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Drew helps Red Sox trounce Mariners

Jun 8, 2008 - 1:09 AM By Mike Petraglia PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

BOSTON (Ticker) -- J.D. Drew and the rest of the Boston Red Sox apparently were energized by the return of Manny Ramirez.

Drew fell a double shy of the cycle as the Red Sox rolled to an 11-3 triumph over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

Drew tripled in the first inning, belted a solo homer in the sixth and stroked an RBI single in the eighth, when the Red Sox put away the game by scoring five runs.

"It was a nice day," Drew said. "Just swinging the bat, hit some balls hard. That's what you try to do every day, so it worked out good."

"That was good today," Red Sox manager Terry Francona added. "Everything was on the nose, up the middle of the ballpark. He could have easily had a five-hit day."

Drew batted third for the fifth straight game in place of David Ortiz, who is on the disabled list with an injured left wrist.

"I don't think I'm filling in Ortiz's shoes," Drew said. "I'm just going out there and do the things I can do, and it's up to Tito (Francona) where he puts me in the lineup. I just try to come in and contribute every day."

Drew is 13-for-24 (.524) during his current seven-game hitting streak.

"I think it's fortunate for us that he's started to really heat up right when David went down," Francona said. "That's a tough hole to fill if you don't have somebody hitting in that spot. That, right off the bat, was the pain of not having David around."

Ramirez, Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis also drove in two runs apiece for Boston, which has won seven of its last nine games.

The 13-hit attack by the Red Sox helped Tim Wakefield (4-4) notch his first victory since May 6.

"I felt confident going into the game, and when I left the bullpen, I felt like I had good stuff," Wakefield said. "With the early homer by Manny, it made it a little bit easier for us, and obviously our offense exploded there. It's nice to pitch on days like that."

The veteran knuckleballer allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, walking two and striking out six.

"He's extremely tough on us," Mariners manager John McLaren said. "He's a tough pitcher to hit and he's a good competitor."

In his last three starts, Wakefield has allowed just five runs over 22 innings for a 2.05 ERA, which includes his start in Seattle on May 28 - when he allowed just five hits and one run in eight frames of a 1-0 complete-game loss to the Mariners.

"He had a really good one today," Seattle's Jose Vidro said. "I think we just got lucky when we got one (run) off him (in Seattle). He was better today, really good stuff."

Ichiro Suzuki collected three hits and Raul Ibanez plated two runs for Seattle, which has lost five of six.

Back in the lineup after missing Friday's loss with a sore right hamstring, Ramirez began Boston's offensive onslaught in the first inning Following a two-out triple by Drew, the slugger worked a 2-0 count from Mariners starter Miguel Batista before launching a hanging slider over the "Green Monster" in left field for his team-leading 14th homer of the season and a 2-0 lead.

The blast also was the 504th of Ramirez's career, tying him with Eddie Murray for 23rd place on the all-time list. Ramirez has homered 39 times against the Mariners, the second-highest total of any Seattle opponent.

The Mariners pulled even in the third, when Yuniesky Betancourt and Suzuki opened with singles. One out later, Ibanez hit a ground-rule double down the right field line knot the contest at 2-2.

Boston moved ahead for good an inning later as Alex Cora doubled home Brandon Moss with two outs before scoring on a single by Coco Crisp.

Batista (3-7) was replaced with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth by knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Batista allowed five runs - four earned - six hits and a season-high six walks with just one strikeout in 4 1/3 innings.

Ramirez scored on a passed ball with the bases loaded in the fifth and Drew launched his seventh homer of the season an inning later to give Boston a 6-2 bulge. In the eighth, Drew began the uprising with an RBI single, and Lowell and Youkilis hit back-to-back two-run doubles later in the frame to expand the Red Sox's advantage to 11-2.

Richie Sexson delivered a run-scoring single in the ninth for Seattle. The inning began when Youkilis muffed Cora's throw from second base on a grounder hit by Willie Bloomquist, ending the longest errorless streak at first base in major league history at 238 games.

"I just turned around, the ball was on me and I didn't see it," said Youkilis, a Gold Glove winner last year. "Alex threw the ball, and it was a perfect throw. I didn't see the ball. I turned and the ball was on me before I could see it. Tomorrow, it's back to business and trying to make the plays. I don't think about it. I just go out there and play."

It was Youkilis' first error at first base since July 4, 2006 at Tampa Bay, covering 2,002 chances - also a major league record.

"Because he made an error, there will be a lot of attention nationally, which is good because it's a chance to brag about him," Francona said. "That doesn't take away the kind of first baseman he is. He's won a Gold Glove, he's a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman."