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BOSTON (AP) -The
Boston Red Sox
offense overcame its season-long struggles in a big way on Friday night.
The
Red Sox
rallied from a seven-run deficit, sparked by home runs by
Jason Bay
and J.D. Drew, to defeat the
Baltimore Orioles
10-8.
''We have the ability to have two or three guys not on their games and still score a lot of runs,'' said Bay, who broke an
8-8 tie with a sacrifice fly off
Danys Baez
(0-1) in the eighth inning to score
Dustin Pedroia
.
Bay was 1-for-3 with three RBIs, Drew was 2-for-2 with three runs scored and Pedroia was 3-for-4 with a double.
''He's a huge part of our offense,'' Bay said of Drew. ''He's an on-base machine when he's going well.
''I don't think it's a huge coincidence he gets on, Petey (Pedroia) gets a couple of hits and we score a bunch of runs.''
The Orioles raced out to a 7-0 lead in the second inning, keyed by
Nick Markakis
' grand slam, and chased
Brad Penny
, making his first start at Fenway for the
Red Sox
, in the third.
The
Red Sox
rallied for four runs in the bottom of the inning. Drew walked and Bay homered into the Orioles' bullpen off Orioles starter
Jeremy Guthrie
. The
Red Sox
added two more runs in the inning on an RBI single by
Jacoby Ellsbury
and
David Ortiz
's sacrifice fly.
Manny Delcarmen
was the first of five relievers to combine for six scoreless innings, allowing only an RBI double to Markakis - the run was
charged to Penny - in the fourth. He gave way to
Javier Lopez
in the sixth.
''Their bullpen did a tremendous job,'' Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. ''Their bullpen did a great job coming in and
getting big outs in key situations. That was the difference in the game.''
Drew homered to lead off the third, cutting it to 7-5.
''I was just trying to get a pitch I could handle and they were throwing too many pitches out of the zone. I got a couple
of pitches out over the plate I could hit and finally put a swing on the ball they couldn't catch,'' Drew said.
Markakis made it 8-5 with an RBI double in the fourth.
But Drew keyed the
Red Sox
again, this time with a two-out triple in the fifth. Guthrie walked Bay and Lowell to load the bases.
''He took some really good swings,''
Red Sox
manager
Terry Francona
said. ''He got some pitches he could handle, didn't chase out of the zone and then hit him with authority.''
Aubrey Huff
then committed an error on a grounder by
Jason Varitek
, as Drew scored Boston's sixth run.
Nick Green
followed with a two-run double, tying the game 8-8.
''It's a play you've got to make,'' Huff said. ''I take full credit for that one.''
The Orioles threatened in the eighth.
Ramon Ramirez
allowed singles to
Brian Roberts
and
Adam Jones
.
Hideki Okajima
relieved and got Markakis to fly out, moving both runners into scoring position. But Okajima struck out Huff swinging to end
the inning.
Ramirez (1-0), acquired in the offseason for
Coco Crisp
, relieved Lopez in the sixth and earned his first win with the
Red Sox
.
Jonathan Papelbon
pitched the ninth for his third save.
Markakis was 2-for 4 with five RBIs, including a grand slam.
Penny allowed the first four batters in the second to reach base, including a four-pitch walk to
Ryan Freel
, which gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead. Penny retired
Cesar Izturis
, but Roberts singled and Jones walked on four pitches to give the Orioles a 3-0 lead.
Markakis then hit the second pitch from Penny over the center-field wall, giving the Orioles a 7-0 lead. It was his second
homer of the season and the second grand slam of his career, the other was against Kansas City on April 13, 2007.
The seven runs were the most scored in an inning this season by the Orioles and the most allowed by the
Red Sox
.
Notes: Bay earned his 500th career RBI on his second-inning homer. ...
Pumpsie Green
threw out the first pitch. The
Red Sox
honored the former infielder on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his breaking the color barrier for the team in 1959.
... Roberts, who started the season 6-for-6 with runners in scoring position, including his base hit in the second, had his
streak snapped when he grounded out to
Kevin Youkilis
in the third inning. ... Izturis is 0-for-16 in the first four games of a seven-game trip. ... Youkilis and Bay have both
reached safely in all 10 of Boston's games. ... The Orioles have lost all four of Guthrie's career starts at Fenway.
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