G102: Red Sox 12, Royals 5

Royals   - 300 010 010 -  5 16  1
Red Sox  - 230 501 01x - 12 16  2

David Ortiz's 10th career grand slam - and 20th home run of the season - broke the game open in the fourth inning as Boston battered Bruce Chen (4-10-10-3-3, 114) and upped their July record to 18-4. Since June 2, the Red Sox have gone 34-12 (.739, a 120-win pace).

It was Boston's first grand slam of the season - and it upped Ortiz's RBI total with the Red Sox to an even 1,000. Only five other players in team history have more: Carl Yastrzemski (1,844), Ted Williams (1,839), Jim Rice (1,451), Dwight Evans (1,346), and Bobby Doerr (1,247). ... Ortiz's dong was #311 with Boston, fifth-highest in team history.

Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia began the first inning - after John Lackey had put the team in an 0-3 hole - with back-to-back home runs. Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 24 games.

Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Adrian Gonzalez each finished the night with three hits. Ellsbury scored three times and Gonzalez drove in three runs. At the bottom of the order, Darnell McDonald and Yamaico Navarro both went 2-for-4.

Lackey (5.2-11-4-1-3, 113) gave up a three-run bomb to Eric Hosmer on his 15th pitch of the night. He was more than a little lucky, allowing another 11 base runners but only one run (a solo homer by Billy Butler). Six of the nine men Lackey left on base were stranded at second or third.

The Mariners snapped their 17-game losing streak by beating the Yankees 9-2 this afternoon, so Boston's lead in the East is back to three games.

Bruce Chen / John Lackey

Dustin Pedroia has hit safely in 23 consecutive games, and in 42 of his last 44 games. Dom DiMaggio has the longest hitting streak in team history: 34 games, June 29 to August 7, 1949. Looking at DiMaggio's game log, he appeared as a pinch-runner on July 18 and was caught stealing, but since he did not come to the plate, his streak (then at 15 games) remained intact. Here is a list of the top Sox streaks.

Kevin Youkilis will probably be given another night to rest his right hamstring, so the Laser Chicken may make his eighth career start as Boston's clean-up hitter. In 38 plate appearances in the #4 spot, Pedroia is hitting .559 and slugging 1.118. Ten of his 19 hits have been for extra-bases, and he has struck out only once. David Ortiz: "If I'm Tito, I'd let him hit cleanup the whole year."

Terry Francona says Jed Lowrie's rehab of his left shoulder has been a "slow, steady progression"; he has taken soft toss, but has not hit on the field yet.

Quiz: J.D. Drew is now on the disabled list with a "left shoulder impingement". In his five seasons with Boston, how many times has Drew been on the DL?

MFY: Mariners/Yankees at 1 PM.