FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – Brad Penny pitched three hitless innings in his spring training debut and the Boston Red Sox hit four consecutive homers in a 7-6 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday in front of a record crowd of 8,278 at City of Palms Park.

Earlier in the day, injured Red Sox ace Curt Schilling announced his retirement after missing all of last season with a shoulder ailment. Penny is coming back from shoulder trouble that limited him to 19 outings and a 6.27 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers last year.

“It was nice. I felt good,” he said. “It has been a while since I’ve gone out there and felt good. Last year I went out, and I was pitching but I didn’t really feel like I had a lot behind it. Today was good. It was another step just allowing me to get my innings and my pitches. I don’t know how many pitches I threw but I felt pretty good.”

Penny, who was scratched from a scheduled start March 4 against Puerto Rico, walked one and struck out three.

“I thought the ball came out of his hand really well,” Francona said. “And just as importantly, he came out in the first inning and really let the ball go, and then he followed it up in his next two innings.

“Had real good life on his fastball. He was out there grunting and letting it fly. And that’s what we’re looking for, grip it and go. I think he was excited,” Francona added. “I think it was a good step for him and we all felt good about it. A lot of excitement in the dugout today because of how he threw.”

Mike Lowell, Jason Bay, Chris Carter, and Ivan Ochoa hit consecutive homers to left field off Brandon Lyon in the sixth inning for Boston.

“(It’s) still fun to watch,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of the home runs. “I know it won’t help us during the season, but we’ll take it.”

Carter said: “I was definitely thinking, ‘Let’s go deep, three in a row.’ But I didn’t overswing. It was fun.”

Lyon, signed in the offseason to be Detroit’s closer, worked one inning. He wasn’t too troubled by the outburst, saying it was his pitching style to go right at batters.

“I’m an aggressive pitcher,” Lyon said. “I like to keep the ball over the plate. You have days like this sometimes when you’re that way. Unfortunately, it went like this for me. But there’ll be better days.”

Right-hander Edwin Jackson pitched four scoreless innings for the Tigers, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out one.

The Tigers scored three runs in the eighth inning, ending a streak of 17 scoreless innings that included being no-hit by the Marlins on Sunday. But they scored the runs without a hit.

T.J. Large walked five and Jose Vaquedano added another. Gary Sheffield’s sacrifice fly accounted for the first run.

Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis, who returned from the World Baseball Classic Wednesday with a mild sprain of his left ankle and mild Achilles’ tendinitis in his left foot, also made his Grapefruit League debut and played four innings in the field, going 0-for-1 with a walk. He is scheduled to play again Wednesday and Friday.

Red Sox reliever Takashi Saito pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and a walk. The Tigers’ Francisco Rodney yielded three runs on three hits and two walks in one inning.

The previous high for attendance in the 17-year history of the park was 8,249 in 2007 against the Dodgers.

AP-ES-03-23-09 1823EDT

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