Home run lifts Braves

ATLANTA - When Atlanta Braves pitcher Jaret Wright, who had not given up a home run in his past four starts, was taken deep by David Ortiz in the first inning Friday night, one could almost hear the applause in Boston.

• Photos

But Wright, whose career ledger against the Red Sox includes an 0-3 record and 8.89 ERA, was not about to fold at the sight of Manny Ramirez & Co. And neither were the Braves, who received home runs from J.D. Drew and Chipper Jones early in the game, then Nick Green's three-run home run in the 12th inning to down the Red Sox, 6-3, before 42,231 spectators at Turner Field.

Mark DeRosa, who entered the game in the top of the 12th as part of a double-switch, opened the bottom of the inning with a single against Red Sox reliever Anastacio Martinez. Rafael Furcal followed with a double to center, setting the stage for Green's blast.

Both teams scored a run in the 10th. Ramirez's RBI single in the top of the inning gave the Red Sox a brief lead, then Furcal's double against Red Sox closer Keith Foulke and Green's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th tied the score at 3-all.

With the crowd on its feet in the eighth, reliever Chris Reitsma escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam by coaxing a soft fly from Ortiz and striking out Ramirez on three pitches.

John Smoltz dodged trouble in the ninth, stranding Nomar Garciaparra on second base by slipping a called third strike past pinch hitter Kevin Millar.

The Braves threatened in the ninth, advancing runners to second and third with two out, but reliever Mike Timlin coaxed a roller from pinch hitter Julio Franco to send the game to extra innings. The two offenses traded body blows, Ortiz blasting Wright's 3-2 delivery in the first into the right field stands, a drive estimated at 405 feet, and Jones countering with a 428-foot shot over the center-field wall in the next inning.

In between the homers, the Red Sox manufactured a run in the second, when Jason Varitek lined a soft single to center with two out, stole second, and scored on Bill Mueller's single. Drew's throw barely missed nipping Varitek at the plate.

Drew accounted for the game-tying run in the third, launching Red Sox starter Bronson Arroyo's first pitch into the right-field seats, his team-leading 19th home run of the season and his third in his past eight at-bats.

Reach Bill Zack at bzack30143@aol.com.