G137: Red Sox 7, White Sox 2

White Sox - 001 100 000 - 2  5  1
Red Sox   - 101 311 00x - 7 15  0

A team effort, with seven of the nine Boston batters collecting at least two hits.

Peavy: 7-5-2-1-4, 109.

It was the 11th consecutive game in which the Red Sox allowed three or fewer runs. Since August 19, opponents have scored: 0, 3, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 2 runs. That's the best Sox streak since another 11-gamer on April 12-25, 1988. Opponents have also been held to eight hits or fewer in each of the last 11 games.

John Danks / Jake Peavy

Ellsbury, CF
Victorino, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Gomes, LF
Middlebrooks, 3B
Ross, C
Bogaerts, SS

Clay Buchholz is hoping for a September 10 return to the Red Sox rotation. That would come during a much-anticipated three-game series against the second-place Rays.

Alex Speier: Do 2013 Red Sox have enough star power to win?

G136: Red Sox 4, White Sox 3

White Sox - 000 010 200 - 3  6  0
Red Sox   - 001 300 00x - 4  6  0

Hector Santiago / Ryan Dempster

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

Last night, Jacoby Ellsbury became the first player in Red Sox history to have 50+ steals in three separate seasons. He is 50-for-54 this season. (He stole 50 bases in 2008 and 70 in 2009.) He is third on Boston's all-time SB list, behind Harry Hooper and Tris Speaker.

David Ortiz is 0-for-his-last-22.

Jerry Remy will not return to the NESN booth this season.

The Rays (2.5 GB) are in Oakland tonight.

G135: Orioles 3, Red Sox 2

Orioles - 002 010 000 - 3  7  0
Red Sox - 010 001 000 - 2  8  0

Chris Tillman / Jon Lester

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

Red Sox Runs Allowed, Last 8 Games: 0, 3, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 3. ... Team ERA: 1.78.

Afternoon: Angels 2, Rays 0. Tampa Bay had runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the ninth and could not score.

Schadenfreude 166 (A Continuing Series)

Mark Feinsand, Daily News:

For four months, the Yankees had so many problems, you needed two hands – even a foot at times – to keep count.

More All-Stars on the disabled list than on the field. No righthanded power. Part-time players filling full-time roles. Even more injuries. CC Sabathia’s velocity. Andy Pettitte’s age. Phil Hughes' inconsistency. The list seemed endless.

The only name that never appeared there was Hiroki Kuroda.

It's there now.

Kuroda's latest clunker came in the form of a five-inning, seven-run thumping by the last-place Blue Jays ...

Ken Davidoff, Post:

This simply won't work.

You can't produce a game like this, a multi-platform meltdown, when you've given yourself such little room for error. Against an opponent deader than pagers or VCRs. ...

So the Yankees must produce better starting pitching, get more out of their old and tired players and benefit from some luck when they've already received their fair share. That must start pretty much immediately.

A run like that is a terrible bet. Everything you see, both on the field and in the statistical analysis, tells you the Yankees will be home for October. Go with your gut, and your brain, too.

G134: Red Sox 4, Orioles 3

Orioles - 101 001 000 - 3  7  0
Red Sox - 001 000 21x - 4  9  0

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled off the Wall. After an intentional walk to Stephen Drew, Mike Carp pinch-hit for Xander Bogaerts and flaired a single into short left field that scored Salty with the go-ahead run.

Boston tied the game in the seventh when Drew doubled, Jacoby Ellsbury singled, and Dustin Pedroia drove them both in with a groundball single to left. ... Lackey: 7.1-7-3-1-4, 92. Koji Uehara recorded his 14th save.

The Rays beat the Angels 4-1, so Boston's lead remains 2.5 games. Magic #: 28.

Bud Norris / John Lackey

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

G133: Red Sox 13, Orioles 2

Orioles - 002 000 000 -  2  4  0
Red Sox - 102 530 20x - 13 14  0

Shane Victorino hit two home runs and one double, scored four times, and drove in a career-high seven runs. He also walked and was hit by a pitch, reaching base in all five plate appearances.

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and scored three runs. Dustin Pedroia doubled twice and singled.

Felix Doubront: 6.2-4-2-1-7, 111. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 18 of his last 19 starts.

The Angels scored two runs in the top of the ninth off Fernando "Gas Can" Rodney and beat the Rays 6-5. Boston is now 2.5 GA in the East.

Wei-Yin Chen / Felix Doubront

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

Of Boston's 30 remaining regular season games, nine are against the Orioles. As Peter Abraham notes, the Red Sox are not hitting well against Baltimore this year in any way, shape, or form (.208/.270/.367; 34 runs in 10 games) and need to start doing so immediately.

The Red Sox have traded pitcher Clayton Mortensen to the Royals for outfielder Quintin Berry, 28, who is hitting .193/.309/.260 in 371 PAs in AAA between the Tigers and Royals this year. ... Berry batted .258 for Detroit as a rookie last season and was 21-for-21 in steals.

G132: Red Sox 8, Dodgers 1

Red Sox - 101 102 102 - 8 12  0
Dodgers - 000 100 000 - 1  3  0

Peavy (9-3-1-1-5, 111) went the distance!

Big Bats: Mike Napoli (2-for-4, double, homer, walk, 2 runs scored, 3 RBI), Shane Victorino (2-for-4, double, homer, 2 runs scored), Dustin Pedroia (3-for-4, double, RBI, run scored), Xander Bogaerts (2-for-4, double, RBI), and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2-run dong).

The Rays lost to New York 3-2 in 11 innings, so Boston is 1 GA in the East. The Red Sox are off tomorrow before hosting the Orioles (5.5 GB) for three games.

Jake Peavy / Chris Capuano

The Rays (tied with Boston for first in the East) host the Yankees at 1 PM.

G131: Red Sox 4, Dodgers 2

Red Sox - 400 000 000 - 4  8  1
Dodgers - 000 000 020 - 2  5  0

Jon Lester (7.1-3-1-4-6, 101) and Jonny Gomes led Boston to victory. With one out in the first, Shane Victorino was hit by a pitch and Dustin Pedroia singled. Mike Napoli (3-for-4) singled one run in and then Gomes pounded a three-run dong.

Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run double off Craig Breslow in the eighth. Koji Uehara got the final out of that inning and then threw a perfect ninth for the save.

Xander Bogaerts singled in the ninth inning for his first major league hit.

Jon Lester / Hyun-Jin Ryu

Ellsbury, CF
Victorino, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Napoli, 1B
Gomes, LF
Drew, SS
Middlebrooks, 3B
Ross, C
Lester, P

G130: Dodgers 2, Red Sox 0

Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  2  0
Dodgers - 000 200 00x - 2  3  0

Hanley Ramirez's two-run home run was the difference. Time of game: 2:07.

John Lackey (8-3-2-0-6, 97) pitched a complete game, and was the hard-luck loser. In the fourth, former Sock Carl Crawford singled and stole second before Ramirez went deep. Crawford singled in the sixth for LA's third hit of the night.

For Boston, Dustin Pedroia singled with two outs in the first and Stephen Drew singled with one out in the fifth. There were no walks on either side.

The Rays beat the Yankees 7-2, so Boston and Tampa Bay are once again tied for first place.

John Lackey / Ricky Nolasco

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

Clay Buchholz may pitch for Lowell (A) on Sunday.

Will Middlebrooks is 15-for-34 (.441) with three doubles, two home runs, six walks, and seven RBIs since being recalled from Pawtucket.

Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford: "I want to win all three games. Bad."

Josh Beckett talks about his last days in Boston.

Ryan Braun admits using PEDs. Whatever.

G129: Red Sox 12, Giants 1

Red Sox - 023 100 510 - 12 12  0
Giants  - 010 000 000 -  1  5  2

Doubront: 8-5-1-1-3, 114.

Felix Doubront / Barry Zito

Ellsbury, CF
Victorino, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, 1B
Gomes, LF
Saltalamacchia, C
Drew, SS
Middlebrooks, 3B
Doubront, P

G128: Giants 3, Red Sox 2

Red Sox - 101 000 000 - 2  7  0
Giants  - 000 010 011 - 3  8  0

Jake Peavy / Ryan Vogelsong

Ellsbury, CF
Victorino, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Carp, 1B
Middlebrooks, 3B
Nava, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Ross, C
Peavy, P

Xander Bogaerts, 20, makes his major league debut tonight.

Ryan Dempster was suspended for five games for hitting Alex Rodriguez with a pitch on Sunday night. He was also fined. Dempster will not appeal the decision.

G127: Red Sox 7, Giants 0

Red Sox - 030 011 002 - 7 12  1
Giants  - 000 000 000 - 0  6  1

Jon Lester / Tim Lincecum

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

X Marks The Spot

The Red Sox will call up top prospect Xander Bogaerts from Pawtucket today.

Alex Speier: "Bogaerts was hitting .284 with a .369 OBP, .453 slugging percentage and nine homers [with Pawtucket]. He's spent most of his time at his natural position of shortstop, but he's also seen action in nine games at third base. On a team that has struggled against lefties, Bogaerts offers the possibility of a notable boost, given that he was hitting .298 with a .452 OBP, .474 slugging mark, 16 walks and just seven strikeouts in 73 plate appearances against southpaws."

It is one of several moves the team is making before beginning a series in San Francisco tonight. Brock Holt and Ryan Lavarnway have been optioned to Pawtucket and David Ross will be activated.

Bogaerts would be the youngest Red Sox position player since Dwight Evans debuted in 1972 at the age of 20.

G126: Yankees 9, Red Sox 6

Yankees - 021 004 101 - 9 17  0
Red Sox - 201 210 000 - 6  9  0

CC Sabathia / Ryan Dempster

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

G125: Red Sox 6, Yankees 1

Yankees - 000 010 000 - 1  8  2
Red Sox - 000 302 10x - 6 14  0

Hiroki Kuroda / John Lackey

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

G124: Yankees 10, Red Sox 3

Yankees - 123 100 003 - 10 15  2
Red Sox - 000 100 200 -  3 10  3

This loss, coupled with the Rays' 5-4 win over Toronto, moved Tampa Bay 1 GB Boston in the AL East.

Andy Pettitte / Felix Doubront

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

The Rays (2 GB) are hosting the Blue Jays.

G123: Blue Jays 2, Red Sox 1

Red Sox   - 000 100 000 - 1 11  1
Blue Jays - 000 000 20x - 2  6  0

Boston had runners on base in seven of the nine innings, but went 2-for-11 with RATS and left 12 men on base.

Daniel Nava and Dustin Pedroia each had three hits. Nava had two doubles.

Jake Peavy / Mark Buehrle

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

G122: Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 3 (10)

Red Sox   - 000 001 002 0 - 3  8  3
Blue Jays - 001 101 000 1 - 4  8  1

Jon Lester / Esmil Rogers

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

G121: Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 2 (11)

Red Sox   - 000 000 200 02 - 4 10  0
Blue Jays - 000 010 010 00 - 2  6  1

Boston increased its AL East lead to four games, as the Rays lost to the Mariners 5-4.

Shane Victorino singled home two runs in the top of the eleventh. Koji Uehara, who came in and got the third out in the tenth, pitched a perfect eleventh.

Dempster: 7-4-1-2-4, 88.

Ryan Dempster / Todd Redmond

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

Hard Case Crime

I've been reading a bunch of paperback novels from Hard Case Crime, a small publishing house started by Charles Ardai in late 2004.

As its website explains: "Hard Case Crime brings you the best in hardboiled crime fiction, ranging from lost noir masterpieces to new novels by today's most powerful writers, featuring stunning original cover art in the grand pulp style."

Ardai explains what he loves about the pulp era: "It's somehow rawer than the present, more colourful, more alive. There's something grand and romantic about it ... For crime fiction, it's a return to a time before cell phones, before Google, before DNA testing, when one man working alone, with just his wits and two fists for company, could make a difference."

There is another excellent interview with Ardai here. ... I love that the back of every book states "the yellow ribbon represents your assurance of quality"!

Of the ten HCC novels I have read so far, here are the top three. The first one, written by a cab driver in Chicago, was originally self-published and sold for $5 in his cab.

G120: Royals 4, Red Sox 3

Red Sox - 100 002 000 - 3  7  0
Royals  - 121 000 00x - 4  9  1

John Lackey / James Shields

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

The Red Sox's three-game lead in the East is their largest since July 13. Their biggest lead of the season was 5.5 games, after the games of July 5.

Despite a superb 3.21 ERA (11th in the AL), Lackey has a 7-9 record. The Red Sox are scoring a paltry 3.3 runs per 27 outs for him.

Stephen Drew has a ten-game hitting streak (17-for-41, .415, with an 1.120 OPS).

In New York, where the Yankees are 11 GB, Alex Rodriguez had yesterday off.

G119: Red Sox 5, Royals 3

Red Sox - 000 401 000 - 5 12  0
Royals  - 000 030 000 - 3 10  0

Boston increased its AL East lead to three games, as the Rays lost to the Dodgers.

Jacoby Ellsbury went 4-for-5, with two doubles and two RBI. Will Middlebrooks - playing in his first Red Sox game since June 20 - had two hits, two RBI, and two runs scored.

Felix Doubront / Jeremy Guthrie

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

Ortiz: "Hey, look who's back in the [really bad word] building [different really bad word]!"

Doubront has allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last 15 starts (dating back to May 26). In his last nine starts, Doubront has a 2.02 ERA over 58 innings, with an opponents batting average of only .212.

Another roster move: Franklin Morales comes off the disabled list today, with Pedro Beato headed back to Pawtucket.

Tampa Bay was seven outs away from a 6-0 win over the Dodgers last night in L.A., but threw it away and lost 7-6. Boston remains 2 GA in the East.

G118: Royals 9, Red Sox 6

Red Sox - 102 300 000 - 6 11  0
Royals  - 021 006 00x - 9 16  0

Jake Peavy / Ervin Santana

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

G117: Royals 5, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 000 000 001 - 1  7  3
Royals  - 300 000 02x - 5  6  0

Jon Lester / Bruce Chen

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

With a win, the Red Sox (70-46) can increase their AL East lead to three games over the idle Rays.

In his last 10 starts, covering June and July, Lester has a 5.25 ERA. Alex Speier has an article on Lester's quest to reclaim a pitching identity.

Kansas City is 15-4 since the All-Star break. In the Royals' last 15 games, its pitchers have held opponents to a .156 batting average with runners in scoring position.

Koji Uehara has allowed only one unearned run in 18.1 innings since the start of July. He's walked two and struck out 25 over that period. (The Eck thinks he's "magical".)

Schadenfreude 165 (A Continuing Series)

Mark Feinsand, Daily News:

Welcome to rock bottom.

The Yankees suffered a humiliating sweep at the hands of the last-place White Sox Wednesday night, blowing leads in both the ninth and 12th inning to fall, 6-5. ...

Alex Rodriguez had a chance to be the hero in the 11th, coming to bat with two out and the go-ahead run at third base. The embattled slugger, on the field hours after appealing a 211-game suspension related to the Biogenesis PED scandal, grounded out to third ...

George A. King III, Post:

Lightning struck the Yankees twice last night and all but fried the Yankees' faint hopes of getting to October.

Needing one strike in the ninth to secure a much-needed victory over the White Sox, Mariano Rivera gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Adam Dunn that sent the game into extra innings. ...

With two outs, the bases empty and a 1-2 count on Tyler Flowers [in the 12th], the ninth-place hitter, Warren failed to field a chopper back to him. Alexei Ramirez followed with a single that put runners at the corners for Alejandro De Aza. And his triple scored the runners and give the White Sox a 6-5 victory ...

Kevin Kernan, Post:

See you in Tampa in February. It's all over. Get ready for 2014 and beyond. The Yankees are going nowhere this season. ...

The Bombers hit rock bottom, getting swept by a team that came into the week with the second-worst winning percentage in baseball and on a 10-game skid. In this series, the Yankees went 3-for-33 with runners in scoring position. The Yankees lost the final five of six games on this trip.

They have no chance to recover from this loss, the 14th loss in the last 20 games. ...

The Yankees, now 0-3 with Rodriguez in the lineup, are just one game over .500 now at 57-56. The Red Sox won again so the Yankees are 11.5 games back in in the AL East.

This is not 1978. This is 2013 and the aging Yankees have no chance to make a miracle run.

In the watered down wild-card race, the Yankees must jump over four teams. That's not happening either.

They are not a good team. They are not going anywhere.

G116: Red Sox 7, Astros 5

Red Sox - 011 000 203 - 7 12  0
Astros  - 002 003 000 - 5  7  0

Stephen Drew hit a three-run home run in the top of the ninth.

David Ortiz (4-for-5 in this game and 9-for-his-last-10) began the inning with a single off Josh Fields. Pitcher Drake Britton pinch-ran for Flo. After Mike Carp flied out, Jonny Gomes walked. Then Drew lined an 0-1 pitch to right field.

Gomes homered in the seventh inning, and scored three runs.

Ryan Dempster / Jarred Cosart

Ellsbury, CF
Victorino, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Carp, 1B
Gomes, LF
Drew, SS
Saltalamacchia, C
Holt, 3B

Matt Thornton was placed on the disabled list and Pedro Beato recalled from Pawtucket.

The Globe's Peter Abraham notes that Stephen Drew is hitting .458/.576/.625 in the seven games since Jose Iglesias was traded. Iglesias is batting .158 (3-for-19) with the Tigers.

G115: Red Sox 15, Astros 10

Red Sox - 003 055 200 - 15 15  0
Astros  - 321 102 010 - 10 11  2

Ryan Lavarnway tied a major league record by allowing four passed balls in the first inning. The other two catchers were Ray Katt (September 10, 1954) and Geno Petralli (August 22, 1987).

Jonny Gomes hit his fourth pinch-hit home run of the season in the sixth inning. It's the most pinch-hit dongs for a Red Sox hitter since Del Wilber in 1953 and one shy of Joe Cronin's record of five in 1943. As a team, the Red Sox have hit six pinch-hit homers this season, one shy of the record set in 1953.

Jacoby Ellsbury is only the third Red Sox center fielder to hit two home runs and score four runs in a game. Fred Lynn (June 18, 1975) and Ellis Burks (June 10, 1987) are the others.

Boston scored five or more runs in consecutive innings for the first time since September 10, 2004.

The Red Sox have matched their win total for 2012 (69). There are 47 games remaining in the season.

Steven Wright / Jordan Lyles

Ellsbury, CF
Victorino, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Carp, LF
Drew, SS
Lavarnway, C
Holt, 3B

Wright, a knuckleballer, will make his first career start - and fourth major league appearance. In 12.1 innings this season, he has allowed 11 hits and seven walks. His ERA is 3.65.

The Rays (0.5 GB) begin a series in Arizona tonight.

Schadenfreude 164 (A Continuing Series)

The New York tabloids have featured Alex Rodriguez nearly every day for the past few weeks. Here are today's papers:

Monday's Post:

Slappy returned to the major leagues last night. He went 1-for-4 as the Yankees were crushed by the White Sox 8-1. New York (with a -18 run differential) is 9.5 GB the Red Sox in the AL East.

G114: Astros 2, Red Sox 0

Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  5  0
Astros  - 000 010 10x - 2  8  1

A cupcake? Not this game.

John Lackey / Brett Oberholtzer

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

The Rays (1 GB) are off tonight; they start a series in Seattle on Tuesday night.

G113: Red Sox 4, Diamondbacks 0

Diamondbacks - 000 000 000 - 0  8  1
Red Sox      - 000 022 00x - 4  9  1

Doubront (7-5-0-0-5, 95) was both brilliant and economical. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 15 straight starts, and 19 of his 21 starts this season. The 15-start streak is the longest by a Red Sox pitcher in a single season since Tim Wakefield had 17 in 1995. Over his 15 starts, Doubront has lowered his ERA from 6.40 to 3.56.

In the fifth, Stephen Drew (2-for-3) singled, went to third on Brock Holt's single, and scored on Jacoby Ellsbury's sacrifice fly. Shane Victorino's single moved Holt to third. Holt came across on Dustin Pedroia's double. After David Ortiz was walked intentionally to load the bases, the Red Sox were poised for a big inning. But both Mike Napoli and Mike Carp popped out against reliever Will Harris.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Drew opened the sixth with singles. Holt bunted the runners to second and third. Ellsbury and Victorino followed with RBI singles. Pedroia walked, loading the bases with only one out. But, as in the fifth, the home team could not pounce. Ortiz struck out swinging and Napoli flied to center.

Arizona stranded five men on base in the final three innings.

Tampa Bay beat the Giants 4-3, so Boston's lead in the East remains at one game. Both the Red Sox and Rays are 7-3 over their last 10 games. ... The Red Sox begin a three-city road trip - Houston, Kansas City, Toronto - tomorrow night.

Brandon McCarthy / Felix Doubront

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

G112: Red Sox 5, Diamondbacks 2

Diamondbacks - 000 100 010 - 2  6  1
Red Sox      - 000 010 22x - 5  9  0

Peavy (7-4-2-2-7, 99) made an excellent impression in his Boston debut. He allowed one run and three hits through seven innings, but gave up a hit to start the eighth and was pulled (that runner later scored). Peavy did not face more than four batters in a single inning.

Shane Victorino homered in the fifth to tie the game at 1-1. Jacoby Ellsbury (who also stole his MLB-leading 40th base) and Victorino had RBIs in the seventh. Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a two-run homer in the eighth for some breathing room.

Patrick Corbin / Jake Peavy

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

Peavy - wearing #44 - makes his Red Sox debut. In 13 starts for the White Sox, he had a 4.28 ERA. ... This will be his third start since coming back from a broken rib.

When the Red Sox score first at home, they are 19-1.

A couple of fun facts on the amazing Thursday night comeback win over Seattle (from Red Sox Game Notes):

* It was only the fourth time in Red Sox history that the team trailed by 5+ runs heading into the ninth inning and won in nine innings. They had not done it since the 2007 Mother's Day Miracle. The other games were in 1931 and 1937.

* It was only the third time in team history the Sox came back to win after trailing by 6+ runs when entering the eighth inning. They hadn't done that since July 3, 1940, a game that ended on back-to-back homers by Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx. The only other instance occurred on May 13, 1911.

(So why isn't the April 10, 1998 game included in the first factoid? Boston trailed by five runs (7-2) going into the bottom of the ninth and scored seven runs to win 9-7. Hmmm, I guess because Seattle led 5-2 "heading into the ninth inning"; the Mariners scored twice in the top of the ninth. That seems like a silly distinction, but I guess that definition could also take into account away games.)