Lowell Slam Trounces Orioles 9-2

The Red Sox continued their dominant play at home with a convincing 9-2 win to slap an exclamation point on the series and the homestand. Mike Lowell hit a grand slam, and J.D. Drew and Kevin Youkilis each hit two-run shots to help Jon Lester improve to 5-3.

Lester went seven strong innings and allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk to go with three strikeouts. He has been very strong all season, and it’s great to see he can be relied upon to win the rubber game of a three-game series. He’s also pretty clutch in bigger games. See: Game 4, 2007 World Series.

Sox Stud of the Game:

J.D. Drew is doing his best to look like David Ortiz. Now, his appearance and personality are very different than the big slugger. But, Drew’s on-field performance is the closest to Ortiz the Sox have. Hitting out of Big Papi’s No. 3 hole, J.D. Drew again impressed, going 2-4 with another HR (his 10th). He now has an 11-game hitting streak.

Diamond Dud of the Game:

Shhh. Quiet. You’ll wake little Dustin up. Yep, it’s official folks: Dustin Pedroia is asleep. After yet another 0-4, Pedroia is all the way down to .260. Perhaps a sophomore slump, or perhaps a flash in the pan, but Pedroia really needs to start playing better. Terry Francona has a knack of helping players bust slumps, and he knows the players better than anybody. I bet by the All-Star Break, Pedroia will be back up to .280.

Game Notes:

• Former Sox 1B Kevin Millar fouled a ball off his knee and had to leave the game.
• Former Sox pitcher Chad Bradford went 1.1 scoreless innings.
• Jason Varitek did not play due to strep throat.

Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, Kevin Millar, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell, Red Sox

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