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Wily Mo Pena's grand slam lifts Red Sox over Orioles

Apr 27, 2007 - 3:45 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Wily Mo Pena picked an appropriate time to break out of his slump.

Pena's eighth-inning grand slam off Baltimore Orioles closer Chris Ray lifted the Boston Red Sox to a 5-2 win and a sweep of their two-game series.

Pena, who was making his fifth straight start in center field due to Coco Crisp's oblique injury, had two extra-base hits against the Orioles, doubling his total on the season. The 25-year-old outfielder entered the game with just three hits in 25 at-bats this season.

"I was just waiting for something to hit," Pena said. "It was right there, so I hit it."

Ray (2-2) suffered his second blown save of the season.

"It was supposed to be inside," Ray said. "If it was over the plate, he was going to be sitting on it."

It was the first time Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo has gone to Ray in the eighth inning this season.

"We were trying to win the ballgame at all costs, and he was fresh," Perlozzo said.

Baltimore reliever John Parrish, one of two relievers to bridge the gap between starter Adam Loewen and Ray, walked Manny Ramirez to lead off the eighth inning before retiring J. D. Drew on a flyout.

Ray replaced Parrish and surrendered a ground-rule double to Mike Lowell - which extended his hitting streak to 12 games - and intentionally walked Varitek to load the bases with one out.

Pena drove Ray's 2-1 pitch deep into the left field seats to turn a one-run deficit into a three-run lead.

"It felt good," Pena said. "I've been struggling. Everybody knows that. I was excited when I was running the bases. Everyone was happy when they were in the dugout waiting for me."

Josh Beckett (5-0) yielded two runs and scattered eight hits in eight solid innings to become the majors' first five-game winner. The righthander walked none and struck out three, including the last two batters he faced.

With the win, Beckett became the first Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martinez in 2000 to win his first five starts of the season.

"The guys picked me - they played great defense," Beckett said. "I've been executing pitches when I needed them."

Beckett said that he's sure if he stays in games he's trailing, he'll win most of the time.

"If you can convince (manager) Terry Francona to pitch into the eighth every time, you'll win 90 percent of the time," Beckett said. "There are very few pitchers that can get through our lineup even three times."

Francona likes that his pitchers want to pitch deeply into games.

"That's human nature, and that's good for us to see," Francona said. "We want to see the pitchers get that feeling, 'OK, I'm going to finish this.'"

Jonathan Papelbon earned his seventh save in as many chances with a scoreless ninth inning. He has yet to allow a run this season.

Boston has won 22 of its last 25 meetings with the Orioles, dating back to September 2005. It has taken 12 of 14 here during that span.

Loewen pitched six strong innings for the Orioles, yielding just one run and two hits while striking out five.

Loewen surrendered his only run in the sixth inning when, after Kevin Youkilis singled, he walked Ortiz and Ramirez to load the bases with no outs. The 23-year-old battled through the jam, forcing Drew into an infield pop-up before allowing Lowell's RBI groundout. Jason Varitek struck out with runners on second and third to end the inning.

Loewen, who walked five and struck out five, was removed following the inning when his pitch count hit 105 - 26 coming in the sixth frame.

"I felt comfortable out there," Loewen said. "It's tough. If I could throw strikes all the time, I would. It's not like I'm trying to throw the ball out of the zone."

The Orioles opened the scoring in the first inning off Beckett. Brian Roberts led off the bottom of the first with a double, stole third and came home when Nick Markakis grounded out to second base.

Baltimore added another run in the third when Ramon Hernandez, who was making his first start of the season after being activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, doubled to lead off the inning and came home on Melvin Mora's two-out double to left.

Mora's hit caused some controversy as it appeared to bounce over the third base bag before cutting into foul territory, allowing him to cruise into second. Beckett, who thought the ball was foul before crossing the base, did not appreciate the call and yelled angrily at third base umpire Angel Hernandez before calming down to retire Markakis and end the inning.