Wakefield pitches 8 shutout innings as Red Sox beat Tigs 5-0

Tim Wakefield only allowed two hits in eight shutout innings to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 5-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.

David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez also hit back-to-back homers on successive pitches in Boston´s fifth straight win and seventh in the last eight games. Detroit, which was shut out for the fifth time this season, has lost five straight.

Wakefield´s knuckler was in classic form as it befuddled the Tigers all night long as he improved his record to 3-1, with his first win since April 20. He had a season-high six strikeouts and didn´t walk a batter.

The only hits Wakefield allowed were Carlos Guillen´s two-out single in the first and Ivan Rodriguez´s double with two out in the eighth.

He retired 17 in a row from the first inning until second baseman Dustin Pedroia booted Guillen´s grounder for an error with one out in the seventh. Wakefield then retired Magglio Ordonez on a pop to short and Miguel Cabrera on a weak fly to left to end the inning.

Mike Timlin pitched the ninth, allowing a hit.

Tigers´ starter Nate Robertson (1-4) took the loss. He allowed four runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out four. He was pulled after allowing Ortiz´s home run with one out in the seventh. The drive deep into the right-field stands, estimated at 414 feet, was Ortiz´s seventh and second in two nights and made it 4-0.

Robertson was then replaced by rookie Freddy Dolsi, making his major league debut. Ramirez, who had three hits, hammered Dolsi´s first pitch over the centerfield fence, 420 feet away. It was Ramirez´s seventh homer and was estimated at 427 feet.

Boston took a 3-0 lead in the second on J.D. Drew´s RBI single, Kevin Cash´s run-scoring double and a Coco Crisp groundout.

(This version CORRECTS Red Sox 5, Tigers 0; SUBS 2nd graf to correct to Tigers shut out for fifth tie this season)