The Braves sent out a pitcher with a name like a big-band leader of the '30s, Buddy Carlyle, and the Sox played swing all night. J.D. Drew hit the first high note with a leadoff home run, and Coco Crisp, David Ortiz, Manny Ramírez, and Eric Hinske all followed, the Sox jumping to a 7-0 lead after two innings.
"We scored early, took some good swings, and then Julian did what he was supposed to," manager Terry Francona said.
With Schilling recovering from a cortisone shot in his right shoulder and about to go on the disabled list with tendinitis, the Red Sox won the rubber game of this three-game set. The Braves are 3-9 over the last three years against the Sox after going 22-11 in the first seven years of this so-called "natural" rivalry. The teams drew sellout crowds all three games, including last night's gathering of 49,585, to Turner Field, where loyalties were divided but definitely tilted north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
"Where do they all come from?" Braves manager Bobby Cox wondered earlier in the series about the Sox fans who jitterbugged their way down Peachtree Street all week. "Do they all come down from Boston?"
The Sox tied a season high for home runs before heading to San Diego, where spacious Petco Park and the Padres' stingy pitching staff may make long-ball sightings rare this weekend. But with a 10-5 record, the Sox are assured of a winning record in interleague play, which ends after the three games with the Padres, who lead the National League West.
They also boarded their flight to the Coast with a double-digit lead again over the Yankees, losers for the second straight night in Colorado. Their 10-game spread in the American League East is their largest since they were up by 10 1/2 June 9.
When the Sox weren't hitting home runs, they were pounding extra-base hits, with five doubles also part of their 15-hit attack, two by Dustin Pedroia.
