Dustin Pedroia blasted a shot all the way out of the historic ballpark.
It was difficult to say which was the most impressive because of the volume in Boston's 10-4 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night. The Red Sox hit six home runs, including three straight in the seventh inning while pulling away against the struggling Orioles.
"We swung the bats great and we just have to keep it going," said Pedroia, whose three-run shot in the third cleared the seats above the Green Monster. "There were a lot of good pitches to hit tonight and we didn't miss them."
Jacoby Ellsbury hit a two-run shot and Gonzalez hit his 17th of the season for Boston, which delighted the home fans with a succession of slugs in the seventh inning. Ortiz, Josh Reddick and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit solo shots as the Red Sox moved a half-game up on the Yankees with New York's loss at home to Tampa Bay.
"There's a lot of games to be played. We're not going to get too excited because we're a half-game up or whatever," Pedroia said. "What is it, July?"
Andrew Miller (3-0) won his third straight start, allowing three runs on six hits in five innings. He was hardly overwhelming, walking four while striking out none, but he was good enough to give Boston's beleaguered rotation another much-needed solid start before the bullpen took over with Boston up 5-3.
"I had no concern whatsoever," said Saltalamacchia, Boston's catcher. "His fastball is usually pretty good and it was. There was a few early control problems but obviously he settled down and pitched fine."
The Orioles lost their fourth straight and ninth in 10 games. Baltimore has allowed 40 runs during the four-game skid.
"Very similar starts by both pitchers. It's just they did a little better job in righting the ship," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "It's that time of year when people are kind of emptying the tank in the bullpen because of the off days coming up. A short leash on the starters and we don't have that luxury."
Baltimore starter Jake Arrieta (9-6) allowed the first two homers, starting with Pedroia's drive on a 3-1 pitch that landed in the parking lot behind the Green Monster and put Boston up 3-2. Arrieta had walked Marco Scutaro and Ellsbury to start the inning, then Pedroia cleared the bases.
"That could have easily been avoided or it could have been a solo shot. It did a lot more damage than it should have," Arrieta said. "I wasn't able to get the ball and was in a lot of deep counts."
Gonzalez hit a shot over the center-field wall that put Boston up 5-3 in the fourth, then Ellsbury hit a two-run homer off reliever Jason Berken in the sixth. Ellsbury and home plate umpire Bill Welke bumped into each other as both watched the ball stay inside the right-field pole and give the Red Sox a 7-3 lead.
Pedro Viola came out of Baltimore's bullpen in the seventh and failed to get an out.
Ortiz made it 8-3 with a line drive to straightaway center, just clearing the wall near the deepest part of Fenway. Reddick followed Ortiz with a homer to right, just his second this season, then Saltalamacchia made it three straight — clearing the Green Monster as Boston fans cheered the homer hat trick.
It was the first time this season the Red Sox strung together three straight homers, and the six home run total was the most for Boston since hitting six in a 10-0 win over the Orioles in September 2009.
"It's a very good offense and we all talked about it before the season started," Gonzalez said. "We're capable of putting up a lot of runs. We saw the ball good today."
Baltimore opened the game on back-to-back singles by J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis. Hardy led off with a single off the Green Monster, followed by Markakis' single to left and another single by Adam Jones, who lined one off Miller that bounced into right field and allowed Hardy to score.
Notes
The Red Sox honored former manager Dick Williams with a video tribute in the fourth inning, highlighting the "Impossible Dream" pennant winners managed by Williams. The tribute showed highlights of Boston's surprise turnaround and first World Series appearance since 1946 to the tune of "Dream the Impossible Dream" from the musical "Man of La Mancha." Williams died Thursday at age 82. … Both teams left seven runners on base. … Baltimore fell to 2-3 against Boston this season. … Boston's Kevin Youkilis followed his three extra-base hit night Wednesday with his third double in two games. … Ortiz led off the second with a double to left, barely sliding safely into second under the tag. Sox fans cheered the burly DH's hustle. … Almost half of Boston's 13 hits were home runs.