Sox bury the Os (End of Game, 9:56, 10-0 Sox)
Michael Bowden stayed on to pitch the ninth sealing a win that was practically decided after three innings. Clay Buchholz (5-3) earned his fourth straight win. The Sox improved to 80-58, but they got no help from Texas. After taking the first game in a doubleheader with Cleveland, Texas is winning 7-0, which means even with the win the Sox could lose half a game should the Rangers hold their ground.

Lowrie comes in to play short (End 8, 9:47, 10-0)
With the game practically decided -- Michael Bowden tossed a clean eighth for the Sox, who were quiet in the bottom of the inning -- Jed Lowrie took the field for the ninth, replacing Alex Gonzalez at short. It's only the 20th game for the shortstop, who began the year as the Sox starter. Earlier in the day, Terry Francona said he would use Lowrie selectively now that he was back up with the parent club.

Ortiz makes it six Sox homers on the night (End 7, 9:33, 10-0 Sox)
Bob McCrory fed David Ortiz a 95-mph fastball, and Ortiz shot it hard and deep to center field out over the triangle for his 23d home run as the Sox continue to pound on the Os. Clay Buchholz is done for the night, striking out five, and allowing just three hits in seven innings. Michael Bowden came on in relief.

Buchholz hangs another '0', impressive through seven (Mid 7, 9:28, 9-0 Sox)
It's the third time this season that Clay Buchholz has gone at least seven innings. This easily outdoes his last start against Baltimore, when he allowed seven runs in just four innings. But his best outing against the Os, obviously, is the no-hitter in Sept. 2007.

Sox tack on another (End 6, 9:14, 9-0 Sox)
Alex Gonzalez came inches away from hitting his second home run of the night. He wound up with a double high of the Wall in left. After Jacoby Ellsbury legged out an infield single and Dustin Pedroia walked, Gonzalez came around to score on a Victor Martinez ground ball, giving the Sox that much more cushion as they come down the stretch.

Youk' flashes leather (Mid 6, 9:01, 8-0 Sox)
Before the game, when someone brought up how nice it is to have Casey Kotchman at first with a groundball pitcher like Clay Buchholz, Red Sox manager Terry Francona was quick to remind everyone that Youkilis was no slouch. "He won a gold glove last year," Francona said. He put that glove on display, diving to snare a hard shot down the left side by Nolan Reimold and firing a seed to first for the final out of a 1-2-3 inning.

Sox threaten to pile on, but fizzle (End 5, 8:54, 8-0)
It looked like the Sox had a chance to add to an already huge lead when Victor Martinez led off the inning with a double and David Ortiz followed up a Kevin Youkilis walk with a single. But the Orioles were able to wiggle out, getting Jason Bay to strike out swinging then getting a double-play ball out of J.D. Drew. A quick stat, though, about the Sox early home run contest: In the 37 games since July 31, the Sox have hit 65 home runs. Over that same span, the Yankees have also smacked 65, but in 38 games.

Buchholz keeps Os in check (Mid 5, 8:42, 8-0 Sox)
Matt Wieters stroked a leadoff double off Clay Buchholz, but Buchholz kept rolling. He fanned Luke Scott and K'd Ty Wigginton for a second time, then got Cesar Izturis to ground out.

Os finally calm down Sox bats (End 4, 8:29, 8-0 Sox)
Chris Lambert tossed a three-up, three-down inning, hanging the first 0 of the night on the Sox, who've been explosive all night at the plate.

Buchholz in a comfort zone (Mid 4, 8:24, 8-0 Sox)
Clay Buchholz pitched his longest inning of the night, walking Felix Pie and giving up a single through the middle to Nick Markakis, but with an eight-run lead he couldn't be pitching from a more comfortable position.

Home run derby rolls along at Fenway (End 3, 8:13, 8-0 Sox)
Dustin Pedroia sneaked a fly ball in the left-field corner for a solo shot that gave the Sox homers in each of the three innings so far. The Orioles lifted Hernandez three batters later after he walked David Ortiz, but Chris Lambert didn't fare any better, giving a free pass to Jason Bay. A batter later, J.D. Drew added on to the damage, roping one deep to right-center for a three-run shot, his 20th of the season. For Pedroia, it was his 12th. It was also sort of a weird first. For a hitter who tends to smack his homers in bunches, this is the first multi-home run game of Pedroia's career.

Easy three for Buchholz (Mid 3, 7:53, 4-0 Sox)
The Orioles are almost making it easy for Clay Buchholz, who got out of the third inning doing as little work as possible. He got Luke Scott to ground out to second on the first pitch. He got a looking-looking-swinging strikeout out of Ty Wigginton, then got Cesar Izturis to fly out on the second pitch. The inning was over before you could blink.

Gonzo goes deep off Hernandez (End 2, 7:52, 4-0 Sox)
So David Hernandez has a reputation for being a fly ball pitcher (the last time he was here, he did this). Now it seems like all those fly balls are being shot out of the park. Alex Gonzalez blasted another long ball, sending a fastball over the Wall. It was his seventh homer of the year, fourth with the Sox, and it extends his hit streak to 12 games.

Buchholz keeps Os scoreless (Mid 2, 7:39, 3-0 Sox)
Clay Buchholz tossed another 1-2-3 inning, getting a ground ball out of Nick Markakis, fanning Melvin Mora, and getting a fly ball to center out of Matt Weiters.

Blasts from Pedroia and Youkilis put Sox up 3-0 (End 1, 7:30, 3-0 Sox)
With Jacoby Ellsbury on first after working an eight-pitch walk out of O's starter David Hernandez to start the inning, Dustin Pedroia saw a 94-mph fastball up high and over the middle of the plate and smacked it senseless. It got over the Monster in a hurry, bouncing off the top of the AAA sign and over to Lansdowne. Two batters later, Kevin Youkilis shot a 3-1 pitch in the same direction, only his was more of a moon shot, arching high and out. It was Pedroia's 11th home run of the season, and Youkilis's 24th.

Easy first for Buchholz (Mid 1, 7:16, 0-0)
Leaning mostly on his fastball, Clay Buchholz made quick work out of Brian Roberts (flyout to left), Feliz Pie (pop up to short), and Nolan Reimold (flyout to left), using just 11 pitches to retire the side.