Orioles, Hammel Fall To Red Sox 5-0

It's not as if Jason Hammel is pitching horribly. The Baltimore Orioles right-hander simply isn't performing well enough to win.

Such was the case Sunday against the Boston Red Sox, when Hammel allowed three runs over 5 1-3 innings in a 5-0 loss.

When he walked off the mound in the sixth inning, Hammel was doomed to lament yet another winless outing. He's 0-6 with a 5.63 ERA in 10 starts since May 27.

"Baseball's not fun right now for me. It's frustrating for me," he said. "I'm making good pitches at times and they're getting hit, and the bad ones they're letting go. That's the way the ball rolls sometimes."

Although he yielded six hits and a career high-tying five walks, Hammel gave the Orioles a shot at winning. Unfortunately, Baltimore couldn't do a thing against nemesis Jon Lester, who allowed four singles over seven innings.

"The big emphasis, what I look at, is we didn't score any runs," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "We didn't mount much of anything offensively."

David Ortiz went 4 for 4 with his 20th home run as the Red Sox won the pivotal matchup of the three-game series. They had lost six straight series to Baltimore since a four-game sweep in July 2011.

As a bonus, the Red Sox took a half-game lead over Tampa Bay, which lost to the Yankees. Boston stood atop the division for 60 straight days before a defeat at Camden Yards on Friday night ended the run.

Mike Napoli had two doubles and an RBI for the Red Sox, and Jarod Saltalamacchia broke the game open with a two-run single in the eighth.

Lester (10-6) struck out eight, walked two and did not allow a runner past second base. The right-hander improved his lifetime record against the Orioles to 15-2, although he lost his previous two decisions against them.

"They've always been a tough team to pitch against," Lester said of the Orioles. "They've always had a great offensive lineup. Our guys did a good job today with (Orioles starter Jason) Hammel, making him work and giving me a couple of runs, giving me a cushion to work with."

On Saturday night, Ortiz shattered the casing of two dugout phones with his bat after being ejected from the game. On Sunday, he opted to take his swings at Baltimore pitchers.

Asked if he took a different attitude into the game because of his outburst on Saturday, Ortiz replied, "No, no. It's the opposite. You've got to make sure you don't get out of your game. Sometime when you get excited it gets worse. Just go out there like I normally do."

Ortiz hit a two-run shot off Hammel (7-8) in the third inning to put Boston up 3-0. Big Papi has 12 consecutive 20-homer seasons, the last 11 with Boston. Only Ted Williams, with 16, had more as a member of the Red Sox.

Ortiz also had three singles, tying his season high in hits.

"After taking it out on the phone ... he took it out on the baseball today," manager John Farrell said. "It was good to see."

With Ortiz and Lester leading the way, the Red Sox got a coveted victory.

"Especially in this situation where we are fighting with Tampa for first place," Ortiz said. "It's something we need."

Baltimore's Chris Davis went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. He has not added to his major league-leading home run total of 37 since July 14, and he has struck out in 22 straight games - including 10 in the last four games.

It was only the fourth time this season the Orioles have been blanked, tied with Tampa Bay for lowest in the AL.

Blame it on Lester.

"You know what you're going to get with him," leadoff hitter Nick Markakis said. "You know it's going to be a battle. He wasn't locating his pitches the best I've seen him. But he was still effective, especially with guys on base."

Hammel needed 27 pitches to get out of a rocky first inning. After a two-out RBI double by Napoli put runners at second and third, Mike Carp struck out.

Ortiz made it 3-0 in the third with an opposite-field drive to left following a single by Jacoby Ellsbury.