BOSTON – Dustin Pedroia drove in four runs and had three of Boston’s season-high 20 hits, and Ryan Dempster took advantage of an early cushion that kept getting bigger Tuesday night for the Red Sox in their 11-4 victory against the Colorado Rockies.

Mike Napoli added two RBI, and Jacoby Ellsbury, Daniel Nava and Jose Iglesias joined Pedroia with three hits apiece as the Red Sox gave Dempster an abundance of offense after totaling just two runs for him in his previous two starts.

Dempster (5-8) allowed two runs and six hits over six innings, leaving with an 8-2 lead and picking up his first victory since June 9.

The Red Sox had at least three hits in every inning until the fifth, when they went hitless but still got a runner on base on a two-out walk to David Ortiz. It was also the first inning Boston failed to score after roughing up Juan Nicasio (4-4) early.

Wilin Rosario had three hits for the Rockies, including a solo homer in the second all the way out of Fenway Park. That was the high point for the Rockies in a game that lasted 3 hours, 40 minutes.

Nicasio had his worst start of the season, lasting 21/3 innings and allowing seven runs, six earned, on 12 hits. He walked two and also struck out two. Nicasio had not allowed more than eight hits in a start this season and the Red Sox had that matched after two innings, taking a 5-1 advantage with a pair of runs in the first and then added three more in the second.

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The Red Sox tagged Nicasio again in the third, ending his night after Pedroia’s RBI single gave Boston 12 hits with two outs still to go in the inning. Adam Ottavino inherited runners at first and second, but got the Rockies out of the jam by striking out Ortiz and getting Napoli on a fly to center.

Boston added another run in the fourth inning after Stephen Drew tripled to center field on a hit he thought was a home run when it bounced high off the top of the wall.

The umpires ruled the ball was in play and Drew was stuck briefly at third. The umpires spent several minutes looking at video replays before returning to the field and signaling it was going to stay a triple.

Iglesias then doubled to left field and Drew trotted home to increase the lead to 8-2.

Nolan Arenado had three hits and an RBI for the Rockies.

Dempster’s only glaring mistake came in the second inning on a 3-1 slider to Rosario, who drove it out of Fenway Park for his 12th home run of the season.

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The solo shot cleared the Green Monster in left field and all the signs above it, landing in a raised parking lot across the street.

 

NOTES: The Red Sox topped their 19 hits in a 17-5 rout of Texas on June 4. Nicasio started the season 3-0 but hasn’t won since beating San Francisco on May 19. Napoli’s two RBI gave him 52 before the midway point of his first season in Boston.

 


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