Boston ? Derek Lowe doesn’t give up many hits. In fact, teams rarely get the ball out of the infield against him.

Only four balls went that far as he allowed two hits in eight innings Monday night, leading the Boston Red Sox over the Chicago White Sox, 9-0.

Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra throws out Chicago's Mark Johnson at first base. The Red Sox routed the White Sox, 9-0, Monday at Fenway Park in Boston.

“You want to get the guys out and I don’t think any less of a fly ball out than I do a ground ball out,” he said.

His sinkerball is the best of his four pitches and has contributed to some eye-popping numbers for the converted closer, who failed in that role last year. In his previous start, he allowed five balls to the outfield in eight innings.

He is 7-1, hasn’t allowed a homer in 86 innings, leads the majors with a .158 batting average by opponents and is tops in the AL with a 1.90 ERA. And don’t forget his no-hitter April 27.

But he’s not letting it go to his head.

“It would be totally different if you saw somebody else doing it. You’d say, ‘That guy’s having a pretty good year,’ ” Lowe said. “But it’s me and I don’t think about it. I’m just going out trying to win a game.”

He’s already set a career high for wins. Boston’s 30-11 record is the best in the majors and the team’s second best 41-game mark in history.

“This team’s consistent,” third baseman Shea Hillenbrand said. “You can’t slack off” against any hitters.

The Red Sox got the runs they needed in a five-run fifth against Todd Ritchie (3-5). Hillenbrand’s three-run homer, his ninth of the year, landed in the first row of the right-field seats just to the left of the foul pole. It traveled just 303 feet.

“I told Hilly it’s just like real estate: location, location, location,” said Tony Clark, who hit a 380-foot single Sunday.

Ritchie allowed more than three earned runs for the first time in his 10 starts this season.

“I made mistakes up in the zone and they took advantage,” he said.

Lowe gave up a leadoff infield single to Kenny Lofton in the first inning and a two-out single to Jeff Liefer in the eighth. He faced two batters over the minimum, striking out seven and walking two.

“As a closer he was a power pitcher,” Chicago’s Jose Valentin said. “Now he’s learned to pitch. You’re always off-balance and he’s got great movement on the ball.”

Lowe pitched at least seven innings for the eighth time in nine starts. He pitched the first no-hitter at Fenway Park since 1965 in his fifth start of the season, beating Tampa Bay 10-0.

In his first start, he took a no-hit bid into the eighth before Baltimore’s Tony Batista reached on a leadoff single to Hillenbrand.

“I have confidence, but not to the point where I think I’m invincible,” Lowe said.

The suspense ended early Monday as Hillenbrand fielded Lofton’s high hopper but couldn’t throw out the speedy leadoff hitter. Lowe then got Ray Durham to ground into a double play and Magglio Ordonez to strike out.

Yankees 6, Blue Jays 3

New York Robin Ventura homered in his third straight game, a tiebreaking drive starting the seventh inning that led New York to its 12th win in 13 games. The Yankees, who have won five in a row, have homered in 12 straight games and have 24 in their last eight, giving them a major league-leading 72. Ramiro Mendoza (1-2) won in relief and Mariano Rivera got his 14th save. Felix Heredia (0-1) took the loss.

Tigers 4, Indians 3

Detroit Wendell Magee’s tiebreaking single in the seventh inning gave Detroit its first four-game winning streak of the year. Julio Santana (3-0) picked up the win in relief. Jamie Walker pitched a scoreless ninth for his first career save. Detroit trailed 3-2 heading into the seventh, but took the lead with a pair of unearned runs off Ricardo Rincon (0-2).