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Ortiz leads Red Sox past Rays

Jul 17, 2011 - 2:44 AM St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - David Ortiz drove in three runs to help the Boston Red Sox defeat the Tampa Bay Rays, 9-5, in the second of a three- game AL East battle.

Dustin Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 14 games, going 2-for-5 with a solo home run, while Josh Reddick added a two-run homer for the Red Sox, who rebounded from a loss in Friday's series opener to win for the seventh time in their past eight games.

John Lackey (7-8) won his second straight start after giving up just four runs -- three earned -- on 10 hits with a walk and seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

"This was huge for us especially coming off a frustrating loss the other day," said Reddick. "Lackey picked us up real well after the first inning and was able to put together a good start."

Matt Joyce went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and two RBI for the Rays, who have dropped three of their last four games.

James Shields (8-8) dropped his fourth straight start as he was tagged for six runs on six hits over six innings of work.

"My command of my fastball in the second and third innings killed the game for us," said Shields. "I left it out there for them to hit and they did."

Tampa jumped on top with a three-run first inning. Johnny Damon led off by reaching base on a Marco Scutaro error at short. Ben Zobrist then singled to center and Casey Kotchman scored Damon with an infield single. Joyce and B.J. Upton added consecutive RBI singles later for the 3-0 lead.

The Red Sox got two back in the second when Jarrod Saltalamacchia drew a one- out walk and Reddick followed by clubbing a pitch over the right field wall to make it a 3-2 game.

Boston then took the lead in the third. Adrian Gonzalez led off with a walk and Kevin Youkilis followed with a single. Ortiz drove home both runners with a double and scored on a double from J.D. Drew for a 5-3 lead.

It was a 6-3 game after Jacoby Ellsbury led off the fourth with his 13th home run of the season.

The Rays cut their deficit to two in the fifth as Joyce hit a two-out, solo homer to right. But Pedroia got the run back for Boston in the seventh when he led off the frame with his 13th blast of the season.

A bases-loaded walk to Youkilis and a run-scoring groundout by Ortiz in the ninth extended Boston's lead to 9-4.

Kotchman tripled with one out in the ninth and Evan Longoria followed with a single to right to make it a four-run game. But Jonathan Papelbon induced a groundout from Joyce and struck out Upton to end the game.

Game Notes

Boston has hit 62 home runs on the road this year, the most in the majors...Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale celebrated his 50th birthday on Saturday...Pedroia, who has the longest active hitting streak in the AL, is batting 22-for-58 during the run. His career-high is a 16-game streak that he had late in the 2009 season...Tampa still leads the season series, 4-3...Lackey improved to 12-4 in 17 outings against the Rays...Shields fell to 6-10 in 18 starts against Boston in his career...Prior to the game, the Red Sox placed pitcher Bobby Jenks on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 8, with tightness in the left side of his back. To take the roster spot of Jenks, the team selected the contract of left-hander Randy Williams from Triple-A Pawtucket. Boston also designated lefty Tommy Hottovy for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Williams.