Painful defeat for Sox

The thumping Crisp took to his rib cage - the center fielder couldn't come out of the game, given the unavailability of Manny Ramírez (strained left oblique) and the early departure of J.D. Drew (right foot contusion) - felt much like the beating the sinking and stinking Orioles, losers of their last nine games before last night, handed the stumbling Sox.

Baltimore was supposed to be the perfect punching bag for the down-and-out-in-New York Sox. Instead, it was Baltimore that threw most of the punches, scoring four runs in the fourth and five in the sixth for a 9-3 lead. Their toxic bullpen nearly gagged up the advantage, but closer Danys Baez got Jason Varitek to ground into a double play in the ninth, sticking the limping Sox with a 9-8 loss.

Boston has lost four straight games, a blemish made less painful by the 9-1 bludgeoning the Devil Rays laid upon the Yankees last night. The Sox still hold a five-game American League East lead over New York.

Tim Wakefield, battling a creaky back this week, was a late scratch, and the Sox are hopeful the 16-game winner can make his next start. But his back never loosened yesterday afternoon, forcing Julian Tavarez into action. Tavarez, originally slated to pitch tonight (rookie Clay Buchholz will take the mound instead), breezed through the first three innings by allowing only two hits while throwing 38 pitches.

But Tavarez couldn't escape the fourth as the Orioles struck four times, swiping a lead they wouldn't give up despite the best efforts of the battered Boston lineup (15 hits against six pitchers). Drew, leading off the second, fouled a pitch off the top of his right foot, forcing Bobby Kielty, who was suffering from back spasms, to replace him in right field the following inning.

Kevin Youkilis was hit by pitches twice, by starter Radhames Liz and reliever Chad Bradford. And then there was Crisp, who completed the game (and made a terrific catch in the ninth) despite his run-in with the wall.

"We came close," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "We dug ourselves a pretty good hole. It just shows why our staff feels about the team the way we do. We had Bobby Kielty running around, Coco running through the wall. You appreciate that as a staff."