Bird bashing; Pedroia, Ortiz lead 20-hit bombardment to back Lester.

Byline: Bill Ballou

BOSTON - Game after game after game, hit after hit after hit, it goes on with Dustin Pedroia. And if it wasn't so exciting to watch, it would be down right monotonous.

Led offensively once more by their second baseman, the Red Sox beat the Orioles, 14-2, last night. These last two nights, it hasn't been clear whether Boston is chasing the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East, or playing Scranton-Wilkes-Barre for the International League Governors Cup.

"I don't know how much worse it could get," said Baltimore manager Dave Trembley after this beating. "You'd like to think that this is it. You'd like to think that tomorrow's another day and you'll play better."

All things considered, Sept. 2 turned out to be one of the best days of the 2008 season for the Red Sox. They won, and everybody they wanted to lose did just that. So, Boston picked up a game on the Rays and is four games out of first. The Indians and White Sox both lost, and the Red Sox are four games ahead of either team in the wild-card race.

But, back to Pedroia.

He was 3 for 5 and missed hitting for the cycle by a triple. He hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs. He scored one. He has a seven-game hitting streak working, during which he is 18 for 30, a .600 average, and his overall average is up to .330 with 16 home runs and 75 RBIs.

"I just come to the park and do the same things I've done all season," Pedroia said, deflecting questions about the "MVP" chants that get louder with each at-bat.

The home runs are something new, though. His 16 are twice as many as he had last year, and Pedroia actually has hit 18 balls out of the ballpark, getting robbed once here and once in Baltimore on calls that would be overturned on replay today. He is on a pace to get to 20 homers, though, and for some reason that seems like it might be a magic number for him to pick up some Most Valuable Player votes at the end of the season.

"I don't think about that," he said. "I just try to do what I do. I don't have goals for numbers. I'm not trying to hit 20 home runs this year. If I swing the bat well and the ball goes out, it goes out. Home runs just happen."

The Red Sox combined to bomb Baltimore pitching for 20 hits and walked eight times. Every starter had at least one hit. Everyone who had a plate appearance had a hit save for No. 3 catcher David Ross.

Pedroia, Coco Crisp and David Ortiz all had three hits and Ortiz had four RBIs, all coming on a pair of bases-loaded doubles. Crisp and Jed Lowrie scored three runs apiece. Mark Kotsay, Jason Varitek and Alex Cora all had two hits.

Sox starter Jon Lester didn't need that much offense, but it helped, because he was not at his best. Lester went the first five innings and picked up the win to improve to 13-5. He gave up six hits and walked four in those five innings, though, and the night was really a struggle for him.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Terry Francona said, "but it's Sept. 2 and it's almost like he's too strong ... his location was really not what it's been. You know, he's been so good down, and (last night) there were balls he left up, especially with right-handers.

"His stuff was phenomenal ... I think he touched 97 (mph) early in the game."

Lester concurred, saying, "It was one of those nights. I felt strong - almost too strong. I was talking to John (Farrell) after I got taken out and it's almost like I need to go half speed and not put as much effort into each throw and each pitch."

Last night, he pitched half a game at full speed and won. Some of the credit for that goes to Pedroia, who makes every play in the field at full speed, and takes every swing at full speed, and who is leading the Red Sox' charge to catch Tampa Bay.

NAME: BOSTON RED SOX 

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: David Ortiz watches the flight of his two-run double off Baltimore's Radhames Liz as catcher Ramon Hernandez looks on during the third inning at Fenway Park.

PHOTOG: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS