Ortiz can't do it alone as Sox fall

"They haven't yet?" Ortiz asked. "Give them some time."

In the meantime, he provided some punch. Just not quite enough.

Ortiz was the extent of the Red Sox' offense in their 5-3 loss to the Orioles before 36,866 at Fenway Park. He hit two homers -- a two-run blast in the third off Erik Bedard (11-4) and a solo job in the eighth off Rob Bell -- and added a single, accounting for three of Boston's four hits. He boosted his average to .321, though his power numbers (18 homers, 64 RBIs) remain below his norm.

"David is having a great year," general manager Theo Epstein said before the game. "Everyone is entitled to a slump. I wouldn't bet against David Ortiz. He's battled through some leg problems. We think he's healthy. He seems to be better lately. He hasn't been on any injury reports. He's battled through it. As I said, I wouldn't bet against him."

Nor would one bet against Josh Beckett, who was undefeated in three starts against the Orioles. No longer. He allowed nine hits and five runs in eight innings as his record dipped to 13-5. His night started horribly as he allowed a home run to Brian Roberts on the first pitch.

"Got to throw a strike," Beckett said about that at-bat. "They hit every pitch tonight. It was one of those deals when it seemed like every time they put the bat on the ball, it fell. And that's what makes it so frustrating."

Manager Terry Francona said the aggressive Orioles made it a battle for Beckett all night, though he threw only 110 pitches. He had trouble holding runners as the Orioles stole three bases in four attempts.

The Orioles added three more runs in the third. Jay Payton hit a one-out single to right, followed by an RBI double from Roberts. Roberts stole third, Corey Patterson walked and stole second, and after a strikeout, Kevin Millar hit a two-run single.

That put the Sox in a 4-0 hole, though Ortiz's second hit of the game -- and first homer of the year off a lefthander -- halved the deficit.

On his struggles against lefties, which included a .252 average entering last night, Ortiz said, "They're pitching good . . . not too much you can do about it. When I get something, I try to hit it and let things happen. You can't control that."

The Sox loaded the bases in the fourth when Kevin Youkilis walked, Jason Varitek was hit by a pitch, and Coco Crisp walked. But Wily Mo Peña fanned on a curveball for the second out of the inning.

That left it up to Julio Lugo, who worked the count to 3-and-1 but struck out looking. Lugo clearly didn't agree with umpire Jim Joyce's third-strike call, believing the ball was low, and he tossed his bat and helmet.

Bedard had to take fluids to combat dehydration after that inning. But he came back out for the fifth and sixth.

"When he came out of the fifth, I said, 'You're done,' and he said, 'No, I want to go back out and start another inning,' " said Baltimore manager Dave Trembley, who had the interim tag removed before the game. "He said, 'I'm feeling a little bit better,' so I let him go back out."

The Orioles added a run in the sixth on an RBI double by Ramon Hernandez; the Sox tacked one on via Ortiz's homer to lead off the eighth. It wasn't enough as the Sox faltered on a night the Yankees were hitting eight homers and chopping another game off the American League East lead, which now stands at seven.

Still, there were Ortiz's 17th and 18th home runs of the season, his first since July 16, a span of 39 at-bats.

"It's great to see the big guy come out of a home run drought," Crisp said. "Hopefully he'll keep 'em coming. We need that big guy to start socking them over the wall for us."

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.