Welcome to TBO.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Sports

TBO > Sports

Bay Homers In Red Sox Victory

The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 3, 2008

BOSTON - Jason Bay hit his first home run with Boston, Kevin Youkilis added a pair of two-run homers and the Red Sox cruised to a 12-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night.

Bay, acquired from Pittsburgh before Thursday's trade deadline, drilled a 3-1 pitch from Oakland starter Dana Eveland over the Green Monster for his 23rd of the year, a three-run shot that gave the Red Sox a 5-2 lead.

Bay finished 1-for-4 and has reached base safely in six of his first 11 at-bats with Boston.

"It's the same game," Bay said. "Regardless of what jersey I'm wearing, it's the same game I've played my entire life."

After getting swept by the Angels earlier in the week, the Red Sox have won two in a row.

For the fifth consecutive time and eighth in his last nine starts, Jon Lester went at least seven innings for the Red Sox.

After a shaky first in which he gave up four hits and a two-run homer to Emil Brown, Lester settled down and allowed only three more hits while striking out five over seven innings. His last loss came May 25 in Oakland.

Oakland has dropped five in a row.

Eveland lasted just two innings and gave up nine runs, though he hasn't gotten much help even when he does pitch well. The A's have scored two runs or fewer in 12 of his 22 starts, and he's 0-8 when that happens.

After a leadoff double by Mike Lowell in the third, Bay drew a walk and J.D. Drew singled. Jed Lowrie, who had the winning hit Friday night, cleared the bases with a double down the right-field line. Lenny DiNardo relieved Eveland and surrendered a double to Jason Varitek to give the Red Sox a 9-2 lead.

Lowrie added to the lead on Coco Crisp's run-scoring hit in the fifth. Youkilis made it 12-2 with his second homer in the eighth, his third multihomer game of the year.

"It's certainly great to see a ball leave the ballpark, but he hasn't sold out his swing to home runs," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "He's covering the plate and I think that's just a byproduct of a lot of good swings."

Share this: