Varitek's single, Ortiz's HR carry BoSox past slumping O's

Red Sox 7, Orioles 6

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The no-hit rookie kept the Baltimore Orioles scoreless in his encore performance, and a trio of veterans helped Boston rally three times before prevailing.

Pinch-hitter Jason Varitek singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, and the Red Sox got home runs from David Ortiz and Coco Crisp in a 7-6 victory Thursday night.

Crisp had three hits and scored three runs, including the tiebreaker in the ninth, as the Red Sox extended their AL East lead to 6 1/2 games over the idle New York Yankees. Boston, which trailed 1-0, 4-2 and 6-5, has been in first place for 142 days -- its longest streak since 1986.

Boston rookie Clay Buchholz, who pitched a no-hitter Saturday against Baltimore in his last appearance, got off to a shaky start. Entering in the sixth with the score tied at 6, he walked Brian Roberts and gave up a single to Tike Redman before walking Nick Markakis to load the bases with no outs.

But Miguel Tejada hit into a 5-2-3 double play and Kevin Millar struck out, and Buchholz (3-0) followed with two perfect innings.

"They hit a lot of good balls but I had some big plays behind me," Buchholz said. "I mixed up my pitches well and made the pitches I needed to get out of situations."

Boston manager Terry Francona said, "He did a great job getting out of the jam."

The Orioles wore throwback uniforms that paid tribute to the 1932 Baltimore Black Sox of the Negro Leagues, but the new clothes couldn't prevent them from meeting a familiar fate. With their 10th straight loss at home, they matched an Orioles record set in 1954 -- the club's first season in Baltimore -- according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Baltimore got a home run from Millar and three hits from Redman, but lost for the 14th time in 16 games.

"The opportunity we had, the bases loaded and nobody out and didn't score, that would have been to our benefit if we could have broke the game open there," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "We certainly had the opportunity to do that and it didn't happen."

With the score 6-all, Crisp led off the ninth with an infield hit off Danys Baez (0-6). He stole second and came home when Varitek lined a single to left.

"You find ways to win games," said Varitek, who is 3-for-6 as a pinch hitter this season.

Jonathan Papelbon struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 34th save.

Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield allowed six runs and nine hits in 3 2-3 innings, matching his shortest outing of the season. It was the first time in 27 starts this season the knuckleballer did not receive a decision; his streak of 26 games was longest in the majors since Jack McDowell had 27 in 1993.

Baltimore ended Wakefield's run of 22 straight scoreless innings with a run in the first. Redman singled, stole second and scored on a single by Tejada.

Boston took advantage of two straight mental errors by Orioles rookie starter Garrett Olson to go up 2-1 in the third. After an RBI single by Julio Lugo tied it and put runners on first and second, Olson fielded a comebacker and inexplicably threw to first. Ortiz followed with a tapper to the mound, and with Royce Clayton halfway down the line, Olson threw to first, allowing Clayton to score.

"It looked like he panicked," Trembley said. "Both instances, he could have gone to third, he could have gone to second. Unfortunately, both of those plays were a big part of the game."

In the bottom half, Millar hit a two-run homer on an 0-2 pitch, Aubrey Huff doubled and Melvin Mora hit an RBI single for a 4-2 lead.

The Red Sox went ahead 5-4 in the fourth. Olson issued two walks before Crisp ended a 54-game homerless drought with a three-run drive to left. One batter later, Olson left with tightness in his left forearm.

Baltimore chased Wakefield in the bottom half, using an RBI double by Markakis and run-scoring single by Tejada to go up 6-5.

Ortiz tied it in the fifth with a drive to right off Rocky Cherry. It was his 27th homer of the season, the 200th with Boston.

Game notes
Red Sox C Doug Mirabelli, playing for the first time since coming off the disabled list with a strained right calf, left in the third inning with a strained left hamstring. ... Boston's Kevin Youkilis tied an AL record with his 178th consecutive errorless game at first base, matching the mark set by Mike Hegan from 1970-73. Youkilis also extended his own single-season mark to 123. ... Baltimore rookie Jim Hoey retired the side in order in the seventh, his first scoreless outing in six tries since Aug. 21. ... It was Boston's 41st road win, assuring the Red Sox their ninth winning season away from home in the last 10 years. ... The St. Louis Browns lost 20 consecutive home games in 1953 before moving to Baltimore and becoming the Orioles, according to Elias.