G96: Red Sox 12, Orioles 1

Orioles - 001 000 000 -  1  3  0
Red Sox - 207 100 02x - 12 15  0

Wakefield (7-2-1-1-6, 98) was stupendous yet again and a grand slam from the Sultan of Sweat (Kevin Youkilis) in the third put the game out of reach.

Tampa's 8-4 loss in Cleveland means the Red Sox are only .5 GB in the East.

Only four Baltimore batters reached base: Kevin Millar's two-out single in the second, Ramon Hernandez's solo home run to begin the third, Adam Jones's two-out walk in the third, and Nick Markakis's double in the ninth. At one point, Red Sox pitchers retired 18 Orioles in a row.

Liz had nothing. After retiring the first two batters in the first, J.D. Drew and Manny Ramirez hit home runs on consecutive pitches. With one out in the third, Dustin Pedroia singled, Drew walked, Manny was HBP, Mike Lowell walked to force in a run, Yook went deep for a four-spot, Sean Casey walked, Lance Cormier relieved Liz, Jed Lowrie flew out to right, Kevin Cash singled, Jacoby Ellsbury singled and Pedroia doubled in two runs. 9-1.

Yook finished the night with six RBI. Drew reached base four times, and he and Manny both scored three times.

***

Radhames Liz (5.94, 71 ERA+) / Tim Wakefield (3.75, 115 ERA+)

Liz has pitched against the Red Sox only once, a start on August 31, 2007 (3-4-2-3-3, 72). No Boston batter has faced Liz more than twice.

Here is how the current Orioles have done against Wakefield. Cabin likes him (26 PA, .458/.500/.958).

Also: Yankees/Blue Jays at 1 PM and Rays/Spiders at 7 PM