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Sox make noise

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Updated Jul 28, 2009 7:30 PM ET
     
 
Smack in the middle of the softest portion of their 2009 schedule - back-to-back-to-back series against the last-place Orioles, Athletics and O's again - the Red Sox were in dire need of some momentum. Last night, Josh Beckett and a revived offense may have provided it. The Sox held an 8-2 lead after seven innings against the A's, who arrived in town with a wan .423 winning percentage (41-56) with one of the worst offenses in the league and a young, still learning pitching staff. The Sox , who won 2-of-3 against the Orioles to begin this homestand, had little trouble taking advantage of Oakland's weaknesses. Dustin Pedroia cranked a one-out solo home run in the first inning off starter Trevor Cahill for a quick 1-0 lead. Cahill avoided giving up a run in the second inning, but Jacoby Ellsbury led off the third with an easy-looking triple to right field. Pedroia then lofted a sacrifice fly to left for a 2-0 lead. In the fourth, the attack was more productive. Jason Bay led off with a walk, followed by J.D. Drew's single to right. That brought up Adam LaRoche, making his second start in as many nights, meaning that Mike Lowell was on the bench. LaRoche, a lefty hitter who hit an opposite-field home run here Saturday night, again went to The Wall, doubling to score Bay and put the Sox up, 3-0. Jed Lowrie unhitched the on-base train by flying out, but Ellsbury got it rolling again by beating out a groundball to shortstop. Ellsbury's RBI padded the score. The next inning, Kevin Youkilis led off with a single and proceeded to third base on David Ortiz' single up the middle. Bay then singled up the middle, this one scoring Youkilis. When Beckett had the ball, he enjoyed nearly uncontested success for the first five innings. His own fielding error in the first with one out put a baserunner, on but he quickly worked out of that. In the second, Ryan Sweeney had a one-out Wall-ball double, but a pair of strikeouts stranded Sweeney. The third inning featured an unusual play. Eric Patterson led off with a single that glanced off Beckett's foot. He was off and running when the next batter, Adam Kennedy, popped up to first baseman LaRoche in shallow right. Patterson, who had slid into second, scampered back to first but forgot to tag second on his return trip. With Patterson on first, the Sox threw the ball to second baseman Pedroia, who stepped on the base for the out. Beckett faced the minimum in the fourth and fifth innings. In the sixth, he allowed three singles and a walk, but the damage was contained to just one run, with Kurt Suzuki getting the RBI single. With the bases loaded, Beckett struck out Sweeney with a 95 mph fastball on the inner half of the plate. The A's made much more solid contact in the seventh, adding another run on Patterson's sacrifice fly. - msilverman@bostonherald.com
Tagged: Orioles, Jacoby Ellsbury, Adam LaRoche, Ryan Sweeney, Trevor Cahill, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Eric Patterson, Athletics, Red Sox, Josh Beckett, Jason Bay

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