2-for-1 special order

Win begins, ends with Youkilis HRs

Kevin Youkilis sent a pair of two-run homers over the Wall in left, in the first and eighth. (Barry Chin/ Globe Staff)

After Friday night's game turned into a drawn-out battle that lasted 12 innings, included 12 pitchers, and featured just three runs, Kevin Youkilis helped the Red Sox put their game against the A's away early last night.

The Sox first baseman registered his third multihomer game this season and fourth of his career. Youkilis blasted both hits to left field, starting with a two-run shot in the first off Oakland's Dana Eveland. The drive into the Monster seats scored Dustin Pedroia, who had led off with a single to left.

It also opened the floodgates - three batters later, Jason Bay's home run scored David Ortiz and Mike Lowell and gave the Sox a 5-2 lead en route to a 12-2 win.

While Youkilis's first home run put the Sox on the board, his second homer, in the eighth inning, capped the slugfest. Youkilis once again scored Pedroia, who had walked to lead off.

Youkilis's two hits in five at-bats raised his average to .313 and gave him 20 homers on the season, four more than his career high, set last year.

Manager Terry Francona said Youkilis's power stroke has been more consistent than his numbers let on. He started slow with two homers in March and April, but followed that with seven in May, four in June, and five in July.

"The reason I don't say much about it," Francona said, "is because if he swings at strikes, whatever we get - it doesn't necessarily have to be home runs, but driving the ball in the gap, hitting line drives down the left-field line, and shooting the ball occasionally to the right - we'll take that. That's good enough.

"It's certainly great to see a ball leave the ballpark, but he hasn't sold out his swing to hit home runs. He's covering the plate and I think that's just a byproduct of a lot of good swings."

Youkilis echoed that sentiment in the locker room, saying he's trying to keep his approach basic, adding, "I just got two good pitches to hit and I capitalized on them."

He also maintained that although last night's win was the Sox' second after losing three straight, it wasn't a change in atmosphere - such as Thursday's transaction that sent Manny Ramírez to the Dodgers - that was boosting the team, but rather a change in the level of play.

"I wouldn't say it's anything different. I think it's just we're playing better baseball. It's always there," Youkilis said. "Right now we're just playing some good ball and putting together good at-bats, pitching good.

"Winning solves a lot. That's the biggest thing that we weren't doing before. We were in a lot of games, it wasn't like we were getting blown out. It's just we were in games and we couldn't put it together . . . We've got 51 games left and we've just gotta go out there and play all 51 the best we can."