Schmidt’s One-Hitter Stifles Red Sox

Few pitchers have the luxury of sitting back and comparing their one-hitters -- especially when they came only about a month apart.

Jason Schmidt has shown that he’s unlike most pitchers, able to shut down even the toughest lineups.

Schmidt pitched his second one-hitter of the season to win his ninth decision in a row, and Edgardo Alfonzo hit a grand slam for his second big hit in as many days, leading the Giants to a 4-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday in San Francisco.

“I like this one better,” Schmidt said, comparing it with his 1-0 win against the Chicago Cubs on May 18. “I can say today I actually felt good. I felt sharp. All my pitches were working. It felt smooth today.”

Before last month, no Giant pitcher had thrown a one-hitter since Scott Garrelts in 1990. No San Francisco pitcher had put together two games as good as Schmidt has in one season since Gaylord Perry threw a no-hitter and a one-hitter in 1968.

But the Giants expect brilliance from Schmidt (9-2), who won the NL earned-run title last season and has matched the longest winning streak for a Giant pitcher since Rick Reu- schel also won nine in a row in 1989. The only blemish in 133 pitches was Kevin Youkilis’ clean double to lead off the sixth inning.

Schmidt struck out nine and walked two in his 15th career shutout and the first against Boston since Sept. 17.

Toronto 3, San Diego 0 -- Light-hitting Orlando Hudson homered and drove in two runs, and Miguel Batista (5-5) flirted with his second shutout in three starts at San Diego to help the Blue Jays hand the Padres their seventh loss in eight games.

Texas 4, Florida 2 -- Hank Blalock hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning to help the Rangers complete a weekend sweep of the Marlins at Miami.

Blalock’s homer off newly acquired reliever Billy Koch came after Texas closer Francisco Cordero blew a save in the ninth and prevented Kenny Rogers from becoming the first 10-game winner in the majors.

Chicago Cubs 5, Oakland 3 -- Moises Alou hit a two-run homer, and Carlos Zambrano won his fourth decision in a row to lead the Cubs at Chicago. Zambrano (8-2) outpitched Oakland starter Barry Zito (4-4), giving up one run and five hits and striking out eight in 6 2/3 innings.

Montreal 4, Chicago White Sox 2 -- Orlando Cabrera hit a two-run homer off Jon Garland with one out in the ninth inning in the Expos’ victory at Montreal. Garland (5-4), who retired the first 16 batters he faced, pitched his second career complete game and first of the season.

Cleveland 5, Atlanta 2 -- Jason Davis (2-5) threw seven solid innings at Atlanta to win for the first time in almost seven weeks and also hit his first major league home run to help the Indians hand the Braves their eighth loss in 12 games.

N.Y. Mets 6, Detroit 1 -- Richard Hidalgo homered for his first hit with the Mets, Mike Piazza also homered and the Mets completed a three-game sweep at New York.

Philadelphia 8, Kansas City 2 -- Jim Thome hit a pair of two-run homers, and Jimmy Rollins had an inside-the-park home run to lead the Phillies at Philadelphia.

Seattle 5, Pittsburgh 4 -- Ichiro Suzuki hit a go-ahead double in a three-run seventh inning, and the Mariners finally gave Freddy Garcia (4-6) some run support in completing a three-game sweep at Pittsburgh.

The Mariners hadn’t scored with Garcia in the game during his last two starts, and were held to one run or shut out in eight of his 14 starts.

Minnesota 4, Milwaukee 2 -- Johan Santana (5-4) struck out a season-high 12 in eight innings and drove in a run to lift the Twins at Milwaukee.

Baltimore 4, Colorado 2 -- Brian Roberts hit a grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning at Denver, helping the Orioles end a seven-game losing streak.