“Flyin’ Hawaiian’s” 7 RBIS, 2 HRs; Doubront’s 4-hitter drop Birds, 13-2

With 80% of the AL East race completed and just 9 games left against the descending Orioles [70-60], the Boston batters, lead by Shane Victorino–“The Flyin’ Hawaiian” with a career high 7 RBIs–blasted buckshot into the Birds’ butts, 13-2, winning their third game in a row, following their 4-2 West Coast road trip and moving 23 games over .500.

Felix Doubront [10-6] gave the Sox a second consecutive excellent performance:

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

HR

ERA

6.2

4

2

2

1

7

0

3.74

The lefty threw 111 pitches, 70 were strikes. He has allowed three earned runs or less in 18 of his last 19 starts.

“Felix continues to put together another strong start,” Sox manager John Farrell said. “He minimized the damage in the third, but he keeps it at a two-run inning and just a very good offensive night up and down the lineup.”

The trio of Sox hurlers allowed just 4 hits, with the recently returned Thornton and rookie Britton shutting the Orioles down with no hits in the 8^th and 9^th.

"Pitchers"

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

HR

ERA

Doubront

6.2

4

2

2

1

7

0

3.74

Thornton

0.1

0

0

0

0

0

0

3.44

Britton, D

1.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3.52

"Red Sox starting staff has a 1.36 ERA over its last seven games."

Aug 27, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox right fielder Shane Victorino (18) hits his second home run of the game during the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The Sox broke the game open in the 4^th frame and ran Chen, who had pitched at least six innings in each of his eight starts.

First, a rejuvenated Mike Napoli crushed a 94 MPH 4-seamer to Monsterland for his 17th HR; his shot cleared everything in left field and landed on the roof of a parking garage on Lansdowne Street.

Saltalamacchia singled to center.

Drew walked, moving Saltalamacchia to 2nd.

Middlebrooks called out on strikes.

Ellsbury singled sending Ellsbury to 2^nd, Saltalamacchia to 3rd.

Drew was out at 3^rd, catcher Matt Wieters to second baseman Brian Roberts to third baseman Manny Machado.

Shane Victorino was hit by pitch.

Pedroia lined a 94 MPH 4-seamer down the right-field line for a ground-rule double (34), scoring Saltalamacchia and Ellsbury. Shane Victorino to 3rd.

Wei-Yin Chen intentionally walked David Ortiz.

Miguel Gonzalez replaced starter Wei-Yin Chen [7-7].

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

HR

ERA

Chen, W

3.2

8

8

8

3

5

2

3.76

Jonny Gomes doubled (15) to center, plating Victorino and Pedroia. David Ortiz to 3rd.

EXIT Gonzalez:

0.1

1

0

0

0

0

0

3.77

ENTER Troy Patton

"Victorino had a career game with 7 RBIs, 2 HRs, 10 Total Bases and his 100th career HR.http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?c_id=bos&gid=2013_08_27_balmlb_bosmlb_1&lang=en#gid=2013_08_27_balmlb_bosmlb_1&mode=video"

In the 5^th the Sox put three more on the board, when Victorino drove an 82 MPH slider into the Monster for his 11^th HR, scoring Drew and Ellsbury.

1.0

3

2

2

0

1

0

3.63

ENTER “F-Rod” Fernando Rodririguez

1.0

0

0

0

0

2

0

1.93

A streak of impressive outings for Felix Doubront ended on Aug. 10, when the left-hander lasted just four innings a Red Sox loss to the Royals. He was shaky again against the Yankees a week later, getting shelled for seven runs on eight hits in four frames. Doubront finally regained his form last Wednesday, though, tossing an eight-inning gem in San Francisco to lead the Sox in a 12-1 rout.

Doubront struggled in the 3rd inning; he loaded the bases with no outs; then he walked Brian Roberts to force in a run.

Phenom Manny Machado gave the O’s a 2-1 lead with a sacrifice fly, but Doubront settled down and retired “Crush” Davis and Adam Jones (who have a combined 73 home runs) to wriggle off the hook.

“He corrected it pretty quick,” Farrell said. “When things could’ve become a big inning against us, he found a way to minimize it, which he’s done a number of times. After that he settled in very well. Much better fastball command throughout the later innings. Our starters have been on a good little run here.”

“I say to myself, that’s the only inning that’s going to happen,” said Doubront (10-6), who struck out seven in 62⁄3 innings. “The next four innings, I just gave everything. You know, to (not) see that again.”

Doubront kept the Orioles off-balance through the rest of his 6 2/3 inning stint with a combination of off-speed pitches and his low-90s fastball.

“I was so confident with the lead paired with good play and Victorino, a lot of hitting, a lot of scores,” Doubront said.

“It was perfect.”

“He was great,” opined Second baseman Dustin Pedroia. “Got in a lot of trouble that inning, but once we got those runs, he just settled in and attacked the zone. It was really big for us to get deep in the game.”

“He’s been playing great all year,” said Dustin Pedroia, who was 3 for 3 behind Victorino in the order. “The plays he makes in the outfield, I’ve never seen anything like it and offensively he’s driving the ball. Anytime he gets on, he’s creating a run. His speed, everything. He’s hitting the ball out of the ballpark, and he’s playing great for us.”

“Every game’s big from here on out,” Pedroia said. “We’re winding down towards the end. So we’re just going to try to come out, play hard. We played great tonight but it doesn’t carry over for tomorrow. So we’ve got to make sure we come out and we play well and we play the game the right way.”

Prior to his 4-hitter tonight, the southpaw had faced the O’s just once this season, and it was not one of his better outings. Doubront allowed four quick runs on seven hits and was chased after 4 2/3 innings.

• BOGEY SIGHTING

“X-Man” Xander Bogaerts quietly made his Fenway debut as a late inning replacement at 3b in the 9^th inning with Middlebrooks having a go at Second base.  Bogaerts has yet to make a plate appearance in Fenway.

Even with Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen on the mound for tonight’s game Even with Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen on the mound for on Tuesday, manager John Farrell kept the right-handed-hitting Bogaerts out of the lineup in favor of the left-handed-hitting Stephen Drew. Chen has held left-handers to a .191 average this year, compared to a .262 average against right-handers.

“I’m not going to turn away from Stephen Drew,” Farrell said. “He’s been a very good player for us. And probably Game 7 after he came back from the DL to now, he’s been one of our most consistent hitters. He’s been a very good shortstop defensively for us. And I just don’t want to let the splits of a given starter determine and cause us to turn away from a guy who has been very good for us.”

Bogaerts understood the decision.

“These guys played 120 games without me,” he said. “I’m just here to contribute and do the best I can to win some games while I’m in there.”

• Oriole’s phenom Manny Machado discussed his growth as a major leaguer and the recent call-up of Red Sox rookie Xander Bogaerts.

The 21-year-old Oriole said: “…if you’re going to make it to the big leagues, that means you can play…

"And Bogaerts can play."

Everybody here is excited to see him come up.”

Machado offered a piece of advice for Bogaerts: control what you can control.

“Just see ball, hit ball,” said a smiling Machado. “See the ball, hit the ball. That’s all you have to do. Just keep playing baseball and keep having fun, and everything will fall into place.”

The Red Sox, at 41-27, had the best record in the American League, riding a stretch of nine wins in 13 games.

The last two seasons the Orioles have dominated the Sox, wining 25 of the last 37 games.

BOX: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?c_id=bos&gid=2013_08_27_balmlb_bosmlb_1&lang=en#gid=2013_08_27_balmlb_bosmlb_1&mode=box

Tomorrow: RHP Bud Norris (3-1, 5.53) vs. RHP John Lackey (8-11, 3.17), 7:10 p.m., NESN, ESPN.

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• Clay Buchholz will make his second rehab start Friday with either the Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox or the Double A Portland Sea Dogs.

In his first action since going on the disabled list June 18 (retroactive to June 9), Buchholz threw 0.2 innings Sunday for the Single A Lowell Spinners.

• Arizona Fall League rosters were announced for the 2013 season on Tuesday, with six known participants from the Red Sox included.

The group of Sox participants is led by third baseman Garin Cecchini, with first baseman Travis Shaw, infielder Derek Gibson and right-handed pitchers Noe Ramirez, Keith Couch and Pete Ruiz also playing. The Sox also have a to-be-announced infield spot, which is likely Salem second-baseman Sean Coyle, who has missed time this season due to injury.

• Red Sox have acquired outfielder Quintin Berry from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for right-hander Clayton Mortensen.

Berry, 28, was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth round of the 2006 draft. His only major league experience came last season as a member of the Detroit Tigers, appearing in 94 games, hitting .258/.330/.684 with two home runs, 29 RBI and 21 stolen bases.

The left-handed hitting outfielder was claimed on waivers by the Royals back in June, and has split his 2013 campaign between Triple-A Toledo (DET) and Omaha (KC). In 97 games this season, Berry is hitting .193/.309/.260 with three home runs, 31 RBI and 28 stolen bases. Berry’s speed and prowess for stealing bases makes him an attractive pinch-runner option, a role he could find himself in for the Red Sox during the stretch run.

Mortensen, also 28, had appeared in 24 games for the Red Sox this season, compiling a 5.34 in 30 1/3 innings of relief. The right-hander, who is out of options, was designated for assignment by Boston in late June and had been pitching with Triple-A Pawtucket. Mortensen was 3-0 with a 2.47 ERA in 14 games with the PawSox.

• The Orioles have tormented their division foes, winning 24 of 35 matchups.
• Middlebrooks is hitting .356 with five extra-base hits in 14 games since being recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket.
• Pedroia is hitting .393 w/ 2 RBI & 6 runs over his current 7-game hit streak

• Farrell offered his strategy in containing Orioles’ slugger Chris Davis, who entered the series with a .304 average, 46 homers and 118 RBIs: “We’re planning on our outfielders playing high and deep the way he’s been swinging the bat.”

• In light of the devastating news regarding Mets ace Matt Harvey and his partially torn UCL in his pitching elbow, Farrell said there’s no way to predict those types of injuries and extra attention on pitch-counts may not necessarily be the answer.

“I mean, it’s a debatable question,” Farrell said. “Just by watching Matt Harvey pitch, you’d never think that he’d be a guy that would be more susceptible to an arm injury, as clean as his arm is and as consistent as his delivery is. I think you’re always aware of the progression, the innings increase year over year. Certainly the intensity at the big league level is going to be greater than at the Minor League level.

“But if you go in with the thought of protecting first, you might not get the most out of a given guy.”

• Red Sox starters posted a 1.17 ERA over the six-game West Coast road trip. Boston starters entered Tuesday with a 2.76 ERA over its last 12 games.

• The Orioles have won 24 of the last 35 games between the two teams.

*Andrew Bailey was back in the Red Sox clubhouse today; the RHP reliever lost his closing job before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in July.

Bailey is shooting to rejoin the Red Sox by July 2014.

In the meantime, he’s content to be back with the team and enjoy the work of his fellow relievers, particularly Koji Uehara, who has been dominant since replacing Bailey as closer.

“He’s been phenomenal,” Bailey said. “You look at what we had at the beginning of the season to where they’re at now, and the guys have been picking us up. … If it wasn’t for Koji, the bullpen could’ve been really bad. He’s really held it together all year, and he picked me up when I was struggling. Guys have their up-and-down spells, and Koji just keeps on coasting. He’s a name down there that you can call anytime and know what you’re going to get.”

* The Jimmy Fund’s telethon began at 6 a.m. ET and continues until midnight before starting up again on Wednesday morning. The two-day event raised more than $3.4 million last year, bringing the 11-year total to more than $31 million.

           * Playoff odds via coolstandings:

Red Sox: 64.2% chance of winning AL East, 27.7% chance at Wild Card, 91.8% chance of making playoffs.

Rays: 28.7% chance at AL East, 47.6% chance at Wild Card, 76.3% chance at playoffs.

Orioles: 6.1% chance at AL East, 22.8% chance at Wild Card, 28.9% chance at playoffs.

Yankees: 0.9% chance at AL East, 6.6% chance at Wild Card, 7.5% chance at playoffs.