Lineup peaked at the top

Jacoby Ellsbury started the Red Sox off with a double to left and stole third base. Dustin Pedroia followed with a single to center to put the Sox ahead. And then David Ortiz, who had just one extra-base hit entering the game, doubled off the Green Monster. Pedroia later scored on a fielder's choice and the Sox were off and running to a 12-1 victory, which completed a four-game sweep.

Ellsbury and Pedroia combined for seven hits and six runs at the top of the order. Ortiz added another sign that he is emerging from his slump by blasting a two-run triple off the wall in left-center in the sixth.

Manager Terry Francona said a performance such as yesterday's 15-hit attack shows the importance of being patient so early on.

"That's why you don't panic the first two weeks of the season," Francona said. "You look up at one point Jacoby's hitting .275, then [Pedroia] the same thing.

"We say it every year, but it happens. Everything gets blown out of proportion and you just try to play good baseball, because at some point in the season when you start logging enough at-bats and innings, you get into the grind, and if you're good, it shows."

Ellsbury was 3 for 6 with a double, an RBI, and three runs. He stretched his hitting streak to six games and has a hit in 28 of his last 31 games. Pedroia collected four hits to go with three RBIs and is 9 for 18 in the last four games.

"We swung the bats really well the whole series," said Pedroia, who started the series batting .179 but is up to .281. "It was huge for us. I know some guys struggled early the first couple of games but through the course of the year, you find that rhythm and you have good at-bats and you can see the ball. That's the biggest thing."

Ortiz, who entered the game hitting .170, said the success of everyone else at the plate contributed to his performance.

"Everybody is swinging the bat really good lately," Ortiz said. "That's what's different, and a guy like me that's been struggling, it gets a little pressure off of me."

In the sixth, Ellsbury lined a two-out single to center and Pedroia followed suit, scoring Jason Varitek. Both cruised home on Ortiz's triple. In the seventh, they again had consecutive singles as part of a six-run, six-hit inning.

Orioles starter Mark Hendrickson, a 6-foot-9-inch lefthander, was tagged for five hits and three earned runs in five innings. The bullpen did little to keep the Orioles in the game, as Dennis Sarfate gave up three earned runs in the sixth and Radhames Liz was charged with all six runs in the seventh.

"That's what makes us go - if we're getting on base and then David and [Kevin Youkilis] and everyone behind them is driving us in," Pedroia said. "That's our job. We get on base, our offense is going to be really good."

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.