Boston Red Sox vs Baltimore Orioles: Long Balls Propel Sox into First Place

The Red Sox played home run derby a few days early today at Fenway Park. Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez,Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz, Josh Reddick and Jarrod Saltalamacchia all went deep in the win.

Starter Andrew Miller got his first taste of straight American League ball since joining the Red Sox (after appearing in three interleague outings), and it was his roughest outing so far. Miller was mediocre at best, allowing three runs on six hits over just five innings of work. Miller's offense bailed him out scoring 10 runs while pounding out 13 hits, allowing him to improve to a perfect 3-0 record with a 3.57 ERA.

With the win ( and a Yankees loss) the Red Sox reclaim first place in the AL East by half a game. Here’s a look at what went right (and wrong) in the Red Sox 10-4 thrashing of the Baltimore Orioles.

The Good

Offensive explosion: The Fourth of July may be behind us, but there were plenty of fireworks at Fenway Park tonight. The Red Sox teed off on Orioles pitching scoring 10 runs on 13 hits, six of which left the park.

Dustin Pedroia got things started in the third inning blasting an absolute shot over the Monster and onto the Lansdowne street parking garage. After Adrian Gonzalez and Jacoby Ellsbury added homers of their own in the fifth and sixth inning respectively, David Ortiz, Josh Reddick and Jarrod Salatalamacchia went back-to-back-to-back.

The last time the Boston hit three homers in a row was on April 22, 2007 when Manny Ramirez, JD Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek hit four straight home runs at home against the Yankees. The Red Sox offense has bounced back, taking three of their first four games since the end of interleague play.

Ells continues to rake: Entering tonight’s contest Jacoby Ellsbury was a .358 hitter with an OBP of .408 in his 46 career games against the Orioles. Those numbers only improved after tonight. Ellsbury reached base three times in five plate appearances, also launching a solo bomb to deep right off Jason Berken in the sixth inning. The homer came just one day after he set a new career high with 10. He now has 11 homers on the season as well as 47 RBI.

Pedie powers up: For the second time in three games (third in eight) Dustin Pedroia hit a homer. In what has been a relatively frustrating and uncharacteristic season for the Red Sox second baseman, seems to be heating up again in July.

Since mid-June he has hit the ball well, increasing his average and OBP significantly, and now he is hitting for power. He has nine homers on the year, with 41 runs batted in. Pedroia now has a nine-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 21 straight games.

Papi rebounds: David Ortiz started just two games during interleague, and it was evident the limited playing time was getting to the slugger. Now that the Red Sox are playing exclusively American League clubs, the DH is getting consistent playing time, and has rebounded from a tough two-week stretch.

Ortiz collected a pair of hits in four at-bats; a double (23) and a solo homer (18) to straight-away center. Ortiz’ homer was his first since June 12 when he hit a towering three-run homer in Toronto. His homer-less drought lasted 55 at-bats. He is heating up at the right time since he will be defending his Home Run Derby title in about four days.

Solid relief: Alfredo Aceves, Scott Atchinson and Bobby Jenks combined for three innings out of the bullpen, allowing one run on two hits while walking none and striking out one.

The Bad

Mediocre Miller: Andrew Miller wasn’t sharp in what was his worst outing in a Red Sox uniform. He allowed three runs on six hits over five frames. His command was not as good as it had been in his previous three starts. As a result he walked four batters, and was not able to record a strikeout. Regardless, he pitched well enough to pick up his stay perfect and pick up his third win of the season. He is now 3-0 with a 3.57 ERA.

Dwindling Drew: JD Drew was the only Red Sox started who failed to collect a hit. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI on a groundout. He is now hitting just .233 on the season.

A native of Wellesley, Massachusetts, Aashish is a lifelong fan of the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics. He graduated Wellesley High School in 2008, and is currently a senior at the University at Buffalo in Amherst, New York. You can follow him on Twitter   @aashish1989.

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