Orioles light up Arroyo

The Red Sox' spindly breaking-ball artist went a season-low 2 2/3 innings in an 8-1 defeat at Fenway, where the 35,483 on hand didn't last much longer. Arroyo's counterpart, righthander Rodrigo Lopez, who is 31-29 in his career against teams not based in Boston, improved to 9-4 against the Red Sox.

The Sox, who pounded Lopez for eight runs in 3 1/3 innings April 26, hit much the way they did April 21 at Camden Yards. That night Lopez worked eight innings, holding Boston to five hits and one run, which was unearned. Last night's line was almost identical: 8 innings, 6 hits, 1 run, unearned. Twice this season the Sox have scored just one run; in both instances, Lopez pitched. No one has beaten the Sox more times than Lopez (nine) since 2002.

After pounding the Yankees for 52 hits and a .406 average in the weekend series at Yankee Stadium, the Sox did not advance a runner beyond second base until the eighth inning.

''He just had a lot of off-speed stuff tonight," said Trot Nixon. ''A little more than in the past."

Arroyo, meanwhile, had gone at least 5 2/3 innings and thrown an average of 100 pitches in his nine other starts. But he was roughed up for a season-high 10 hits and seven runs.

His ERA, as svelte as Arroyo himself at 3.19 going in, was 4.06 by the time he walked off the mound before dusk had settled over the Back Bay.

Of the 10 hits Arroyo allowed, three came to rest in the stands. OK, two were ground-rule doubles, one a homer, but all three were scorched.

Baltimore (31-19) scored once in the first inning, once in the second, and five times in the third. The Orioles, now four games up on the second-place Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays (all 27-23), easily could have led by a 9-0 count or more if not for two excellent outfield plays.

Nixon threw out Miguel Tejada at home to end the first on a B.J. Surhoff single to right. Manny Ramirez, in the second, cut down David Newhan attempting to score on a Melvin Mora single.

Those were crucial plays at the time, holding Baltimore to a 2-0 lead, rather than 4-0. But the Orioles blew up in the third.