BOSTON (AP) – With Matt Clement having an easy time, the Boston Red Sox were able to laugh after David Ortiz’s romp around the bases.

Clement gave up three hits in seven innings, Jay Payton hit a two-run homer, and the Red Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-0 on Sunday.

Ortiz hit a two-run triple, and Bill Mueller and Kevin Millar each drove in two runs as the Red Sox bounced back after being shut out at Fenway Park on Saturday for the first time since September 2003.

Ortiz, hardly known for his baserunning, helped the Red Sox break it open with a two-run triple during a five-run third. On the next pitch, he tagged up on a fly ball to left, sliding home with the fourth run.

“Not only was he on oxygen, but I think he took all our oxygen when he came into the dugout,” joked Boston manager Terry Francona.

The Red Sox went 5-1 on a six-game homestand. Their 2-0 loss Saturday was the first time they failed to score at home since Tampa Bay’s Victor Zambrano and Lance Carter combined to blank them on Sept. 17, 2003.

Clement (8-1) equaled his season high with nine strikeouts and walked one, allowing just one runner to reach third. He retired Pittsburgh in order four times, and escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the fourth with a pair of strikeouts on tough sliders down and away.

“It’s a pitch that helps you get out of trouble with a strikeout when you need it,” Clement said. “It’s always been a pitch that I can go to at any time.”

Alan Embree pitched the final two innings, completing the four-hitter.

The Red Sox took a 6-0 lead against starter Kip Wells (5-6) with a five-run third. Ortiz’s first triple of the season off the center-field wall followed singles by Trot Nixon and Edgar Renteria and made it 3-0. Millar hit a sacrifice fly on the next pitch, and the lumbering Ortiz slid into the plate after he barely had a chance to catch his breath.

“You can joke around with him a little,” Nixon said of Ortiz. “You don’t see it too many times.”

Jason Varitek hit a one-out single before Payton homered over the seats above the Green Monster.

The Pirates have lost six of seven. They switched their rotation to have Wells start the opening and final games of a six-game trip, but it didn’t work out well in either contest.

“It wasn’t a very good performance,” Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon said. “Any time you send your guy out there, and he gives you the type if innings he gave today, its tough.”

Millar’s second sacrifice fly made it 7-0 in the fourth, and Mueller’s RBI triple off reliever Ryan Vogelsong made it 8-0 in the fifth.

Mueller’s sacrifice fly gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the second after Millar singled and John Olerud and Payton walked to load the bases.

Wells lasted just three-plus innings, allowing seven runs – six earned – and eight hits. He is 0-3 with a 13.94 ERA in his last three road starts.

“Right now I’m just scuffling,” Wells said. “I’ll have to work the next few days trying to figure out why I have big innings like that.”

The Pirates’ best chance against Clement came in the fourth, when Tike Redman had a leadoff single, moved up on Jason Bay’s groundout and took third on Daryle Ward’s single. Clement then struck out the next two hitters swinging with those sliders.

Notes: It was Ortiz’s ninth career triple, his first since July 22 when he had two against Baltimore. … Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski visited before the game. … Red Sox LF Manny Ramirez was sidelined with a bruised left shin after getting hit by a pitch Saturday night. CF Johnny Damon was given the day off to rest his sore right shoulder, injured making a diving catch June 4. … According to the Red Sox PR staff, the last time the team went an entire home season without being shut out was in 1995. Since 1950, the only two other seasons were 1981 and 1951. … Wells was hit hard for the second straight start after giving up six earned runs in 4 2-3 innings against the Yankees on Tuesday. … The Pirates are the majors’ only team with an extra-base hit in every game this season.

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