500th clubbed: Manny's milestone powers Sox to win

Sox 6, Orioles 3
WP: Aardsma (2-1)
LP: Cormier (0-2)
SV: Papelbon (16)
HRs: BOS-Pedroia (4), Ortiz (13), Ramirez (10); BAL-Roberts (4)

Bye bye baseball, hello Hall of Fame

SUMMARY:
Manny Ramirez became the 24th member of the 500 home run club when he belted an opposite field blast in the seventh inning off Chad Bradford, and Boston used a trio of homers to defeat the error prone Orioles for the second night in a row.

SUPERSTAR: Ramirez 1-5, R, RBI, HR
He only got one hit, but that one hit ensured his ticket to Cooperstown. So it was a pretty big one.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Bradford 1/3IP, 1H, 1R, 1HR
The sidearmer was brought in for one reason - to get Manny out. Instead Manny put it out, and in the process put Bradford's name in the record book, forever to be known as "the man who surrendered Manny Ramirez' 500th home run."

RECAP:
One day after celebrating his 36th birthday Manny Ramirez got the present he'd been waiting all year for - a free trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

When Ramirez carved his 500th career home run to right field in the seventh inning of tonight's win over Baltimore, he capped a season long vigil that began with a bang but had been reduced to a nerve-racking whisper. He began the year with six homers in his first 17 games, but then he went more than 10 games without a homer twice before hitting two in the past four games to finally reach the magic mark.

"I'm just happy everything's done for now," Ramirez said. "I can go be myself and have fun."

Like he ever had a problem doing that, 500 lb monkey hanging off his dreads or no.

The homer was the icing on the cake of what has been an enjoyable couple of days in the Inner Harbor for the Bosox.

After snapping a 1-5 skid with a hard fought and satisfying 13-inning win early Saturday morning that featured key contributions from nearly every member of the bullpen, tonight they fought back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 before pulling away late, thanks to Manny's milestone and some sloppy play by the bumbling Birds.

Wonder what Sunday has in store?

The night started off on a bad note when Jon Lester (5IP, 7H, 3ER, 3BB, 4K, HR, 103P) allowed a pair of runs in the second inning on a walk, a passed ball and a pair of RBI singles by Jay Payton and Adam Jones, but Boston got those two runs right back when Pedroia and Papi hit back-to-back jacks off O's starter Garrett Olson (5IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB, 3K, 2HR, 89P) in the top of the third.

It was the fourth time this year Boston has hit back to back home runs, and it couldn't have come at a more opportune time.

Unfortunately Lester gave the lead right back when Baltimore's version of Pedroia, Brian Roberts, hit his fourth homer of the season into the left field bleachers to give the Birds a 3-2 lead.

But once again Boston came right back, this time off reliever Lance 'don't call me Rheal' Cormier. Cormier retired Manny on two pitches but then hit Mike Lowell two pitches later, balked him to second two pitches after that, and after allowing an infield single to Kevin Youkilis, gave up the game-tying hit when Cap'n Tek (3-4, RBI) slammed a single to left.

With the game all square again it was time for the historic heroics.

David Aardsma, one of the few pen men who didn't contribute to last night's victory, relieved Lester and threw a 1-2-3 sixth and then Jacoby Ellsbury, who stole three bases for the second consecutive game (!), led off the seventh with a blistering triple to deep right center, and it was just a matter of time before the Sox brought him home.

Sure enough one out later Ortiz (1-3, R, 2BI) greeted reliever Jamie Walker with a towering sac fly to left that scored Ellsbury with ease, and then O's manager Dave Trembley made his second mistake of the inning when he brought in Chad Bradford to face Ramirez.

The sidewinding vet had spent 2005 with the Sox, so you know he knew all about Manny's tendencies. Like how he loves to swing at the first pitch if he thinks he knows what's coming.

He did, and he pounced on the pitch and drove it deep into the right field seats for the history-making blast, and with arms raised and in full pose mode Manny became a member of a special if not exactly rare group of sluggers who have reached the once exclusive 500 homer club.

The Sox tacked on another run in the 8th when Youk got hit by a pitch, moved to third on a single by tek and scored on a double play grounder by Coco Crsip, and after Okajima tossed a scoreless frame in the bottom of the 8th, Papelbon caused a few nervous moments when he allowed a hit an a walk in the 9th before a base running blunder by the Birds led to a game-ending double play and another road win.

But the fact that Boston won back to back road games for the first time since May 5th & 6th at Detroit, or that they stole 9 bases in two games, or that Baltimore made 6 errors in the two losses and generally played like a Little League team both nights, none of those things mattered.

This night belonged to Manny.

You can call him maddening and you can call him mercurial, you can call him child-like and you can call him Manny being Manny.

But one thing you have to call him is one of the most impressive and feared hitters of all time, and five years after he hangs up his 'do rag for good you'll be able to call him a Hall Of Famer.

Congrats Manny, and happy belated birthday.

RECORD: 34-24
AL EAST: 1GB
STREAK: W2
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Sun @ BAL 1:35 Colon vs. Burres