Ortiz Homers, Red Sox Beat Orioles 12-2
BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox, leaders in the American League East, opened a crucial seven-game homestand with a resounding 12-2 win over the contending Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.
David Price won his seventh straight start, Chris Young had a homer, two doubles and a single, and David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez (three RBIs) also homered to power the Red Sox's rout.
The win, the eighth in the last 11 games, kept Boston two games ahead of the victorious Toronto Blue Jays atop the division.
The Orioles, who came in tied with Toronto for both second place and the top AL wild-card spot, fell three games off the division lead.
The Red Sox scored five runs off former teammate Wade Miley (8-13, 1-5 with Baltimore) in the first inning and never stopped scoring. Ramirez hit his 24th homer in the fourth, Young smacked his ninth in the fifth and Ortiz his 33rd in the sixth. They scored in every inning but the eighth and have tallied 38 runs in their last four games, a span that includes a 3-2 loss in Toronto.
Price (16-8) gave up solo homers to Chris Davis (No. 37) and Manny Machado (his 35th), the only two hits he allowed in eight innings. He struck out nine and didn't walk a batter and hasn't lost since Aug. 7.
Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts both singled in the first two innings, Mookie Betts had a two-run double in the first and Ortiz and Sandy Leon both also had two hits in a 16-hit attack.
Pedroia's two hits in the first two innings made him 22 for his last 31 at Fenway Park.
In eight starts with the Orioles, Miley has allowed 32 earned runs on 53 hits in 35 1/3 innings -- Monday marking his second outing of under two innings. In the first inning of his 27 overall starts with Seattle and Baltimore this season, he has allowed 24 earned runs -- an 8.00 ERA.
But he deserved a better fate in the first Monday, with his teammates failing to make plays behind him. There was Machado not coming up with Bogaerts' hard grounder, followed by Steve Pearce catching up to but not able to hold David Ortiz's long drive. Pearce fell asleep after picking up a Ramirez RBI single, as Betts scampered home and not much was hit hard.
After Davis hit his fourth homer in six games in the top of the second, two hits and a walk and Miley was gone with one out in the second. Vance Worley got the second out but Ramirez walked on a 3-1 pitch to force in a run.
Machado hit a monster shot to make it 7-2 in the fourth, the second hit off Price. But Ramirez got that run back with his 10th homer, and 35th RBI, in his last 27 games -- and Young homered in the fifth.
NOTES: Orioles CF Adam Jones defended Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest, saying he didn't think it would spread to baseball because of demographics. "Baseball is a white man's sport," Jones told USA Today. "In football, you can't kick them out. You need those players. In baseball, they don't need us." ... Red Sox LF Andrew Benintendi, out with a knee injury, progressed to sliding and could be activated during this week. ... Boston announced plans to honor DH David Ortiz on his final regular-season weekend. ... LHP Drew Pomeranz pitches for Boston against RH Dylan Bundy in Tuesday night's second game of the series. ... USCIS.gov reported Baltimore RHP Ubaldo Jimenez became a U.S. citizen Monday in Miami.
