Red Sox batter Blanton, double up Angels
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.