G21: Red Sox 6, Spiders 5 (10)

Red Sox - 000 002 030 1 - 6 10  1
Spiders - 210 200 000 0 - 5  8  1

Jonathan Van Every's first major league home run -- a solo shot to dead center off Jensen Lewis in the top of the 10th inning -- was the difference tonight.

Lester (6-7-5-3-7, 109) struggled through four innings, putting Boston in a 5-0 hole. Stymied by Carmona for 5.2 innings -- the Cleveland lefty retired 12 in a row at one point -- the Sox battled back. With two outs in the sixth, Jason Bay walked and Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek followed with back-to-back doubles. 5-2.

In the eighth, Lowell singled with one out, Varitek singled, Jeff Bailey reached on an infield error (bases loaded), Van Every singled (5-3), pinch-hitter J.D. Drew drove in a run with a fielder's choice (5-4), and Jacoby Ellsbury's third single of the night tied the game at 5-5.

Relievers Hideki Ojakima and Manny Delcarmen handed out four walks and a HBP in the eighth and ninth, but escaped untouched. With two out in the eighth, Jeemer walked Mark DeRosa and Ben Francisco and hit Kelly Shoppach, but got Grady Sizemore to line out to Van Every in right. JVE recorded the first out in that inning with a fully prone dive into foul territory to snare Ryan Garko's pop up.

MDC walked two men in the ninth, but got Jhonny Peralta looking to send the game to extras. After Van E was Van E, Jonathan Papelbon got the save. Ellsbury chased a DeRosa fly to deep left center. Francisco singled, but Bot snuffed both Shoppach and Sizemore on strikes.

The Royals win over the Blue Jays means Boston is back in first place, by .015 percentage points over Toronto.

On to Tampa Bay!

***

Jon Lester (4.88, 103 ERA+) / Fausto Carmona (7.36, 66 ERA+)

Kevin Youkilis, showing professional restraint last night:

We didn't lose the game on that play. There were other opportunities. It's all right. We'll go back out tomorrow and play another game.

From Joe Posnanski's SI article I quoted earlier today:

The gentle relief pitcher for the Royals, Dan Quisenberry, wrote a poem about his manager Dick Howser, the refrain being Howser's quote for every occasion: "Piss on it." That was Howser's answer for losses, for slumps, for bad pitching performances, for anything gone wrong. Piss on it. Get 'em tomorrow.

13 wins in the first 20 games of the season. That's .650 baseball -- a 105-win pace.

A bad loss? Piss on it.