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May 29, 2007
RED SOX 4
INDIANS 2
BOSTON - The streaking Red Sox rode seven strong innings from Josh Beckett and homers from Jason Varitek and Kevin Youkilis to register a 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians tonight at Fenway Park. The first-place Sox have now won a season-high five games and six of their last seven.
Beckett came off the disabled list earlier today to make his first start since tearing skin off the tip of his right middle finger back on May 13. He gave up a first inning single but retired 16 of the next 17 hitters to cruise into the seventh inning with a 4-0 lead. The Indians scored two runs off Beckett in the seventh before he left the game after scattering three hits and striking out seven batters.
Relievers Brendan Donnelly and Javier Lopez worked the eighth inning and Japanese lefty Hideki Okajima picked up his fourth save of the season in the ninth. Beckett earned the win and remains the only unbeaten (8-0) starting pitcher in baseball.
The Red Sox scored a single run in the first inning off losing pitcher Jeremy Sowers (1-5) when Julio Lugo reached on a bunt single and the sizzling hot Youkilis laced an RBI double off the left field wall. The Sox didn’t hit Sowers again until the fifth inning when Varitek crushed his fifth home run of the season high over the Monster Seats in left.
Boston’s second homer of the game came an inning later when Youkilis hit a hot liner that cleared the wall in left. The Sox extended the lead to 4-0 when Mike Lowell doubled and Indian pitchers walked the next three hitters to force in a run.
Youkilis remained the hottest hitter in baseball. His two hits extended his hitting streak to 21 games and he’s had two or more hits in nine straight games. The last Red Sox to deliver two or more hits in nine straight games was Jim Rice back in his MVP season of 1978.
The Red Sox and Indians wrap up their three-game series Wednesday night at Fenway.
KEVIN McNAMARA
Posted by Kevin 
at 9:54 PM | Permalink
