Boston, MA – Jarrod Saltalamacchia smacked a pair of homers and finished with four RBI, as the Boston Red Sox downed the LA Angels of Anaheim, 10-5, in the rubber match of a three-game set Sunday at Fenway Park.
David Ortiz broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run blast in the third, while Mike Carp added a solo shot and two runs scored for the Red Sox, who have won two straight after taking the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader.
"Once again, a lot of deep counts, a lot of pitches seen, a lot of good swings taken, starting with the three-run homer with David, to not only give us the four runs in that third inning but give us a little breathing room," Red Sox manager John Farrell said.
Ryan Dempster (4-6) struck out six and held the Halos to three runs on six hits and two walks over six innings to earn his second straight victory.
Joe Blanton (1-10) continued to struggle, as the Angels right-hander gave up seven runs -- six earned -- on eight hits over five-plus frames in his third consecutive setback.
"I'm never frustrated. It is what it is," Blanton said. "I went out and did my best today."
Albert Pujols and Alberto Callaspo each clubbed a solo homer for the Angels, who have lost seven of their last nine games.
Pujols put the Angels on the board with a two-out blast in the first, but the Red Sox responded with four runs in the third to seize control.
Jacoby Ellsbury reached on a fielder's choice and stole second before scoring on Daniel Nava's base hit to right to tie the game.
Dustin Pedroia then singled to left and Ortiz followed with a towering fly ball into the Boston bullpen in right-center field to make it 4-1 Red Sox.
The visitors got a run back in the fourth on Callaspo's leadoff homer, but Ellsbury scorched a two-out, run-scoring triple in the bottom half to restore Boston's four-run lead.
The Angels cut into the deficit again in the fifth, as Mike Trout stroked a leadoff double and scored three batters later on Mark Trumbo's single.
Boston, though, tacked on two more in the sixth when Saltalamacchia and Carp clubbed back-to-back homers to push the margin to 7-3 and chase Blanton from the contest.
Saltalamacchia added to the Boston lead in his next at-bat, as he followed consecutive walks to Ortiz and Mike Napoli with a deep fly ball to straightaway center field to make it 10-3.
J.B. Shuck smacked a two-run single in the eighth to account for the final margin.
Game Notes
At 39-25, the Red Sox are 14 games above .500 for the first time since the conclusion of the 2011 season (18 games, 90-72) ... Dempster now has 2,001 career strikeouts, becoming just the second Canadian-born pitcher to eclipse the 2,000-strikeout plateau ... The Angels went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.