G19: Red Sox 9, Athletics 6

Athletics - 020 010 030 - 6  5  2
Red Sox   - 010 350 00x - 9  9  0

Mike Napoli's grand slam in the fifth inning helped Boston take a 9-3 lead. It was a laugher into the eighth inning, and rookie Steven Wright was warming up, getting set to make his debut in the ninth. But Clayton Mortensen allowed the A's to get back in the game, and John Farrell needed Junichi Tazawa and Andrew Bailey to put out the fire.

Napoli - named today as co-AL Player of the Week, with teammate Bailey - finished with five RBI, on a double and the dong. Will Middlebrooks hit a three-run homer in the fourth, a line drive into the Monster Seats. David Ortiz doubled, walked, and scored twice. Middlebrooks and Napoli also scored two times.

Doubront (6.2-3-3-5-8, 113) was managing his pitch count nicely until he needed 31 pitches to get through the fifth, a frame in which he walked three batters and threw a wild pitch.

Mortensen finished the seventh and he walked Brandon Moss to start the eighth. After striking out Jed Lowrie, he hit Derek Norris and gave up back-to-back doubles that brought in three runs. Alex Wilson came in and walked pinch-hitter Seth Smith. That brought the potential tying run to the plate - and it brought Tazawa in from the pen. Eric Sogard, another pinch-hitter, crushed a long drive to right that sliced towards the corner, but Shane Victorino ran and ran and tracked it down. Then Tazawa got Coco Crisp to ground out to first.

In the ninth, Bailey walked the leadoff man, but retired the next three hitters, two by strikeout.

A.J. Griffin / Felix Doubront

Ellsbury, CF
Victorino, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Nava, LF
Middlebrooks, 3B
Saltalamacchia, C
Drew, SS

Also:

Tuesday: Bartolo Colon / Alfredo Aceves, 6:30 PM
Wednesday: Brett Anderson / Jon Lester, 4:00 PM

Oakland is 12-7, in second place in the AL West. They have the 4th-best team OPS in the American League; the Red Sox are 7th.

Boston has a 2.83 team ERA, second in the AL behind the Rangers. ... Doubront has pitched only five innings in each of his two starts this year.

John Lackey will make a rehab start for Portland tonight, pitching about four innings or 65 pitches. John Farrell said Lackey may need only one rehab start before rejoining the Red Sox rotation.