TORONTO, 18 May 2004 — Roy Halladay pitched seven strong innings to outduel Pedro Martinez as the Toronto Blue Jays claimed a 3-1 win over the Boston Red Sox in American League play at the SkyDome on Sunday.
Halladay (4-4) lost two previous match-ups with Martinez but got the better of the Boston veteran this time as the Blue Jays managed a split of the four game series.
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner allowed one run on six hits, all of them singles, while striking out six and walking two. Jason Frasor pitched a scoreless eighth inning before Terry Adams came on in the ninth to pick up his third save.
Carlos Delgado provided all the offense the Blue Jays would need with a two-run homer off Martinez in the fourth inning.
Martinez (4-3) also went seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits, as the Red Sox dropped a half game behind the New York Yankees in the AL East.
Manny Ramirez drove in the lone Boston run with a single in the first inning.
In other games, Kevin Brown pitched 7 2/3 strong innings for his fifth win of the season as the New York Yankees eked out a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
In Cleveland, C.C. Sabathia pitched seven shutout innings, to guide the Indians to a 10-0 rout over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Sabathia (2-1) allowed five hits and struck out six. Travis Hafner and Ben Broussard both drove in four runs for the Tribe.
Jason Johnson and three relievers combined on a six-hitter for the Detroit Tigers in a 3-1 win over the Texas Rangers.
Johnson (2-5) allowed one run on five hits and struck out seven but had to leave the game with a blister after five innings.
In Kansas City, Bobby Crosby homered and had three hits, to help the Oakland Athletics battle past the Royals 6-2. Erubiel Durazo also homered for the A’s, who swept the three-game series, their first series sweep of the year.
Jose Valentin and Joe Crede both homered in an 11-0 romp for the Chicago White Sox over the Minnesota Twins.
Mark Buehrle (3-1) allowed seven hits while striking out seven over 6 2?3 innings to get the win. Valentin drove in four runs while Magglio Ordonez had three RBI.
Sidney Ponson pitched a complete game five-hitter as the Baltimore Orioles blanked the Anaheim Angels 4-0. Ponson (3-3) struck out four and walked one.
Sheets Strikes Out 18 to Set Brewers Franchise Record
Ben Sheets struck out 18 batters — a Milwaukee franchise record — to lead the Brewers to a 4-1 home win over the Atlanta Braves in National League play on Sunday.
It was the most strikeouts in one game by a pitcher since Randy Johnson tied the major league record with 20 on May 8, 2001 against the Cincinnati Reds.
Sheets previous high for one game was 10, which he has done twice this season, and the previous Brewers franchise record was 14 by Moose Haas April 12, 1978 against the New York Yankees.
He completed his three-hitter by striking out the side in the ninth inning and by fanning six of the last seven batters he faced he wrapped up a fourth career complete game.
Sheets threw 116 pitches, 91 of them for strikes, and walked only one batter.
Lyle Overbay had three hits and drove in two runs for the Brewers, while Bill Hall had two hits and an RBI.
Geoff Jenkins drove in the other run for Milwaukee with a sacrifice fly.
Andruw Jones homered in the seventh inning for the Braves lone run.
In other games, Jason Phillips homered in the 13th inning, giving the New York Mets a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros.
Mike Piazza tied the game in the ninth inning with a homer off Octavio Dotel, denying Roger Clemens his eighth win of the season. Clemens pitched seven shutout innings and struck out 10.
In St. Louis, Juan Pierre hit a two-run double to lead the Florida Marlins to a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, avoiding a series sweep.
Jeromy Burnitz drove in four runs, including the winner in the eighth inning with a single, to guide the Colorado Rockies to a 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Tim Harikkala (1-0) got two outs in relief for his first major league win in five years. Shawn Chacon pitched the ninth for his 10th save.
Rob Mackowiak homered twice and had four RBI as the Pittsburgh Pirates mauled the slumping San Francisco Giants 8-1.
Kip Wells (3-4) went five innings for the win, allowing one run on seven hits to lead the Pirates to a three-game series sweep, while Abraham Nunez also homered.
Jose Macias hit a tie-breaking homerun to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 4-2 win over the San Diego Padres. Michael Barrett also homered for the Cubs, who moved into a first place tie with Houston in the NL Central.
Francis Beltran (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, while Joe Borowski pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save and 21st in a row dating back to last season, breaking Randy Myers club record.
Adam Dunn had three hits, including a two-run double, as the Cincinnati Reds completed a three-game series sweep with a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Aaron Harang (4-1) allowed two runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings while Danny Graves pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save.
In Phoenix, Livan Hernandez pitched a six-hitter for his second complete game in 10 days, leading the Montreal Expos to a 6-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
