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Ramirez shoots for 500th homer

May 31, 2008 - 1:41 PM Boston (33-24) at Baltimore (26-27) 7:05 pm EDT

BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- A slumping Manny Ramirez takes another shot at career home run No. 500 on Saturday as the Boston Red Sox continue a four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles.

Ramirez, who turned 36 on Friday, went 1-for-6 and scored the go-ahead run on a single by Mike Lowell in the 13th inning in a 5-2 victory. The Red Sox had lost nine of 10 on the road, but caught a break as the Orioles committed four errors - three in the decisive 13th frame.

Ramirez has been stuck on 499 since Tuesday, and is hitting just .214 over his last 11 games. That has been a huge reason the Red Sox offense has faltered. Boston has been shutout twice and scored just 19 runs through the first seven games of its 10-game road trip.

Jon Lester (3-3, 3.55 ERA) will try and make due with what little support the Red Sox offense can muster. Lester, who threw a no-hitter against Kansas City on May 19, had an expected let down in his next start. The lefthander allowed four runs - three earned - and seven hits in five innings of a 6-3 loss to Oakland on Sunday.

The Orioles counter with Garrett Olson (4-1, 4.09), who will be hard-pressed to top his last start. Olson allowed just three hits in seven innings of a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Monday.