BOSTON (AP) – Josh Beckett retired the first 16 batters, Manny Ramirez drove in five runs with two homers and a double and the Boston Red Sox won their seventh straight game with a 10-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.

After rain delayed the start of the game by 43 minutes, Beckett made quick work of the Phillies through five innings, throwing just 57 pitches, recording five strikeouts and allowing only three balls out of the infield.

Beckett (9-3) worked eight innings, allowing three hits – including Chase Utley’s two-run homer in the seventh – with eight strikeouts and no walks. Mike Timlin worked the ninth.

Beckett’s teammates staked him to a 6-0 lead on Ramirez’s three-run homer in the first and a two-run single by Kevin Youkilis and an RBI double by Ramirez in the second.

Beckett retired David Dellucci to start the sixth on a fly ball to center fielder Coco Crisp. But David Bell, who nearly got a hit on a low liner to third baseman Mike Lowell in the third, grounded a clean single up the middle on a 3-2 pitch.

The 16 batters retired by Beckett were the most by a Red Sox pitcher to start a game since Curt Schilling set down the first 17 Seattle Mariners he faced at Fenway Park on May 30, 2004, his first year with Boston.

Beckett lost his shutout in the seventh on a leadoff double by Jimmy Rollins and Utley’s 13th homer of the year with no outs. Then he retired the heart of the order – Bobby Abreu on a fly out and Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard on strikeouts.

Boston improved to 9-1 this season in interleague play, including all seven wins during the current streak – a club record for consecutive wins against NL teams.

The Red Sox pounced on Ryan Madson (7-5) for six runs before he left with two outs in the second.

Ramirez lined a homer over the Green Monster in left field in the first after a double by Mark Loretta and walk to David Ortiz, all with one out.

In the second, Boston loaded the bases with no outs on a walk to Lowell and singles by Crisp and Alex Gonzalez. Youkilis followed with his two-run single up the middle and Ramirez doubled, chasing Madson.

Scott Mathieson retired the next batter, Trot Nixon, to end the inning and held Boston scoreless until Ramirez led off the seventh with his 20th homer of the year. Ryan Franklin replaced Mathieson with one out and retired the next two batters.

Gabe Kapler hit a three-run homer off Franklin in the eighth. It came one week after Kapler was activated from the disabled list after tearing his left Achilles’ tendon last Sept. 14.

Notes: Ramirez had the 46th multihomer game of his career and his third this season. He reached 20 homers for the 12th consecutive year and has 455 in his career, passing Thome, who had 454, for 28th place. … Three of Beckett’s previous scheduled starts were rained out. … Howard struck out on all three of his at bats, giving him 74 in 73 games. … Boston set a team record with its 11th straight errorless game. It had 10 in a row in 1986. … The Red Sox had 13 hits, the sixth straight game it had at least that many.

AP-ES-06-23-06 2245EDT