Ramirez hits 500th

BALTIMORE – Manny Ramirez connected for career homer No. 500 on Saturday night, hitting a drive off Baltimore Orioles right-hander Chad Bradford to become the 24th major leaguer to reach the milestone.

Ramirez drove the first pitch into the seats in right-center in the seventh inning. The Red Sox star watched the flight of the ball, then took off around the bases.

“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was gone,” Ramirez said. “So I was happy to move on.”

Ramirez was slow reaching the milestone. He hit No. 496 on April 19 and had only three in 34 games before Saturday.

This one, however, was worth the wait.

“It was great, especially since I’ve been trying so hard the past three weeks just to get it done,” he said. “It finally came and I’m happy. I’m proud of myself, of all the things I’ve accomplished. Now I can go and have fun.”

As he got to first base, Ramirez exchanged a high-five with coach Luis Alicea. He slapped hands with third base coach DeMarlo Hale, then hugged on-deck hitter Mike Lowell as he crossed the plate.

Many of his teammates greeted him as he reached the dugout, where Ramirez received more hugs and bounced up and down in an embrace with David Ortiz and Julio Lugo.

The solo shot gave Boston a 5-3 lead. It traveled an estimated 410 feet.

There were thousands of Red Sox backers at Camden Yards, and cameras flashed in the stands during every pitch to Boston’s left fielder.

In his first at-bat, Ramirez hit a fly to the warning track in left field. He then grounded out to third and lined out to left before going deep in his fourth trip to the plate.

The drive enabled Ramirez to become only the seventh player in baseball history with 500 homers, 1,500 RBIs, 1,000 walks, 475 doubles and a .300 batting average. The others are Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, Frank Thomas and Ted Williams.