Tim Wakefield and Manny Ramirez continue their stellar play as Boston routs Philadelphia and moves into first place in the A.L. East.

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, June 25, 2005

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA -- There were concerns, serious ones, only a couple of weeks ago.

What's wrong with Manny Ramirez? That was a popular question, fueled by the Boston Red Sox slugger's sub-par batting average.

How long will Tim Wakefield's funk last? That was another common question posed every fifth day for a while with the knuckleballer getting hit hard for several starts in a row.

Will this talented team find a way to pull out of its doldrums, particularly on the road?

Suddenly, such questions seem silly, especially after the surging Sox' 8-0 romp over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park last night. It was the team's fifth straight win on the road, and it was accomplished in large part thanks to the performances of Ramirez (three-run homer) and Wakefield (eight innings, two hits), not to mention a three-run homer by catcher Doug Mirabelli (second inning) and a long two-run blast by David Ortiz (ninth).

Boston has won 10 of its last 11 games, a stretch of success that has put the Red Sox in first place in the American League East for the first time since April 22, when they were tied with Baltimore. The Orioles lost last night and fell a half-game behind Boston.

Apparently, discussions of Ramirez's demise have been premature.

Boston's left fielder last night continued his torrid streak by clubbing a three-run homer to right off Philadelphia starter Jon Lieber in the fifth, expanding the Sox' lead to 6-0.

Over his last 10 games, Ramirez, who also made an outstanding diving catch of a foul ball, has bashed 6 homers and driven in 16 runs, and that includes one game in which he had to leave after one at-bat after having been hit by a pitch.

He now has 60 RBI. Only two American League players -- the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez (63) and Ortiz (62, boosted to 64 last night) -- entered the day with more. Ramirez's homer total is up to 17. Only six A.L. players entered the day with more. His batting average, meanwhile, has climbed from .248 to .273, the highest it's been since May 2 (.275).

And he continues to climb home run charts, moving past Duke Snider for 38th place on the all-time list with 407, and past Jackie Jensen into sole possession of 10th on the Sox' all-time list, at 171.

"We need that," said manager Terry Francona of Ramirez's hot streak. "Manny's right in the middle of our order. He's one of our big guns. You knew he's going to hit. For me, when he wasn't, you just knew it was coming, and you're hoping he'll get big hits. His production has been tremendous."

Then there's Wakefield. Last night, in silencing the Phillies, he improved his record to 6-6. Over his last three starts, Wakefield is 2-0 with a 0.41 earned-run average, having given up only 1 run on 13 hits in 22 innings. His E.R.A. has dropped from 5.13 to 4.05.

An error by Bill Mueller contributed to a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the eighth, forcing up Wakefield's pitch count and leading to his departure from the game despite whiffing the dangerous Bobby Abreu for the final out on his 106th pitch. The long inning, which included his only two walks, kept him from being allowed to try to finish the shutout.

"Yes and no," said Wakefield when asked whether he would have liked to have finished what he started. "I was just thankful they gave me the opportunity to face Abreu with (Alan) Embree ready (in the bullpen)."

Wakefield, though, was satisfied with his outing, especially as a fly-ball pitcher in a small park where the ball flies out with regularity. His recent stretch has been pleasing to him, too.

"I just tried to concentrate on keeping the ball down," said Wakefield. "And Dougie gave me a good cushion in the second. That made my job a little easier. I struggled for five starts, but I made a little adjustment in my mechanics. We're playing better baseball than we were. We're just trying to keep things rolling."

Francona was impressed with Wakefield's effort.

"That was as good as we've seen him," said Francona. "He was very good. His ball was moving all over the place. He was throwing strikes, attacking the strike zone. He's capable of getting on rolls."

Wakefield's resurgence has coincided with the return to active duty of his personal catcher, Mirabelli, who had been on the disabled list for a while because of a sprained left wrist. Mirabelli has been behind the plate for Wakefield's last three starts.

And last night Mirabelli contributed offensively, too, slamming a three-run homer to left in the second inning off Lieber, providing Wakefield with a quick 3-0 advantage.

Ortiz's monster shot, his 19th homer of the year, punctuated yet another solid overall team effort.

"That was a moon shot," said Johnny Damon, giving Ortiz a pass for flicking his bat, lingering at home plate and admiring his rocket before beginning his tour of the bases.

"Full extension, they call that," said Ortiz.

Oh, and the trouble the Sox had winning on the road earlier this year? Well, Boston now is 20-20 away from Fenway Park, which is a better mark than the team had (18-22) after 40 games last season, and last year ended with the Red Sox claiming their first World Series title in 86 years.