(Best E Casino) - Against a team which it has dominated in previous years, the Boston Red Sox lost a golden opportunity to gain some ground on the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays on Friday when they opened a three-game set at Fenway Park against Baltimore with a loss.

Boston had just come off a three-game sweep of Minnesota at home and was expected to keep up the energy in this last series before the All-Star break, but it simply wasn't meant to be as the host team bowed in a 7-3 decision.

Despite the loss Boston still has one of the best home records in the AL at 34-11, yet is still 1 1/2 games behind the Rays for first place in the division.

Brian Roberts recorded three hits and a pair of runs scored for the visitors, while Melvin Mora and Brandon Fahey both plated a pair of runners on the night.

Baltimore hurler Brian Burres captured his seventh win of the campaign as he allowed three runs on six hits and three walks, while striking out two over 6 1/3 innings of work. Reliever George Sherrill, who is the lone representative for the team in the Midsummer Classic, collected his 28th save of the season.

Despite the victory, one that halted a five-game slide, the Orioles are still last in the AL East, 9 1/2 games out of first and a game below .500 overall.

Clay Buchholz, who threw a no-hitter against the O's late last season, returned from the DL and the minors for the Sox and was greeted with his fourth loss of the season. The starter tossed five innings, giving up four runs on five hits and five walks, while striking out six.

Julio Lugo accounted for a pair of RBI for the home team, while Manny Ramirez and Brandon Moss each tallied a couple of hits in the setback.

Radhames Liz takes the ball for the Orioles this evening in New England. The right-hander has yet to record a decision versus the Red Sox in his brief major-league career, having faced Boston once previously but for only three innings.

Liz had won his first three decisions of the 2008 campaign, but on Sunday he was touched for four earned runs on seven hits and an unsightly five walks in just 3 2/3 innings versus Texas at home. What became an 11-10 setback for the Orioles saw Liz's ERA shoot to 5.94 and his walk total to 19 in just 33 1/3 total innings this year.

As for the Red Sox, they have veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield heading to the mound. The right-hander continues to confound hitters well into his 16th major league season.

Wakefield, who has spent all but two seasons with Boston, has a career record of 14-13 versus Baltimore, showing a 4.19 ERA in 32 appearances over the years.

The Florida native last pitched on Sunday when he made it through 6 1/3 innings versus the New York Yankees, but still failed to record a decision in what would become a 5-4 loss in the Bronx. Wakefield fanned five and walked just one, while giving up three earned runs on four hits in the effort.

Even though he failed to make the All-Star team this week, Roberts is refusing to go away quietly, posting nine hits and eight runs scored in his last six games. Similarly, Nick Markakis has come alive with 11 hits in his last 24 at- bats for the Orioles, leading to eight RBI and eight runs scored. Just as impressive is Mora who has eight hits in his last 18 at-bats and is tied with Markakis for the most RBI in the last week of play.

However, as good as those players have been of late, their performances against the Red Sox in the first nine games have been anything but spectacular. Both Markakis and Roberts have logged 11 strikeouts versus the Sox prior to Friday's game, while Mora had just two hits in 24 at-bats.

The Red Sox as a whole have been hitting an impressive .294 over the last six games, even though they have just three home runs during that span. Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury have all logged eight hits in the last six games, the former also knocking in a team-best six runs.

One of the AL's top hitters thus far, Kevin Youkilis also has eight hits to his credit in the last 23 at-bats and has crossed the plate six times for Boston.

The teams have split their 10 meetings so far this season, which is rather unusual considering the Red Sox had beaten Baltimore in 27 of the previous 36 encounters from the past two seasons.