BOSTON (AP) – Mike Lowell hit his second grand slam of the season, a streaking J.D. Drew hit a two-run shot and the Boston Red Sox kept rolling at home with a 9-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.

The Red Sox are 18-3 in their last 21 games at Fenway Park. Their 28-7 home record is the best in the majors, but their 14-20 mark away from home is the worst of the six division leaders. They open a six-game road trip on Friday night in Cincinnati.

Boston lost the opener of the series against Baltimore 10-6 after squandering two leads but never trailed in winning the last two.

Jon Lester (5-3) allowed seven hits and one walk while striking out three in seven innings in his return from a five-game suspension after he hit two Tampa Bay batters June 5 during a game in which there was a benches-clearing brawl.

He allowed just two runners to reach second base in the first five innings, then struggled in the sixth when he gave up doubles to Brian Roberts, Oscar Salazar and Aubrey Huff that cut the lead to 5-2.

But the Red Sox made it 7-2 in the seventh against Dennis Sarfate when Kevin Youkilis hit his 10th homer of the season after Manny Ramirez walked. Then Drew’s 10th homer in the eighth gave them a 9-2 lead.

In the 11 games David Ortiz has missed with a wrist injury, Drew is 18-for-36 with six homers and 15 RBIs and raised his batting average from .282 to .324.

Hitting in Ortiz’s third spot in the lineup, he went 2-for-4 Thursday, extending his hitting streak to 11 games.

Boston had taken a 1-0 lead in the second against Jeremy Guthrie (3-7) when Youkilis singled, took second on a groundout and scored on a single by Julio Lugo.

Then Lowell hit the eighth grand slam of his career and his 10th homer of the season to make it 5-0 in the fifth. It was the first time in seven starts that Guthrie had allowed more than three runs, although he has just one win in his last six.

The Red Sox loaded the bases on a single by Jacoby Ellsbury, a double by Drew and an intentional walk to Manny Ramirez.

Lowell then drove a 1-0 pitch into the left-field seats above the 37-foot high Green Monster. Lowell’s other grand slam this year, on May 22 at Fenway against Kansas City’s Jimmy Gobble, also followed an intentional walk to Ramirez.

Ramirez’s hitting streak ended at 15 games, the longest by a Red Sox player this season, although he walked twice and scored twice.

Baltimore lost cleanup hitter Kevin Millar for the game in the second inning when he fouled a pitch off his left knee. He suffered a bruise, X-rays were negative and his return was listed as day-to-day.

Notes: Baltimore has at least one double in 20 straight games, its longest streak since June 12-July 7, 2004, when it lasted 27 games. … Boston C Jason Varitek missed the game with strep throat. “He shouldn’t have played last night,” manager Terry Francona said. Varitek hit a three-run homer in Boston’s 6-3 win Wednesday. Kevin Cash replaced him Thursday. … Sean Casey will get a rare start at first base when Boston opens a three-game series at Cincinnati, his former team.

AP-ES-06-12-08 2106EDT