01:56 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 25, 2006

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

OAKLAND, Calif. – Forget the comforts of home. Somewhere along the way, the Red Sox have morphed into baseball’s most powerful road team.

They were at it again last night as they opened a three-game series at McAfee Coliseum against the Oakland A’s. The Sox launched three homers – one each from Alex Gonzalez, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz – to power a 7-3 thrashing of the A’s.

The three long balls gave the Sox 86 for the season in 53 road games. By comparison, the Sox have exactly half that total – 43 – at home, though they’ve played 8 fewer games there than away from home.

``It’s not easy to hit home runs at Fenway,’’ said Ortiz. ``Some balls, you crush to right field (and they don’t go out). Fenway takes away 10-15 homers from me a year.’’

``I can’t explain it,’’ added manager Terry Francona. ``I don’t have a good answer.’’

All three homers came off Oakland ace Barry Zito, who was charged with all seven of the Sox’ runs, the most he’d allowed since Opening Night, when the Yankees clubbed him for seven runs in just 1 1/3 innings.

The backing enabled Josh Beckett to become baseball’s first 13-game winner. Beckett, though not as dominant as he was in his last outing, went six innings, giving up three runs on five hits. Not since Derek Lowe in 2002 has a Red Sox starter won 13 games this quickly. Lowe won his 13th that season on July 17.

In the last week of July, Beckett is now just two wins shy of matching his best single-season victory total of 15.

``I’m here to make every start and keep my team in the game,’’ said Beckett, downplaying his win total. ``I’ve had a few bumps in the road here and there, but for the most part, I’ve (succeeded). It’s nice to get off to that kind of start, win-wise. This offense definitely makes my job easier when they go out and get seven runs in the first four innings.’’

Craig Hansen, Mike Timlin and Jonathan Papelbon each contributed an inning of relief for the Sox, who evened their record to 2-2 on this West Coast swing.

The victory enabled the Sox to maintain a 2 ½ game edge over second-place New York, which beat Texas.

The Sox got all the offense they needed with two swings in the third inning.

Gonzalez’s homer, driven out to left, was his third in his last 14 games and his first hit of any kind since his homer Friday in Seattle, covering nine at-bats. With another homer, the shortstop can reach double figures in homers for the fourth time in his career.

``David’s going to do what he’s going to do, and Manny, too,’’ said Francona. ``But when you start getting that production from the bottom of the lineup, that helps. There’s no (room to breathe).’’

Singles by Kevin Youklis and Mark Loretta then gave the Sox two baserunners for the middle of the order. Ortiz was fooled by one of Zito’s trademark curveballs, swinging at a ball in the dirt for the second out.

But Ramirez wasn’t fooled at all when he extended his arms on a fastball and drove it out to the opposite field for his 27th homer and third in his last 10 games, while simultaneously extending his hitting streak to 10 games.

Without the benefit of a homer, the Sox continued piling on Zito in the fifth. Mike Lowell doubled and was joined on base by Wily Mo Pena, who was struck by a pitch.

Coco Crisp then slashed a line drive to left-center, which Milton Bradley unsuccessfully tried to cut off. The double scored Lowell from second and sent Pena to third, from where he scored one out later on Youkilis’ sacrifice fly to left.

The lead stretched to 7-0 when Ortiz led off the fifth with his major league-leading 34th homer, a rocket to right.

Ortiz said the key with Zito is making the lefty ``get his breaking ball up in the zone.’’

It marked the 11th time this season that Ortiz and Ramirez had homered in the same game. With one more, they can tie the franchise record that they themselves established in 2004. In keeping with the team’s road prowess, all but one of the games this season has come away from Fenway.

Moreover, Ortiz has hit 23 of his 34 homers – about two-thirds – on the road.

After the Sox built a 7-0 lead, the A’s came to life against Beckett.

Oakland had managed just one hit – a one-out single from Mark Ellis in the third – over the first four frames, but Nick Swisher tagged Beckett for a solo homer to lead off the fifth, ending the shutout bid.

The A’s came back in the sixth to produce two more runs.

Jason Kendall walked, took second on a single to right by Mark Kotsay and rode home when Bradley’s grounder to the right side eluded Loretta’s reach.

Kotsay, who had motored to third on Bradley’s single, then trotted home as Frank Thomas grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

Only 10 days ago, Beckett had been battered for seven runs in 4 1/3 innings, but that outing had no carryover effect.

``It just a matter of executing pitches,’’ said Beckett. ``I had a pretty good sinker tonight and it was a pitch I could command.’’

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340