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Saturday, May 26 1:05pm ET
Boston suffers first shutout of the year

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

BOSTON (AP) -- A smile came over Chris Michalak's face when he realized he had helped hand the Boston Red Sox their first shutout of the season.


	Toronto's Chris Michalak, left, and Alberto Castillo talk movies and baseball.

"That was the first time, huh?" he said Saturday after scattering seven hits over eight innings to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-0 victory over Boston. "I'll have to put that in my scrapbook, then."

Michalak's scrapbook is getting pretty full this season.

After nine years in the minors, Michalak made his first major league start at Yankee Stadium on April 7. A Notre Dame graduate, he picked up the nickname "Rudy" for the movie he watched before pitching 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball to beat New York for his first victory.

On Saturday, Michalak popped in "Reservoir Dogs" and then threw eight scoreless innings, striking out three and walking one to improve his record to 5-3. He also was helped when the Red Sox ran into three outs on the basepaths, destroying their two best chances to score.

"You just have to be aggressive," Red Sox manager Jimy Williams said. "If you can take any base, you take it."

Paul Quantrill pitched a scoreless ninth, getting Jason Varitek to ground into a game-ending double play with runners on first and third. Boston had not been shut out since Sept. 24, a streak of 52 games that was the longest in the majors.

Toronto had lost its previous two games 3-1 and 4-0, failing to score in 21 consecutive innings before Alberto Castillo's solo homer in the fifth.

"Two days we've had great games but we lost by not scoring," said acting manager Cookie Rojas, who is filling in for Buck Martinez while he attends the funeral of his mother-in-law. "But this is a good-hitting ballclub."

Frank Castillo (5-3), who pitched for Toronto last season, allowed just three hits over the first six innings before giving up singles to the first two batters in the seventh. Castillo was the starter in the Blue Jays' last shutout, last Sept. 27 against Baltimore.

Castillo struck out nine and walked none before leaving with a 1-0 deficit, but Rich Garces allowed both inherited runners to score in the Blue Jays' three-run seventh.

With Raul Mondesi and Brian Simmons on base, Tony Batista doubled to make it 2-0. After Jose Cruz Jr. was intentionally walked to load the bases, Garces struck out Alberto Castillo looking on a close 3-2 pitch.

But Homer Bush followed with a run-scoring forceout, beating the relay to first base to make it 3-0. Shannon Stewart singled to drive in another run before Alex Gonzalez grounded out to end the inning.

Boston had a pair of singles in the first, but Carl Everett was picked off first base with Manny Ramirez, the leading RBI man in the majors, at the plate.

In the sixth, John Valentin was hit by a pitch, but he was thrown out trying to go to third on Everett's single. Everett was then caught trying to take second on a pitch in the dirt, leaving Ramirez with the bases empty and two outs instead of first and second with none out.

Game notes
Ramirez hasn't had an RBI in three games, his longest such slump since the first three games of the season. ... Hideo Nomo's one-hitter Friday was the third time a Boston pitcher has had a no-hitter and a one-hitter in the same season. Howard Ehmke did it in 1923, and Cy Young in 1908. ... Alberto Castillo's fifth-inning homer broke Frank Castillo's streak of 18 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. It also snapped a 21-inning scoreless streak for Toronto. ... Michalak is 2-3 in his last five starts after winning his first three. ... Carlos Delgado snapped out of a 1-for-19 slump with an eighth-inning double. ... Stewart's third-inning single extended his hitting streak to 16 games. ... Toronto batters have struck out 34 times in the last three games. ... Michalak has picked off four baserunners this season.