AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Yankees’ Key Becomes First 12-Game Winner

Even mild-mannered Jimmy Key is starting to get excited about his 11-game winning streak.

Key allowed six hits in eight innings Monday night and became the first 12-game winner in the majors as the New York Yankees beat the Red Sox, 5-1, at Boston.

It was the Yankees’ sixth consecutive victory and Boston’s 10th consecutive home loss.

Key (12-1) punched the air in triumph as he walked off the field after snaring a one-hop smash by Mike Greenwell to start an inning-ending double play in the sixth. The Yankees’ lead was 2-0 at the time, and Key had given up one-out singles by Mo Vaughn and Andre Dawson.

“I usually don’t show a lot of emotion, but I thought that was the play of the game,” Key said. “Mike hits me well. I was just happy I made a good pitch and made a good play.”

Greenwell’s shot was headed up the middle.

“We hit the ball hard, but we hit it at people,” Greenwell said. “With a guy like Key, he never lets you get in a comfort zone. He never throws you the same sequence.”

Key hasn’t lost since his second start of the season, a 5-2 defeat by Detroit on April 9. He has five of the Yankees’ 12 victories in June, and his 11-game winning streak is the longest in a season by a Yankee pitcher since Ron Guidry won 12 in a row in 1985.

“I’ve never had a streak like this where everything falls for me,” Key said. “Whether I pitch good or bad, I find a way to win and the team finds a way to win for me.”

Bob Wickman pitched a perfect ninth inning to preserve the win. Wickman had an 11-game winning streak for the Yankees that began in 1992 and lasted into 1993.

The Red Sox matched their second-longest skid at Fenway Park. Boston also lost 10 in a row at home in 1927, and had a 14-game losing streak at Fenway in 1926.

Aaron Sele (6-4) allowed four runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings for Boston. He matched his season-high of nine strikeouts.

Milwaukee 5, Toronto 1--Cal Eldred pitched a six-hitter at Milwaukee for his third consecutive complete game and the Brewers handed the Blue Jays their ninth consecutive loss. The Blue Jays’ skid is their longest since they lost 12 in a row in 1981.

Eldred (9-7), who had three-hitters in his last two starts, has five of the Brewers’ seven complete games.

Baltimore 7, Cleveland 6--Jeff Tackett, a .215 lifetime batter, led off the eighth inning at Cleveland with his first home run in two years and the Orioles handed the Indians their third loss in a row after an 18-game home winning streak.

Harold Baines hit his 12th home run for Baltimore, which led, 6-1, until the Indians scored four runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.

Tom Bolton (1-1) yielded one run and four hits in 2 2/3 innings to get the victory in relief of Ben McDonald, and Lee Smith struck out three in the ninth to earn his major league-leading 26th save.

Kansas City 2, Minnesota 1--Tom Gordon pitched five-hit ball for 7 1/3 innings at Minneapolis and the Royals scored two unearned runs in the fifth inning. Gordon (8-4) matched his season-high with eight strikeouts in winning for the fifth time in six decisions.

Detroit 11, Seattle 1--Tim Belcher allowed two hits in eight innings at Seattle and Mickey Tettleton hit a grand slam and drove in five runs as the Tigers ended a four-game losing streak and sent the Mariners to their fifth loss in a row.

Belcher (6-8) had a perfect game until second baseman Chris Gomez failed to catch a high pop fly in the sixth inning.