Ortiz and Ramirez help Red Sox top Blue Jays

Jul 13, 2007, 2:35 GMT

Boston, MA - David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were at the center of an offensive attack against Toronto ace Roy Halladay, as Boston started its second half with a 7-4 victory at Fenway Park.

Boston's 53-34 first half sat atop all of baseball, and it began the second half with the same formula for success.

Plenty of Ortiz, Ramirez and solid starting pitching. Ortiz finished 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and two RBI and Ramirez drove in three and scored once.

The top four hitters in Boston's order scored all seven runs. Tim Wakefield (10-8) was the beneficiary, reaching double-digit victories with six innings of four-run, nine-hit ball. The veteran struck out two and didn't walk a batter as the Red Sox shook off a three-game sweep at the hands of Detroit before the All-Star break.

'It was very important, considering we got swept in Detroit,' said Wakefield.

The same couldn't be said for Halladay (10-4), who walked four and surrendered five runs and eight hits over just five innings. The right-hander has now allowed 18 runs over his last four outings.

Alex Rios carried over his power surge from San Francisco, clubbing his 18th homer of the season as part of a three-hit night. Rios reached the finals of Monday's Home Run Derby, hitting 12 second-round homers before falling to Vladimir Guerrero in the finals.

Matt Stairs also went deep and Lyle Overbay finished 1-for-4 in his return from a broken right hand. The first baseman hadn't seen action since hitting the disabled list on June 5.

The Blue Jays have lost two of three.

Ortiz delivered the big blow in the sixth, a two-out double that turned around Vernon Wells in center and scored Dustin Pedroia just after the Blue Jays had cut the deficit to 5-4. Ramirez's run-scoring single capped the two-out rally started by Pedroia's base hit.

Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 21st save.

Toronto took a brief lead early before succumbing to Boston's bats.

After Frank Thomas drove home Wells with the game's first run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first, Boston pounded Halladay for four runs in the bottom half. J.D. Drew singled, Pedroia walked and Ortiz knocked a base hit to center to score Drew with still nobody out.

Ramirez drove Pedroia home with a double and Kevin Youkilis' groundout allowed Ortiz to touch home for a 3-1 game. Mike Lowell's ensuing single chased home Ramirez with the fourth run.

'I think more than anything the first inning, I'd make some good pitches and then some bad ones,' said Halladay. 'I thought for the most part all the hits were (a result) of not putting pitches where we wanted to get the ball.'

With a runner in scoring position again in the second, Ramirez delivered with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Drew for a 5-1 game.

John McDonald returned the favor with a sacrifice fly to the rim of the warning track in the fifth, plating Aaron Hill with Toronto's second run.

Wakefield's knuckleball stayed up in the zone to Stairs in the sixth, and the left-handed hitter got on top of it for a homer into the bullpen past the right-field fence, leading off the inning. Toronto wasn't finished. Rios was up next and golfed a low pitch on a line over the Green Monster to quickly slice the deficit to 5-4.

Game Notes

Halladay is 1-2 with a 6.03 ERA against Boston this season, 9-1 against the rest of baseball...Rios now has 23 doubles this season...Ortiz has 54 RBI and Ramirez has driven in 48 runs...Toronto manager John Gibbons was ejected by umpire John Hirschbeck in the seventh inning for arguing a play at first base. It was Gibbons' fourth ejection of the season...The Red Sox outrighted first baseman Jeff Bailey to Triple-A Pawtucket following Thursday's game to make room for right-handed reliever Joel Pineiro, who will be activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to Friday's game.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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