Ever since Opening Day, the Red Sox have been hailed as the defending World Series champions. Now they are playing like it, exuding a swagger every time they take the field.
The way the Red Sox are playing now, it's hard for them not to have a certain air of confidence. The Phillies were the latest victims, as the Sox had everything going in an 8-0 victory Friday night in the opener of this three-game Interleague series.

The tone was set by veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who pitched well for the third consecutive start. In fact, Wakefield pitched a gem in this one, holding the Phillies to a mere two hits over eight innings.

"Everybody seems to be getting on a roll at the same time," said Wakefield, who has allowed one earned run in his last 22 innings. "As a team, you get good starting pitching, good hitting and good defense, you're going to win a lot of games."

They've done all of the above of late, reeling off 10 victories over their last 11 games to move into first place in the American League East for the first time since April 23.

"We know what the job at hand is," said Sox center fielder Johnny Damon. "We were trying to find our groove for so long."

And now, they have it. Never was it more evident than in the nine-inning clinic the Sox put forth in Philly.

The only hint of trouble Wakefield (6-6, 4.05 ERA) faced occurred in the eighth, when an error by Bill Mueller and two walks led to a bases-loaded, two-outs situation. No matter, though, as Wakefield fanned Bobby Abreu to get out of it.

"He was good. I think that's as good as we've seen him," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "The ball was moving all over the place, he was firing strikes, he was attacking the strike zone. He was really good. He's capable of getting on rolls. We scored first, we added on and he threw strikes, and that's a good combination."

Wakefield was able to pitch in a comfort zone all night, thanks to the thunder from the bats. Doug Mirabelli and Manny Ramirez cranked three-run homers off Jon Lieber, making the Phillies right-hander have a short night that had to feel long.

For good measure, David Ortiz launched a prodigious moon shot to right in the ninth to make it an 8-0 lead. The two-run blast was No. 19 on the season for Ortiz.

Sure, the dimensions at Citizens Bank Park are cozy. But Ortiz likely would have given Yellowstone National Park a run with the ball he tattooed off Phillies reliever Aaron Fultz.

"I don't care what ballpark this is, that ball was crushed," said Francona.

The Sox are 4-0 on this six-game road trip.

Not too long ago, the Red Sox looked downright weary on the road, putting together back-to-back 2-4 trips. Now, they are 20-20 away from Fenway Park, putting them two victories ahead of the pace they set in their first 40 road games last season.

The onslaught against Lieber (five innings, nine hits, six runs) began in the second inning. Trot Nixon stroked a one-out double to left-center, Mueller followed with a single to right, and then Mirabelli belted a three-run homer to left. Just like that, the Sox had a 3-0 lead.

"You have a tough lineup over there," Wakefield said. "Dougie gave me a great cushion in the second inning and it made my job a lot easier."

While the night was mostly about pitching and power for the Sox, Ramirez made a standout play with his glove in the fourth, racing to the corner in left to make a diving grab right in front of the side wall in foul territory against former teammate Jim Thome.

Lieber settled down temporarily, but had a serious setback in the fifth. Damon and Edgar Renteria opened the inning with singles, giving Ramirez an RBI opportunity he didn't pass up. The resurgent slugger smashed an opposite-field three-run homer to right, giving the Sox a 6-0 edge.

For Ramirez, it was career homer No. 407, tying him with Duke Snider for 38th place on the all-time list. It was his 171st home run in a Boston uniform, placing him 10th on the club's list.

Ramirez, in case you haven't noticed, is on fire on this road trip. He's 8-for-18 on the trip, including three homers and nine RBIs. On May 27, Ramirez was hitting .224. He takes a .273 average with him into Saturday's game.

"You know, we need that," said Francona. "Manny is right in the middle of the order. He's one of our big guns. You know he's going to hit. For me, when he wasn't hitting, you just knew it was coming and you hope that they're going to be big hits, because they usually are. His production is tremendous."

Much like Ramirez, Wakefield also has a history of prolonging his hot streaks.

"That's what we need from him," said Damon. "The weather heats up, the knuckleball dances a little more. It's been a good run. Hopefully he continues, and hopefully we continue scoring runs for him."