Wes Gardner replaced Boyd and surrendered an RBI single to Dale Sveum. Another run scored on a wild pitch before Gardner put down the rally.

Gardner struck out two and walked one in the eighth. Then, after Burks' homer off reliever Dan Plesac, Lee Smith got the call for the sixth time in eight Boston games.

Smith, acquired from the Chicago Cubs last December, needed just 13 pitches to strike out the side in the Milwaukee ninth, earning his fourth save.

"I was cheer-leading when Ellis hit the home run," Smith said. "I watched it go over (the fence) and that got my juices going a little bit."

The Brewers, who won their first 13 games in 1987, dropped to 2-5, while the Red Sox, 5-3, went two games over .500 for the first time since they won the pennant in 1986.

"With offense and run production, you can overcome a lot of shortcomings, but when you don't score it can make for some dull afternoons," Trebelhorn said.

"Generally," he added, "when a team is in a losing streak it's because they're not scoring runs from day to day. That's what we're going through right now."

The Red Sox had more bad news for the Brewers today, sending ace Roger Clemens, 1-0, to the mound in a series windup. Clemens was scheduled to be opposed by Bill Wegman, 0-1.