The 500-Homer Man

Manny finally did it. He smacked his 500th career home run to help the Sox beat the Orioles Saturday night and cement his place as a certain Hall of Famer.

Congratulations Manny Ramirez! The guy who has brought us so many memorable moments - most good, a few bad and a lot funny - will go down as the greatest home run hitter in franchise history and probably the second best overall hitter the Sox have ever had behind only Teddy Ballgame.

Manny's blast in the top of the 7th was a no-doubter and Manny milked it for everything it was worth, standing at home plate and staring at it as it flew over the right field fence. He then took a slow trot around the bases with a big smile on his face. There was no talk of Manny showboating this time, however. He deserved to have his moment under the lights.

BOX SCORE: Red Sox 6, Orioles 3

No. 24 is the 24th major leaguer to reach the 500-home run plateau and third in a Red Sox uniform joining Jimmy Foxx and Ted Williams.

It was nice that Manny hit the home run in Baltimore - the Sox's home away from home - as a Sox fan caught the ball and gave it to Manny to keep in exchange for some memorabilia. That's why we are The Best Fans in Baseball! Manny says he will auction the ball and give the money to charity.

As for the rest of the game, Dustin and Papi hit back-to-back homers in the 2nd to erase a 2-0 deficit and then the Sox took advantage of Baltimore's weak bullpen to put the game away after falling behind 3-2 in the 5th. Ortiz had to leave the game in the 9th, however, after hurting his hand on a swing. The Sox are saying it's a minor thing, but there's been talk about the hamate bone which would be a big problem.

Jon Lester had his typical outing - 3 runs in 5 innings - but David Aardsma continued his solid season picking up the win with two perfect innings before handing it off to Okajima and Papelbon to close it out. Aardsma has been a savior this season picking up the slack for guys like Delcarmen and Timlin who have struggled.