"Basically, we let a real good pitcher - who wasn't a real good pitcher tonight - off the hook," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said.

Matsuzaka had cold-like symptoms throughout the day.

"He pitched with a lot of heart. He got through it," Boston manager Terry Francona said of his starter. "He competes. He didn't have his best stuff or feel 100 percent physically, but tonight it was enough."

Matsuzaka didn't use his illness as an excuse for his control troubles.

"My command was off. That was the biggest problem today," he said through a interpreter. "Even though I could not throw a lot of strikes, (catcher Jason) Varitek did a good job."

Craig Hansen and Hideki Okajima bridged the gap to Jonathan Papelbon, who threw a perfect ninth for his 10th save in as many chances this season.

Curtis Granderson picked up Detroit's first hit with two outs in the fourth, delivering an RBI single to center field. Marcus Thames added a two-run single in the seventh to cut the deficit to 5-3.

The Tigers, who have lost four straight games, are 0-16 this season when failing to score five runs or more.

"If you're not frustrated at this point as a player, you're in the wrong business," Bonderman said.

Bonderman pitched six frames, allowing four runs and seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

"I think I threw the ball really well," Bonderman said. "The two home runs they hit were good pitches."