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Crisp's big night leads Red Sox past Orioles

Sep 7, 2007 - 3:31 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Coco Crisp has been on fire with the glove all season. On Thursday, he took control of a game with both his bat and legs.

Crisp had a home run and scored three times to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 7-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Rookie sensation Clay Buchholz, who pitched a no-hitter against the Orioles on Saturday, made his first appearance out of the bullpen, allowing one hit in three scoreless frames for the Red Sox, who have won five of their last six games.

"He got out of a jam and got the win," Boston manager Terry Francona said of Buchholz. "To win it was huge."

With the game tied at 6-6 in the ninth, Crisp beat out an infield dribbler to second base and promptly stole second base. When pinch hitter Jason Varitek drove a single to left field, Crisp easily beat the throw to the plate to give Red Sox the lead.

"He's really starting to hit the ball well," Francona said. "His stolen base really put the pressure on the defense."

Boston's center fielder made a number of nice plays in the field, most notably tracking down a deep line drive by Jay Payton leading off the eighth. His three-run homer in the fifth gave Boston its second lead of the game in a back-and-forth contest. Crisp's leadoff single in the third led to the team's first run of the night.

"They hit a lot of balls hard, but Coco's out there," Buchholz said.

Buchholz (3-0), who became just the third player in history to throw a no-hitter in one of his first two starts last Saturday, was the second man out of the Red Sox bullpen. He worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth before cruising through the seventh and eighth. He has now allowed one hit in 12 career innings against Baltimore.

"I was overthrowing and got a visit on the mound," Buchholz said. "He (pitching coach John Farrell) told me to sit back, and everything started clicking."

All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon took over in the ninth, striking out two in a scoreless frame to pick up his 34th save of the season.

Danys Baez (0-6) suffered the loss for the Orioles.

Five and one-third scoreless innings from the bullpen bailed out Boston starter Tim Wakefield, who was the hottest pitcher in the American League through much of August before a back injury caused him to be scratched from a start over the weekend.

"His knuckleball was inconsistent," Francona said. "The layoff didn't help."

He entered Thursday's contest having earned a decision in each of his 26 outings and was carrying a 22-inning scoreless streak into his 27th start contest.

With the time off, Wakefield clearly was not his sharpest, getting charged with six runs and nine hits in just 3 2/3 frames, walking two and failing to notch a strikeout. It was just the third time this season that he has failed to last at least five innings.

"I felt fine," Wakefield said. "My mechanics were OK. No pain. There's no excuses. I struggled to get it back."

David Ortiz's solo blast in the fifth - his 27th homer of the season - tied the game at 6-6 and assured Wakefield of not earning a decision for the first time this season.

Orioles starter Garrett Olsen did not fare much better, allowing five runs and five hits while striking out three and issuing a pair of walks in 3 2/3 innings. He was pulled due to a strained left forearm.

It was the third time this season that Olsen has struggled against Boston, which now has managed 13 runs in 15 1/3 innings against Baltimore's rookie. Olsen left the game in the fourth inning with forearm tightness.

"Each time I go out there, I get more confident, unfortunately tonight I left with an injury," Olsen said. "I look forward to getting back out there."

Kevin Millar and Miguel Tejada each drove in a pair of runs Baltimore, which fell to 5-10 against the Red Sox this season.

"We came up on the short end of the stick tonight," Millar said. "We swung the bats well, but didn't get the big hit we needed."