| 10 weeks 5 hours 17 min ago Orioles sweep two from the Red Sox
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BALTIMORE (AP) - Jay Payton hit his fourth career grand slam to
back a gritty pitching effort by Daniel Cabrera, and the Baltimore
Orioles rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 6-3 Wednesday for a
two-game sweep.
Solo homers by Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell, and a defensive
gem by Manny Ramirez - yes, Manny Ramirez - weren't enough to
prevent the Red Sox from losing their fourth straight. It was the
third consecutive game in which Boston blew a three-run lead.
The Orioles trailed 3-2 before going ahead in the seventh. With
two outs, Freddie Bynum was credited with an infield hit when
second baseman Dustin Pedroia couldn't make a play on a grounder.
After Craig Hansen (0-2) gave up a single to Guillermo Quiroz
and walked Brian Roberts to load the bases, Payton hit the second
pitch from Hideki Okajima into the left-field seats.
That provided Cabrera (4-1) with a rare win over the Red Sox.
The right-hander gave up three runs and 10 hits in seven innings,
striking out three and walking none. He gave up a hit in every
inning but the seventh.
Cabrera came in 1-9 with a 7.84 ERA in 11 career starts against
Boston. He had lost seven straight to the Red Sox since 2005.
Aided by Baltimore's fourth double play, George Sherrill got
three outs for his 15th save.
The defensive play of the game was made by Ramirez,
a left
fielder who, to put it kindly, is better known for his prowess at
the plate. In the fourth inning, however, Ramirez made a difference
with his glove.
With runners at first and second and one out, Kevin Millar hit a
drive to left. Ramirez made an over-the-shoulder grab on the
warning track, reached over the 7-foot wall to slap a Boston fan
with a high-five, then turned and threw the ball to Pedroia. The
relay from Pedroia to Kevin Youkilis completed the 7-4-3 double
play.
Boston got a first-inning run when Jacoby Ellsbury singled,
stole second and scored on a single by Pedroia. Varitek homered on
a 3-2 pitch in the fifth, and Lowell connected with the count full
in the sixth to make it 3-0.
Jon Lester extended his scoreless innings run against Baltimore
to 12 before the Orioles broke through in the sixth on a
run-scoring groundout by Payton and an RBI single by Nick Markakis,
who was batting .212 with runners in scoring position.
Lester allowed two runs and five hits in six innings.
