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Orioles Struggle to Score Unlike Ortiz, Sox

Tuesday, Jul 28, 2009 | Updated 10:10 PM EST

David Ortiz gave the Sox all they needed with a three-run shot.

The Orioles struggles continued as David Ortiz and the Red Sox beat down Baltimore 7-2 Saturday afternoon.

Ortiz jump-started Boston's sluggish offense with a three-run homer, Adam LaRoche added a two-run shot in his Red Sox debut and Jon Lester pitched into the eighth inning.

Baltimore, which lost for the 14th time in 18 games, dropped its 11th straight in Fenway Park dating to last July. The Orioles fell to 1-16 in road games within the division this season.

Lester (9-7) was mostly in control, giving up two runs and eight hits in 7.1 innings. He struck out nine and walked two in raising his record to 9-0 in 11 career starts against Baltimore. He allowed both of the runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Matt Wieters and Cesar Izturis.

Unlike the previous six games when the Red Sox struggled to score, they jumped on Jeremy Guthrie (7-9) for three runs in the first on Ortiz's 13th homer. Dustin Pedroia walked and Jason Bay had a two-out single before Ortiz's high drive carried into the center-field seats.

Guthrie, coming off one his best starts of the season when he held the Chicago White Sox to three hits and two runs in a 10-2 win last Saturday, gave up his AL-leading 23rd homer.

The Red Sox were held to four or fewer runs in all of their previous seven games since the All-Star break.