St. Petersburg, Fla. ? Two years ago, the Seattle Mariners converted Jorge Sosa from an outfielder to a pitcher. Thursday night, he showed his former organization that it was probably the correct move.

Sosa pitched a four-hitter, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays again blanked the Mariners, 1-0.

Combined with Doug Waechter’s two-hitter in his first major-league start Wednesday, the Devil Rays posted consecutive complete-game shutouts for the first time in their six-year history.

“Two wonderful games,” Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella said. “It shows you, if you make pitches, you focus, you concentrate and trust your stuff, you can do these sort of things. Both excellent ballgames.”

The Mariners had just two runners reach third base.

“We shouldn’t be shut out for 18 innings against guys like that,” Seattle manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s a hard thing to swallow right now because of the point of the season we’re in.”

The loss dropped Seattle one-half game behind Boston in the AL wild-card race. The Mariners are two games back of AL West-leading Oakland.

“We’ve had an opportunity to pick up some ground the last couple of games,” Melvin said. “These guys are playing well over there, but it’s a pitching staff that shouldn’t shut us out for two games. It’s two pitchers … it wasn’t even a staff.”

Damian Rolls’ RBI double in the second inning accounted for the only run.

“It’s awesome,” Rolls said. “It’s incredible for us. Sosa pitched his tail off.”

Ryan Franklin (9-12) lost despite pitching a six-hitter.

Sosa (5-9) struck out six and walked two in his first complete game in 29 career starts. He fanned Bret Boone three times.

Sosa won for the first time since July 31. He was later dropped from the rotation, then started and got a no-decision against the Mariners Aug. 28.

“He attacked,” Devil Rays catcher Toby Hall said. “He’s just coming after people.”

In 2001, Sosa was in the Mariners’ minor-league system and was converted from an outfielder to a pitcher. He went 3-1 with seven saves in 23 games between Class A Everett and Wisconsin.

Tigers 2, Indians 1

Detroit — Gary Knotts pitched effectively into the seventh inning, and Detroit won its third consecutive game. The Tigers (37-102) have won three straight for the first time since July 8-10 against the Chicago White Sox and just the fourth time this season. Detroit needs at least six wins in its final 23 games to avoid matching the post-1900 record of 120 losses in a season, set by the 1962 Mets. Cleveland, which had six hits, had won 12 of 16 games against the Tigers before losing the last three.

Knotts (3-5) gained his first major league win since May 24, allowing one run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings in his first start since being sent to Triple-A Toledo June 23.

Yankees 3, Blue Jays 2

Toronto — Jose Contreras rebounded from his worst start, and Karim Garcia hit a go-ahead double in the eighth inning as New York beat Toronto. Alfonso Soriano homered, and Garcia went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Yankees, who are 31/2 games ahead of Boston in the AL East.

The teams begin a three-game series tonight at Yankee Stadium, with Pedro Martinez pitching against New York’s Andy Pettitte.

Yankees manager Joe Torre held a team meeting before the game and told his players not to get frustrated. The Yankees were 5 1/2 games ahead of Boston after taking two of three from the Red Sox last weekend, then lost the first two of their three-game series in Toronto.

Contreras, who surrendered seven runs in just three innings against Boston Friday, allowed only two runs — one earned — in seven innings against Toronto. The Cuban right-hander struck out a season-high seven and walked three.

Orioles 7, Athletics 5

Baltimore — Brian Roberts and Larry Bigbie had two RBIs apiece, and Baltimore’s bullpen blunted a comeback bid by Oakland. It was Oakland’s second straight loss after a 10-game winning streak. The A’s, who limited Baltimore to 10 runs in the first seven games between the teams, yielded 16 in the final two.

Melvin Mora had two hits and scored twice for the Orioles, who won their second straight after a nine-game skid.

Billy McMillon and Eric Chavez hit successive homers in the third inning against Baltimore starter Damian Moss, who didn’t get out of the fifth despite being staked to an early 4-0 lead.