When David Ortiz is hitting, not even one of the aces of the majors' top team can slow down the Boston Red Sox.

Ortiz hit two home runs and drove in a career-high six runs, leading the Red Sox to a 9-8 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.

Boston has built a five-game lead in the AL East, even without much production lately from one of its biggest sluggers. Ortiz entered the series hitting .206 in 91 at-bats since the All-Star break, but went 4-for-5 Friday night.

That helped the Red Sox erase a 4-0 deficit - and gain the respect of one of baseball's top pitchers.

"Toughest (lineup) I've faced," said Mark Buehrle, who started for the American League in the All-Star game. Hopefully, "if it comes down to the playoffs, I can get my revenge."

Ortiz started Boston's comeback with a two-run double in the third. He broke a 5-all tie with a leadoff homer in the seventh, then added a three-run shot in the eighth for his 28th homer and 99th RBI of the season.

"This guy is lethal," Boston starter David Wells said. "The man hits the ball in, away, up, down. You name it. He is up for the challenge every night."

The Red Sox have won five straight game and 13 of 15. They also have won 12 in a row at Fenway Park, their second-best home streak in history.

They did it by beating up on Buehrle (13-5) for six runs and 12 hits in seven innings. The left-hander also allowed five runs and 10 hits on July 21 in Boston's 6-5 win.

"You have to be mentally strong to pitch to this lineup," said Chicago reliever Bobby Jenks, who gave Ortiz's three-run shot in the eighth. "You make a mistake and they're going to put it into play."

Or in the seats. Jason Varitek added a two-run homer off Buehrle, and every Boston starter had at least one hit. Ortiz also scored three times.

"As long as they throw you pitches that you can hit, you've got to try to not miss it," Ortiz said.

Chad Bradford (1-0) got two outs after replacing Wells. Curt Schilling allowed a pair of homers in the ninth, but Boston held on to improve to 37-18 at Fenway Park. Chicago's major league-best road record dropped to 38-18.

At Oakland, Calif., Johan Santana struck out nine Athletics in a masterful three-hitter, sending Dan Haren to his first loss since May 26.Santana (11-6) got his second shutout of the season and the third of his career, dominating Oakland's lineup while extending his AL strikeouts lead. He won a scintillating duel with Haren (10-8), who also pitched a three-hitter in his third complete game of the season.Minnesota got the only run in the fifth inning when Lew Ford drew a leadoff walk, stole second base and scored on Michael Cuddyer's single. Ford was the only runner for either team to reach third base.

At Seattle, Vladimir Guerrero hit two solo home runs and Bengie Molina also connected - each finished with three hits and two RBIs - for Los Angeles.Guerrero had his third multihomer game this season and 26th of his career.Reliever Brendan Donnelly (7-3) got the victory after denying the Mariners in a bases-loaded situation in the seventh. J.J. Putz (4-5) was the loser.

At New York, Derek Jeter hit another go-ahead home run and the Yankees' beleaguered bullpen made it hold up.With Mariano Rivera and Tom Gordon held out after a heavy workload, the Yankees relied on a different set of relievers. Felix Rodriguez, Wayne Franklin, Shawn Chacon and Tanyon Sturtze did the job, combining for four scoreless innings. Sturtze got the save.Al Leiter (3-3) held on through five innings for the win. Rookie C.J. Wilson (0-5) gave up Jeter's home run on his second pitch.

At Cleveland, Jorge Cantu homered and had three RBIs, Mark Hendrickson (7-7) survived a miserable start and Tampa Bay snapped a four-game losing streak.Cleveland equaled a season high with four errors - a fifth was taken away by the official scorer after the game. The Indians grounded into four double plays, including one by Aaron Boone to end the game.Cantu hit a two-run single in Tampa Bay's six-run second inning and added a solo homer, his 16th, in the fourth off Jake Westbrook (10-13).

At Baltimore, Josh Towers (9-9) scattered nine hits in his third career complete game, and Gregg Zaun homered and drove in five runs.Corey Koskie, Alex Rios and Shea Hillenbrand also homered for the Blue Jays, who batted around during a four-run first inning and did it again in a six-run sixth.Both benches emptied in the top of the first when Daniel Cabrera (8-11) hit Eric Hinske with a pitch, but no punches were thrown.The Orioles played without Rafael Palmeiro, who watched a second straight game from the dugout after returning Thursday from a 10-day suspension for using steroids.

Noah Lowry received the kind of praise Dontrelle Willis heard when he was just starting his big league career."He's going to be some kind of pitcher," Giants manager Felipe Alou said. "He's a fearless man. I was going to say kid, but he's a man."Lowry was just a bit better than Willis on Thursday night, leading the San Francisco Giants to a 1-0 road victory over the Florida Marlins.Lowry (8-11) gave up four hits in 7 1-3 innings and lowered his ERA to 1.63 in six starts since the All-Star break. He also went 2-for-3 to up his batting average to .289.

At Los Angeles, Dioner Navarro hit his first major league home run off Braden Looper (4-6) with two outs in the 10th inning.Victor Diaz drove in three runs for New York with a pair of homers in his first game since being recalled from the minors to replace right-fielder Mike Cameron, who had a broken nose, multiple fractures of both cheekbones and a concussion from a face-to-face collision with Carlos Beltran on Thursday.Beltran also had a concussion, in addition to a small fracture in his cheekbone.Duaner Sanchez (4-4) pitched two innings of one-hit relief for the victory.

At Chicago, Carlos Zambrano allowed six hits in six shutout innings and Michael Barrett had two doubles and a homerZambrano (9-5) has allowed two earned runs in 23 2-3 innings against St. Louis.Jason Marquis (9-11) lost his fifth straight start.

At Milwaukee, Luke Hudson pitched six solid innings to remain unbeaten against the Brewers, leading surging Cincinnati to its fourth straight victory.Hudson (4-5) improved to 3-0 in four career starts against the Brewers by giving up three runs and five hits - two homers by Rickie Weeks.Milwaukee's Chris Capuano (12-8) lasted just 4 1-3 innings.

At Atlanta, Tony Clark drove in four runs with his first two-homer game of the season, and Claudio Vargas (6-6) allowed two hits in seven innings.Clark hit two-run homers in the first and third innings, giving him 21.Jorge Sosa (7-2) gave up seven hits and five runs in five innings.

At Denver, Esteban Loaiza pitched into the seventh for his first win in nearly a month and Jose Guillen had a two-run single in the first.Loaiza (7-8) allowed a run and five hits in 6 1-3 innings to win for the first time since July 16 against Milwaukee. Chad Cordero worked the ninth for his major league-leading 38th save.Jamey Wright (6-13) walked five in 6 1-3 innings