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Ramirez makes history, powers Red Sox over Orioles

Jun 1, 2008 - 4:55 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- The 500 club made room for another member on Saturday.

Manny Ramirez hit career home run No. 500 in the seventh inning and David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia hit back-to-back blasts in the third to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 6-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Stuck on 498 for over two weeks, Ramirez hit his second homer in the past four games, vaulting himself into baseball history as the 24th player to reach 500.

"It was great," Ramirez said. "I've been trying so hard the past three weeks just to get it done. It finally came and I'm happy. I'm proud of myself and all the things that I accomplished. I worked hard for this.

"It did (weigh on me). I was just trying to go out there and have as much fun as I can and take it by day-by-day. I'm just happy that it's over with."

Ramirez drove the first pitch he saw from righthander Chad Bradford an estimated 410 feet over the right-center field wall, becoming the third player after Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams to reach 500 as a member of the Red Sox.

"Bradford hasn't given up many home runs," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "Matchups were such that I thought we had the right situation.

"His approach was very aggressive. It seemed like he wanted to get it over with. The worst thing we did was throw him a strike. We probably just should have kept it out of the strike zone."

The blast pushed the Red Sox's lead to 5-3 and set off a wild ovation from the fans at Camden Yards, many of whom were cheering for Boston.

"He has a lot of fans," Trembley said.

"I thought the player's reaction to Manny was awesome," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "You could tell the affection that everybody had for him and it was nice to see. I got a bigger kick out of just the way his teammates reacted toward him."

The Orioles grabbed an early lead in the second when Jay Payton and Adam Jones connected for back-to-back singles, but the Red Sox quickly pulled even on the back-to-back blasts by Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz off Baltimore starter Garrett Olson in the third.

Ortiz's home run was his 13th of the season - moving him into third in the American League.

Baltimore took the lead back in the fifth inning when Brian Roberts hit a solo homer into the left field seats off Boston lefthander Jon Lester.

Lester was removed after just five frames, allowing three runs and seven hits while walking three and striking out four. The 24-year-old struck out Ramon Hernandez swinging with the bases loaded in the fifth to end a threat.

Jason Varitek got Lester off the hook when he tied the game at 3-3 with an RBI single in the sixth and Ortiz made a winner out of David Aardsma (2-1) with a sacrifice fly in the seventh before Ramirez's historic home run.

Righthander Lance Cormier (0-2) was charged with the loss after surrendering two runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Jonathan Papelbon worked out of a jam in the ninth inning with the help of a sparkling double play turned by Alex Cora to earn his 16th save.

Rookie Jacoby Ellsbury stole three bases for the second night in a row, giving him an AL-leading 26 this season.

"He's been a difference-maker," Francona said of Ellsbury. "I like to sit here and tell you that were managing him, telling him what to do. He's just a good player and his instincts on the bases are tremendous. He's making good decisions and he's changing the game when he gets on base."

The one down note for the Red Sox came in the ninth inning when Ortiz left in the ninth inning after fouling a pitch off his wrist. X-rays taken after the game were negative and he is listed as day-to-day.

"He went and got an X-ray," Francona said. "He took the swing and felt something in his wrist. It was very tender. That's what we know right now. Obviously it's a concern."