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BOSTON – Derek Lowe became the American League’s first 16-game winner, outdueling Barry Zito with seven strong innings as the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 4-2 Thursday night. 

The matchup of two of the AL’s three pitchers with 15 wins met expectations as Lowe (16-5) allowed five hits and Zito (15-5) gave up seven in eight innings. Boston’s Pedro Martinez is 15-2. Curt Schilling of Arizona leads the majors with 18 wins. 

The A’s did something that none of Lowe’s three previous opponents managed to do. They scored against the majors’ ERA leader, who lowered his mark from 2.13 to 2.09. 

Miguel Tejada’s solo homer in the sixth made the score 3-1, and ended Lowe’s scoreless streak at 29 2-3 innings, longest in the majors this season and the longest since Greg Maddux’s 39 1-3 innings in September 2000. This year’s previous longest streak was 27 innings by Mark Guthrie of the New York Mets. 

Lowe’s streak might still be intact if he had stuck with his outstanding sinkerball. Instead, he left a curveball over the plate on an 0-2 pitch to Tejada, who hit his 26th homer of the year. 

Of Lowe’s 21 outs, only one reached the outfield. He got 12 outs on grounders, six on strikeouts and two on popups to shortstop Nomar Garciaparra and catcher Jason Varitek. 

Bobby Howry pitched a perfect eighth and Ugueth Urbina got his 26th save despite allowing a solo homer to David Justice. 

Zito pitched his first complete game of the year but never led. 

The Red Sox went ahead 1-0 in the second on a walk to Manny Ramirez, a single by Cliff Floyd and a sacrifice fly by Jason Varitek. They made it 3-0 in the fifth when a leadoff walk to Rey Sanchez and a double by Johnny Damon put runners on second and third. Trot Nixon then hit a sacrifice fly for the first out and Garciaparra followed with a single for his 92nd RBI. 

In the eighth, Floyd hit his first homer since being obtained last week from Montreal and 22nd of the season. 

Lowe retired the first four batters on three grounders and a strikeout before Eric Chavez singled in the second. Terrence Long singled before Lowe ended the threat by striking out Greg Myers. 

The former closer allowed singles to Ray Durham and Tejada in the third then retired eight straight batters before one of his infrequent curveballs was hit over the left-field wall by Tejada. 

Justice then walked, but Lowe ended the inning by striking out the next two hitters. 

Zito had more trouble than Lowe but worked out of several jams. 

In the second, he retired the next two batters after Boston put runners at first and second with one out. In the third, he got Floyd to ground into an inning-ending double play. 

And in the fifth, with Garciaparra at first and one out, he got Ramirez and Floyd, the fourth and fifth hitters, to fly out. 

Notes: Garciaparra struck out in four consecutive at bats before his RBI single in the fifth. ... Floyd’s single in the second was his first hit at Fenway Park with Boston in seven at bats. He is 7-for-13 on the road since being obtained from Montreal last week. ... CF Terrence Long was booed on several at bats. His catch of Ramirez’s drive that cleared the low fence in right-center robbed Ramirez of a three-run homer that ended Wednesday’s 3-2 Oakland win instead of winning to for Boston.