Associated Press
BOSTON — Cody Ross looked pretty comfortable and very productive hitting in David Ortiz’s usual spot in the lineup.
Ross hit three-run homers in consecutive innings and Felix Doubront pitched six solid innings, carrying the Boston Red Sox to a 10-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.
“When you have the guys on base and you have the heart of the order coming up, that puts a lot of pressure on the pitcher,” Ross said. “Any time you lose a David Ortiz it’s tough to make up for. No one can replace David Ortiz, he’s one of the best hitters in the game.”
On the day Boston put Ortiz on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right Achilles, the first four batters in the order were a combined 10-for-15 with nine runs and 10 RBIs through six innings.
Ross did his damage in Ortiz’s customary No. 3 place in the order.
“We’ve been scoring runs with guys on the disabled list and different lineups,” Boston manager Bobby Valentine said.
The Red Sox moved past Texas with the high-scoring night and lead the majors in runs scored.
Doubront has benefited from Boston’s offensive outbursts this season. The Red Sox have averaged 8.38 runs per nine innings in his starts.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “They’re doing a good job to help me.”
Adrian Gonzalez added a solo homer and drove in four runs, and Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits for Boston.
Paul Konerko had an RBI single and walked twice for the White Sox, who lost for the fourth time in 12 games.
The Red Sox have won two of three in the four-game series, which concludes Thursday night.
Chicago’s Kevin Youkilis went 1-for-4 in his third game against his former team of 7 1-2 seasons. He was traded to the White Sox on June 24.
The 24-year old Doubront (10-4) joined Jon Lester as the only Red Sox to have double-digits wins in a season at 24 or younger since Roger Clemens in 1987. Clemens was 20-9 at 24 and Lester was 24 when he won 16 in 2008.
Left-hander Pedro Hernandez took the loss in his major league debut, giving up eight runs and 12 hits — three homers — in four-plus innings, walking one and striking out two.
“Just one of those days. He’s got good stuff, though,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “I think that’s one of the things, you see pieces of it in there, pitches he was making in other counts. He’ll grow from it, learn.”
After the game Hernandez was sent back to Triple-A Charlotte. The club called up left-hander Donnie Veal from Charlotte to take his place.
Ross broke a 1-all tie with his homer in the third. Ellsbury and Carl Crawford opened the inning with singles before Ross hit a drive into the seats above the Green Monster.
With Boston leading 4-1 in the fourth, Ross hit another shot into the Monster seats after Pedro Ciriaco and Ellsbury singled. One pitch later, Gonzalez lofted a drive into the first row of seats in left, making it 8-1.
“Obviously, Cody Ross had a big night there,” Konerko said. “Got a couple pitches to hit and didn’t miss them.”
Doubront allowed one run and four hits in six innings with three walks and two strikeouts. Three relievers held Chicago hitless in the final three innings.
Chicago went ahead on Konerko’s RBI single in the first, but Boston tied it in the bottom half on Gonzalez’s run-scoring single.
The 23-year old Hernandez was 7-2 in Double-A and pitched two games for Charlotte before getting the start.
ATHLETICS 4, RANGERS 3
OAKLAND, Calif. — Brandon Hicks led off the bottom of the ninth with his first major league homer.
Hicks connected off Michael Kirkman (0-1) for Oakland’s major league-leading ninth walkoff win. He became the fourth player in franchise history to hit a game-ending homer with his first career shot and the second this year — Derek Norris did it June 25 against San Francisco.
YANKEES 6, JAYS 0 (6 1/2)
NEW YORK — Hiroki Kuroda pitched four-hit ball and Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer in a four-run first inning as New York completed the sweep with a rain-shortened victory.
TIGERS 7, ANGELS 2
DETROIT — Doug Fister gave up two hits over eight innings and Prince Fielder capped a four-run second with a two-run single for Detroit.
INDIANS 10, RAYS 6
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Carlos Santana hit a three-run homer during Cleveland’s five-run seventh inning.
ORIOLES 2, TWINS 1
MINNEAPOLIS — Adam Jones hit a two-run homer in the first inning against Francisco Liriano and Baltimore hung on for the win.
ROYALS 8, MARINERS 7
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Billy Butler homered to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning for Kansas City.
Kemp powers Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer in the 12th inning, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
NATIONALS 4, METS 3
WASHINGTON — Jordan Zimmermann pitched six shutout innings and Adam LaRoche hit a two-run homer to lead Washington to the win over New York.
DIAMONDBACKS 7, REDS 1
CINCINNATI — Jason Kubel returned from a sore hamstring and homered in his first two at-bats as Arizona dropped Cincinnati back into a first-place tie in the NL Central.
PIRATES 9, ROCKIES 6
DENVER — Garrett Jones had three hits, including one of Pittsburgh’s four home runs, and Pedro Alvarez also homered to lead the Pirates over the Rockies.
BREWERS 4, CARDINALS 3
MILWAUKEE — The Brewers pounced on Adam Wainwright and a shaky St. Louis infield early then held on through a nervous ninth inning for a win over the Cardinals.
PADRES 8, ASTROS 4
SAN DIEGO — Yonder Alonso drove in three runs and San Diego used a five-run fourth inning to beat Houston for its fourth win in five games.
CUBS 5, MARLINS 1 (7)
CHICAGO — Starlin Castro homered and Chicago batted around in a four-run seventh inning to win a rain-shortened game.
GIANTS 9, BRAVES 4 (11)
ATLANTA — Brandon Crawford and Gregor Blanco hit three-run homers in the 11th inning for San Francisco, which blew a two-run lead in the 10th.
