Beckett relentless as Tigers stifled

Josh Beckett carries a no-hitter into the seventh inning and allows only two hits in seven and two thirds innings as the Boston Red Sox down the Detroit Tigers.

Josh Beckett was the key man for the Boston Red Sox in their victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Josh Beckett carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and allowed only two hits in seven and two thirds innings as the Boston Red Sox downed the Detroit Tigers 10-5 to draw level with the New York Yankees at the top of the American League East. A two-run homer in the first inning put Boston on top and Beckett retired 18 consecutive batters and held a 4-0 lead when his no-hit bid was finally broken up by Curtis Granderson's single with two outs in the seventh.

"It was a tight game at that time. I was just trying to get outs," Beckett said later. His teammate Dustin Pedroia was all praise when he said: "He looked great. It's good to see him throw the ball like that. He dominated." The Red Sox scored six runs in the eighth with David Ortiz doubling in two runs with the bases loaded before the Tigers broke up Beckett's shut-out bid by scoring five runs in the top of the eighth.

The Yankees, meanwhile, fell into a tie with their longtime rivals after going down 4-2 to the American League (AL) West-leading Texas Rangers. The Toronto Blue Jays were still two games behind the leaders after losing 8-1 to the Los Angeles Angels, who got 10 strike-outs from Jered Weaver who allowed just one run in seven innings. Ichiro Suzuki extended his Seattle Mariners record by hitting safely in his 27th consecutive game. Suzuki grounded a single through the right side of the Baltimore Orioles' infield in the third inning on Wednesday.

He is now three games shy of the Major League's longest hitting streak this season, by Washington's Ryan Zimmerman. Jeff Niemann pitched a two-hit shut-out and Ben Zobrist hit a grand slam in the fourth to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 9-0 win over the Kansas City Royals, who have lost six consecutive games. In the National League, Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer off Chris Young with two outs at the top of the first to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to their sixth consecutive win as they swept a three-game series against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. Handed the early lead, JA Happ shut down the Padres.

* PA Sport