BOSTON — David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez homered near the deepest part of Fenway Park.
Dustin Pedroia blasted a shot all the way out of the historic ballpark.
It was difficult to say which was the most impressive because of the volume in Boston’s 10-4 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night. The Red Sox hit six home runs, including three straight in the seventh inning while pulling away against the struggling Orioles.
“We swung the bats great and we just have to keep it going,” said Pedroia, whose three-run shot in the third cleared the seats above the Green Monster. “There were a lot of good pitches to hit tonight and we didn’t miss them.”
Jacoby Ellsbury hit a two-run shot and Gonzalez hit his 17th of the season for Boston, which delighted the home fans with a succession of slugs in the seventh inning. Ortiz, Josh Reddick and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit solo shots as the Red Sox moved a half-game up on the Yankees with New York’s loss at home to Tampa Bay.
“There’s a lot of games to be played. We’re not going to get too excited because we’re a half-game up or whatever,” Pedroia said. “What is it, July?”
Andrew Miller (3-0) won his third straight start, allowing three runs on six hits in five innings. He was hardly overwhelming, walking four while striking out none, but he was good enough to give Boston’s beleaguered rotation another much-needed solid start before the bullpen took over with Boston up 5-3.
“I had no concern whatsoever,” said Saltalamacchia, Boston’s catcher. “His fastball is usually pretty good and it was. There was a few early control problems but obviously he settled down and pitched fine.”
The Orioles lost their fourth straight and ninth in 10 games. Baltimore has allowed 40 runs during the four-game skid.
“Very similar starts by both pitchers. It’s just they did a little better job in righting the ship,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s that time of year when people are kind of emptying the tank in the bullpen because of the off days coming up. A short leash on the starters and we don’t have that luxury.”
Baltimore starter Jake Arrieta (9-6) allowed the first two homers, starting with Pedroia’s drive on a 3-1 pitch that landed in the parking lot behind the Green Monster and put Boston up 3-2. Arrieta had walked Marco Scutaro and Ellsbury to start the inning, then Pedroia cleared the bases.
“That could have easily been avoided or it could have been a solo shot. It did a lot more damage than it should have,” Arrieta said. “I wasn’t able to get the ball and was in a lot of deep counts.”
Gonzalez hit a shot over the center-field wall that put Boston up 5-3 in the fourth, then Ellsbury hit a two-run homer off reliever Jason Berken in the sixth. Ellsbury and home plate umpire Bill Welke bumped into each other as both watched the ball stay inside the right-field pole and give the Red Sox a 7-3 lead.
Pedro Viola came out of Baltimore’s bullpen in the seventh and failed to get an out.
Ortiz made it 8-3 with a line drive to straightaway center, just clearing the wall near the deepest part of Fenway. Reddick followed Ortiz with a homer to right, just his second this season, then Saltalamacchia made it three straight — clearing the Green Monster as Boston fans cheered the homer hat trick.
It was the first time this season the Red Sox strung together three straight homers, and the six home run total was the most for Boston since hitting six in a 10-0 win over the Orioles in September 2009.
“It’s a very good offense and we all talked about it before the season started,” Gonzalez said. “We’re capable of putting up a lot of runs. We saw the ball good today.”
Baltimore opened the game on back-to-back singles by J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis. Hardy led off with a single off the Green Monster, followed by Markakis’ single to left and another single by Adam Jones, who lined one off Miller that bounced into right field and allowed Hardy to score.
Jeter at 2,998 hits
NEW YORK — Jeff Niemann gave up Derek Jeter’s 2,998th hit but little else, B.J. Upton homered and drove in three runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 5-1 on Thursday night to start strong in a long stretch of games against their biggest division rivals.
Ben Zobrist homered, tripled and singled for Tampa Bay, which tagged Bartolo Colon early in one of the worst outings of his surprising comeback season. Evan Longoria had an RBI single and the Rays won the first of 11 straight games against New York and Boston, the two teams they trail in the AL East.
With a chance to hit for the cycle in the ninth, Zobrist walked for the second time in the game. The leadoff man reached safely in all five plate appearances.
Jeter is trying to become the 28th major leaguer — and first with the Yankees — to reach 3,000 hits, one of baseball’s biggest milestones. He doubled on Niemann’s first pitch, then grounded out his next four times up and ended the night two short.
With two runners on, Jeter made the last out of the game on a bouncer to third against ex-Yankee Kyle Farnsworth.
Rookie right-hander Jeremy Hellickson pitches for the Rays on Friday night.
Niemann (4-4) went a season-high 7 1-3 innings, yielding only a solo homer by Robinson Cano in the sixth. The 6-foot-9, 260-pound righty gave up six hits and walked two, improving to 3-0 in four starts since missing six weeks with a strained lower back.
Before going on the disabled list, he was 1-4 with a 5.74 ERA in six starts.
Colon (6-4) entered 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his past four starts, but he ran into trouble right away in his second outing since coming off the disabled list (strained left hamstring).
The 38-year-old right-hander allowed five runs and a season-high 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings, dropping to 9-3 in 19 starts against Tampa Bay. He also matched a season high with four walks.
New York had won five straight home games and 11 of its last 13.
Jeter, who came off the disabled list Monday in Cleveland, played his first home game since injuring his calf June 13, when he was six hits short of 3,000.
Needing three to reach the plateau Thursday in the opener of a four-game series that takes the Yankees into the All-Star break, it appeared a few things were lined up in his favor.
He began the night 5 for 9 (.556) in his career against Niemann, who allowed Jeter’s 2,721st career hit on Sept. 9, 2009, which tied Lou Gehrig for the Yankees record. The captain had three hits that night off Niemann, and he got off to another rousing start in this one.
With a host of friends and family members in attendance, including his parents, Jeter smacked the first pitch he saw into left-center for a double, bringing a roar from the sellout crowd of 47, 787.
Charged-up fans rose to their feet and cameras flashed for each subsequent at-bat, but Jeter couldn’t come through again and finished 1 for 5.
Zobrist tripled to start the game, a ball that glanced off the glove of first baseman Mark Teixeira before Nick Swisher had trouble corralling it in the right-field corner.
Longoria’s single put Tampa Bay on top against Colon, who had thrown 12 2-3 scoreless innings over his previous two starts.
Zobrist led off the third with his 10th homer. Two outs later, Casey Kotchman doubled and scored on Upton’s single.
Kotchman singled to open the fifth and Upton lofted the next pitch into the seats in left for his 14th home run, making it 5-0.
Cano hit his 15th homer in the sixth, but that was all the offense the Yankees could muster.
NOTES: Niemann is 3-0 in six career starts against the Yankees. He threw a season-high 114 pitches on a humid, 79-degree night. … Rays RHP Wade Davis was placed on the 15-day DL because of a strained forearm, a day after he struggled in his latest start. An MRI didn’t reveal anything serious. RHP Brandon Gomes was recalled from Triple-A Durham. … DH Johnny Damon was held out after le aving Wednesday’s game with a bruised left hand when he was hit by a pitch from Twins LHP Francisco Liriano for the second consecutive plate appearance. Rays manager Joe Maddon said Damon might be able to play in the next couple of days. … Longoria was the DH, giving his sore left foot a bit of a break. Sean Rodriguez started at 3B and made a sliding play on his knees to prevent a hit by J eter in the fifth. … Yankees closer Mariano Rivera said he was available to pitch, though he is skipping the All-Star game Tuesday because of soreness in his right triceps. Rivera hasn’t pitched since Sunday, when he blew a save against the Mets. A 12-time All-Star, Rivera also missed last year’s All-Star game because of injury.