G85: Red Sox 4, Marlins 3

Marlins - 001 000 200 - 3  7  2
Red Sox - 010 000 30x - 4  8  0

Xander Bogaerts's three-run single lifted the Red Sox to victory.

With the Yankees' loss to Oakland, Boston is now 5 GB in the East.

Dan Haren / Wade Miley

Betts, CF
Holt, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Victorino, RF
Shaw, 1B
Hanigan, C

And so begins what WEEI's Rob Bradford calls "the most important week" of the season:

-- The Red Sox are six games out of first place in the American League East. Considering the Cardinals were five games out of first on the same date last season and ended up winning their division by two games, such a deficit would still seem manageable.

-- They are tied with Milwaukee for the most wins in baseball (12) since June 16, when the Sox ended seven-game losing streak.

-- During the past 19-game stretch, the Red Sox have the best offense in the majors. They have an .820 OPS with a .474 slugging percentage, both tops in MLB. They've even hit lefties at a reasonable rate, a feat that didn't seem possible earlier in the season.

-- They have found a No. 1 starter in Clay Buchholz, who has a 2.17 ERA over his last 11 starts. ...

After two games against the Marlins and another day off, the Red Sox host the AL East-leading Yankees for a three-game weekend series. Winning all five games would give Boston a 44-45 record at the break - and possibly put them within two or three games of first place.