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Red Sox Slug Their Way to Sweep of Orioles

The Red Sox scored early and often against the Orioles on Sunday, tallying 23 hits in an 18-10 win at Camden Yards in the series finale. With the win, the Red Sox completed the three-game sweep of the Orioles.

Red Sox 18, Orioles 10
August 2, 2009
Camden Yards, Baltimore, Md.

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Headliner: In his second game as a member of the Red Sox and his first starting at catcher, Victor Martinez went 5-for-6 with a double, four RBIs and a run scored. The newly acquired Martinez is now 6-for-11 in two games with the Red Sox and has been impressive hitting at the No. 3 spot in the order. With his versatility — he can both catch and play first — he will certainly help the Red Sox give more regular rest to the older veterans on the team and play a role in keeping everyone fresh and healthy.

Dirt Dog: Kevin Youkilis brought his average up to .315 with a 3-for-4 day that included two RBIs, two runs scored and two walks. Youkilis' streak of 13 straight plate appearances reaching base safely was stopped, but he did contribute in a big way in the middle of the Red Sox order. The No. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 hitters in the Red Sox order combined to drive in 14 of the Red Sox' 18 runs.

Better luck next time: The Orioles pitching is usually pretty bad, but on Sunday it was atrocious. Jason Berken, Brian Bass, Matt Albers, Mark Hendrickson, Cla Meredith and Jim Johnson each allowed at least one earned run in the series finale, in what was one of the longest games of the season. The Red Sox managed to go 23-for-48 (.479) against the Orioles with seven walks to slug their way to the sweep.

Key moment: The Red Sox had a 7-0 lead after two and a half innings, but Clay Buchholz gave back six of the runs in the bottom of the third. With the momentum in favor of the Orioles, the Red Sox came out in the fourth and put up seven additional runs to break the game open for good. Holding a 14-6 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth, the Red Sox were able to hold on for the remainder of the game and eventually quieted the Orioles offense.

On deck: The Red Sox have Monday off before they start the long, tough stretch of their schedule. The Red Sox will play the Rays in a two-game series in Tampa before heading to the Bronx for a four-game series next weekend against the Yankees. Then the Red Sox play, in succession, the Tigers, Rangers, Blue Jays, Yankees, White Sox, Blue Jays, Rays and White Sox, which will take them to Sep. 7. The month of August will either make or break the Red Sox' 2009 season.