DETROIT, 7 May 2005 — Bronson Arroyo took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, and David Ortiz’s tiebreaking double in the ninth sent the Boston Red Sox over the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Thursday.
With two outs, Ortiz hit a line drive to right-center off Ugueth Urbina (0-3) to score Trot Nixon from first, giving the Red Sox their fifth win in six games.
“I was just praying to get a hit. I hadn’t had a hit in a long time,” said Ortiz, whose only previous hit in the four-game series was Monday. “I was happy to get an RBI, especially for Bronson.” Arroyo (4-0) allowed three hits and two walks while striking out eight in eight innings, his longest outing of the season.
Twins 9 Indians 0
At Minneapolis, Brad Radke pitched a three-hitter, and Jason Bartlett’s homer sparked a five-run fifth inning in the Minnesota Twins’ testy victory over Cleveland.
Both benches emptied when Shannon Stewart and Cleveland reliever Jason Davis got into a confrontation near the plate after Stewart scored in the seventh. Davis had hit Stewart with a pitch, but no punches were thrown and there was no further trouble.
Radke (3-3) shed his first-inning woes, striking out eight in his 10th career shutout and 36th complete game.
For Cleveland, C.C. Sabathia (2-1) gave up five runs and nine hits in 4 2-3 innings.
White Sox 2 Royals 1
At Chicago, Jose Contreras pitched four-hit ball for eight innings, and the Chicago White Sox scored twice in the eighth to win their fifth straight, and achieve the best record in the major leagues at 21-7.
Contreras (1-0) outpitched Royals starter Zack Greinke (0-3), who had never pitched more than seven innings in his career, and allowed two hits in 7 1-3 innings.
Contreras struck out six and walked one in his longest outing of the season. Shingo Takatsu walked two in the ninth but earned his eighth save in nine opportunities.€
Devil Rays 6 Yankees 2
At St. Petersburg, Florida, the struggling New York Yankees dropped their third straight to low-budget Tampa Bay, falling into a tie for last place in the American League East.
Mark Hendrickson pitched effectively into the eighth inning, and Alex Sanchez homered and scored four times for the Devil Rays, who won a series against the Yankees for the first time since September 2002 by taking three of four from the seven-time defending division champions.
Aubrey Huff and Josh Phelps drove in two runs apiece off Chien-Ming Wang (0-1).
New York (11-18) has lost seven of its last nine games and four consecutive series to plunge seven games under .500 for the first time since July 18, 1995, when it was 33-40. The Yankees share the AL East cellar with the Devil Rays, who have won four of six meetings between the teams after going 4-15 against New York last season.
Brewers Earn Seventh Straight Win€
In Milwaukee, Carlos Lee’s bloop single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Milwaukee Brewers their seventh straight victory, 6-5 over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.
“That’s baseball,” said Brady Clark, who matched a career high with four hits. “You play 162 games, so anything is bound to happen.”
Clark led off the ninth with an infield single against reliever LaTroy Hawkins (1-2) and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by pinch-hitter Jeff Cirillo.
“It’s good when you can manufacture runs like that,” Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. “We’re doing the little things to win ballgames.”
After Geoff Jenkins struck out, Lee sent a soft fly to shallow right that second baseman Jerry Hairston couldn’t reach.
Derrick Turnbow (3-1) blew a save opportunity in the ninth but earned the win. Chicago lost its fifth straight game to fall a season-low three games under .500.
Aramis Ramirez hit a solo homer with two outs in the ninth off Turnbow to tie the score at 5. Michael Barrett had a two-run shot for the Cubs.
Chad Moeller homered in the eighth to give Milwaukee a 5-4 lead. Pinch-hitter Wes Helms also connected for the Brewers.
Mets 7 Phillies 5
At New York, David Wright shattered his bat against the ground after striking out with the bases loaded in the third inning, then hit a tiebreaking double in the fifth to lead the New York Mets past Philadelphia.
Mike Piazza had four hits, including a three-run homer to end a 1-for-21 slide.
Starting Mets pitcher Kris Benson, on the disabled list since the start of the season because of a strained chest muscle, allowed two runs and five hits in 4 2-3 innings, wasting a 2-1 lead when he hit Pat Burrell with a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth.
Aaron Heilman (3-2) relieved for just the second time in his major league career, allowed one hit in 3 1-3 innings, striking out five.
Vicente Padilla (0-4) gave up four runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings for the Phillies.€
Braves 9 Astros 3
At Atlanta, John Thomson pitched a three-hitter, Adam LaRoche had a career-high four RBIs and Atlanta cruised past slumping Houston.
LaRoche, who has seven RBIs over the past two games, hit a three-run homer over the center-field wall in the first inning.
Thomson (3-2) gave up two runs in the first, but retired 27 of the last 29 hitters he faced in a dominating performance. He also had an RBI single in the sixth, when the Braves blew open the game with their second four-run inning. It was his first complete game since August 2003.
