BOSTON -- After nearly 11 hours from the first pitch to the last, the Boston Red Sox could finally rest and dry out after a rain-delayed doubleheader sweep of the Oakland Athletics on Saturday. Cheap Seattle Seahawks Jerseys . "I remember this one at bat, I got water dripping out of my helmet. So you have the water, you have the ball coming," David Ortiz said. "You just stick with it." The Red Sox won 9-3 and 4-0 as Ortiz went 5 for 8 with three runs and four RBIs. He hit a two-run homer in the nightcap as four Boston pitchers held Oakland to three singles. There was a one-hour delay in the top of the fifth. In the opener, Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer and Jon Lester allowed three hits in six innings. That game was delayed twice -- by 45 minutes after the sixth inning and by 2 hours, 15 minutes after the seventh. "Pretty much a miserable day. The weather, the field conditions, everything," Athletics third baseman Scott Sizemore said. "Four rain delays -- or how ever many there were -- kind of takes away any momentum youre trying to get going." The first game was moved up to noon from 1:10 p.m. to make room for the second game that was rescheduled from Sunday to avoid Hurricane Irenes effects. The opener actually started at 12:02 p.m. and the nightcap ended at 10:58 when centre fielder Jacoby Ellsbury caught Cliff Penningtons fly ball. Erik Bedard allowed two singles in four innings in Game 2 before being replaced when play resumed by Alfredo Aceves (9-1), who pitched three hitless innings. Daniel Bard allowed a single in the eighth before Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth. "We were really fortunate the way it worked out," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "We won. We used every (relief) pitcher once but (Franklin) Morales and he threw a little bullpen and hes been used a lot. It worked out really well. Now we can let the guys regroup." The Red Sox dont play again until Tuesday night when they open a three-games series at home against New York. Boston, 8-3 in its last 11 games, increased its AL East lead to two games over the Yankees, who had a doubleheader at Baltimore rained out. With no common off day with the Athletics the rest of the season, the Red Sox wanted to avoid a rainout. "We knew it had playoff implications and they had to try and get it in," Sizemore said. Fans with tickets for the scheduled 5:05 p.m. start were allowed through the turnstiles during the second delay in the opener. The game ended at 6:08 and the nightcap began at 6:52. The Red Sox allowed just three runs and 11 hits to an Oakland team that had averaged nine runs in its previous four games. "Based on the way weve been swinging the bats lately (they pitched) really well," Athletics manager Bob Melvin said. In Game 2, the Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the second against Graham Godfrey (1-2) when Dustin Pedroia doubled and Ortiz hit his 27th homer. They made it 3-0 in the fourth on consecutive singles by Pedroia, Ortiz and Jed Lowrie, and an RBI groundout by Jarrod Saltalamacchia. They scored their final run in the sixth off Josh Outman. Lowrie reached second on a two-base throwing error by Sizemore. After Carl Crawford flied out, Saltalamacchia hit a popup to short right field. First baseman Brandon Allen ran back but, as he looked up into the rain, the ball bounced off his glove and he fell. Saltalamacchia was credited with an RBI double. Bedard walked just five batters in his other four games with Boston but walked four of his first seven Saturday night. His last batter, Anthony Recker, singled for his first major league hit before play was halted in the fifth. In the opener, Lester (14-6) allowed two runs, one of them earned, walked two and fanned four, improving to 7-0 with a 1.54 ERA in nine afternoon starts. "His cutters been tremendous," Francona said. "Once it rained, he was through." Lester started under bright skies but heavy rain fell on and off during the middle innings. "The conditions were really bad. The mound wasnt bad, but anytime you took the ball out of your glove it was wet," he said. "I had no grip. I was trying to tell the umpires that. Maybe the second time it went to the backstop made them realize it wasnt safe." Ortiz added a pair of doubles and drove in two runs and Mike Aviles collected three singles for Boston. Allen hit a solo homer for the Athletics. The second delay of the opener came after Varitek bounced weakly to the mound. Crew chief Tim McClelland told a pool reporter between games that the first game had to end before the second could be started. "Yes. Thats what Joe (Torre) told me," McClelland said. Torre is the executive vice-president of baseball operations. "To play the second game, weve got to play the first one," Francona said. "Weve done it the other way a couple of years ago against Minnesota." In April 2009, Boston led Minnesota 10-1 when the game was ended by rain after seven innings so the teams could get ready for the second game. "That was an aberration," McClelland said. "I talked to Joe. According to the rules, that cant happen or shouldnt happen." In the opener, the Red Sox scored three runs in each of the second and third innings against Guillermo Moscoso (6-8) to open a 7-2 lead. With two outs in the second, Josh Reddick walked before Varitek homered. Ellsbury added an RBI double. Moscoso gave up eight runs -- seven earned -- nine hits and walked a pair without striking out anyone. Boston moved ahead 1-0 in the first on Pedroias RBI single, but Allens homer tied it in the second. NOTES: Adrian Gonzalezs third-inning double in the opener gave him a career-high 183 hits. ... Francona said that RHP Clay Buchholz, a key part of the rotation who has been on the DL since June 17 with a strained lower back, will be re-examined in "the next couple of days. But even if the examination is good, hes not allowed to throw until (Sept. 1)." ... The As recalled Godfrey from Sacramento in between games and sent pitcher Jerry Blevins to the Triple-A team . ... The Red Sox will send John Lackey (12-9) to the mound Tuesday night against the Yankees. Oakland resumes play Monday with Brandon McCarthy (7-6) facing David Huff (1-2) of the Indians in Cleveland. Cheap San Francisco Giants Jerseys . Hoefl-Rieschs exit — from the downhill course into safety nets, then airlifted from the slope by helicopter — left Anna Fenninger of Austria favourite to win her first giant crystal trophy one month after becoming an Olympic champion. Cheap Colombia Soccer Jerseys . This week they discuss Phoenix Coyotes fans treatment of Gary Bettman, MLSEs government handout, Jeffrey Loria and two legacy CFL stars.LOS ANGELES -- After Clayton Kershaw completed a spectacular month on the mound with yet another dominant victory, he struggled to muster much excitement about his performance or even the Los Angeles Dodgers leap to the top of the standings. Kershaw knows its only June. But what a month its been for the Dodgers and their incredible left-hander. Kershaw struck out 13 during seven innings of five-hit ball, and Andre Ethier hit a three-run homer in the Dodgers 6-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Kershaw (9-2) extended his career-best scoreless streak to 28 innings in his first home start since throwing his first no-hitter June 18 against Colorado. He went 6-0 with an 0.82 ERA in June, yielding four runs in 44 innings and striking out 61. "More importantly, weve just won every game," Kershaw said. "Were on a good run. In a long season, well go on a bunch of runs. Weve just got to make sure the lowest points arent as low." The Dodgers have had nothing but high points lately: With 12 wins in 16 games, Los Angeles (47-37) has pulled virtually even with the slumping Giants (46-36) atop the NL West. The Dodgers were 9 1/2 games behind San Francisco on June 8, but erased the entire deficit in three weeks. "When we were struggling early, I think everyone knew in the back of their minds that we could turn it around," Kershaw said. "Coming back and tying up the Giants in a month is not something we expected, just like we didnt expect to go 42-8 last year, but we have that ability." Kershaws bid for back-to-back home no-hitters lasted exactly two pitches before Matt Carpenter lined a single to left. Although he walked two and retired the side in order just once, Kershaw never allowed a runner to reach third base while getting at least one strikeout in each inning. Kershaw still finished strong by striking pinch-hitter Jon Jay and Carpenter to end the seventh, earning a loud standing ovation from the Dodger Stadium crowd. Hes been the best pitcher in the world (lately)," said Matt Kemp, who drove in the Dodgers first run. "You get a day off from your legs sometimes when hes pitching, because you dont have to run too much (in the field)." The Dodgers took three of four from St. Louis in a rematch of last seasons NL championship series. Ethier capped Los Angeles four-run fifth inning with a shot to right off Shelby Miller (7--7) for his first homer since May 27. Wholesale Jerseys China. Carpenter had three hits for the Cardinals, who were shut out twice in the four-game series. "We had a couple of guys on with leadoff hits, and the next thing you know, theyre still standing on the bag they started on," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "A couple of times we had guys in scoring position, but (Kershaw) just wasnt giving us much. Hes locked in." Indeed, St. Louis had little chance on another vintage day for Kershaw, who hasnt allowed a run since June 13. His 28-inning scoreless streak is the fifth-longest in franchise history, trailing only a whos-who of Dodgers luminaries: Orel Hershiser, Don Drysdale, Don Sutton and Sandy Koufaxe. Kershaw has the longest streak since Hershisers record 59-inning run in 1988. "Its tough," Miller said of his pitching matchup. "Knowing what hes capable of and doing what hes doing, you know youve got to do the same thing. Its just frustrating when you give up runs and give up those big innings. You give them a lot of momentum." Miller gave up seven hits and six runs in five innings for St. Louis, which is among the few teams with a history of success against Kershaw. The two-time Cy Young winner entered the game just 4-5 with a 3.75 ERA against the Cardinals. Adrian Gonzalez got the Dodgers first hit in the fourth inning by bunting into the wide-open space near third base created by the Cardinals severe defensive shift. After Kemp drove in Yasiel Puig, Gonzalez scored on Juan Uribes sacrifice fly. Puig hustled for a two-out double in the fifth, and Gonzalez drove him in. After Kemp doubled, Ethier connected for just his fourth homer of the season, setting off a dance party in the Dodgers dugout when he returned. NOTES: Dodgers starters have walked two or fewer batters in 33 straight games, the longest NL streak in a century. ... Uribe committed an error in the ninth, ending the Dodgers streak at nine errorless games, their longest in a decade. ... Dodgers SS Hanley Ramirez sat out with tightness in his left calf, one day after returning to the lineup from a four-game absence with a sore right shoulder. Manager Don Mattingly said Ramirez might be headed to the disabled list. ... The Cardinals recalled RHP Jorge Rondon from Triple-A Memphis on Saturday, and he made his major league debut Sunday, pitching a hitless seventh inning. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '