End 9th, Boston wins 3-2: T.J. McFarland entered the game for Baltimore. He replaced Miguel Gonzalez, who gave up seven hits and one earned run through eight innings.
Jonny Gomes pinch hit for Stephen Drew and earned an infield single. David Ross advanced Gomes to second base with a sacrifice bunt.
Jonathan Herrera pinch hit for Jackie Bradley Jr. and hit a walk-off single to score Gomes.
The Red Sox have snapped a three-game losing streak and will play Game 2 of this doubleheader at 7:05 p.m. ET.
Mid 9th, 2-2: Boston closer Koji Uehara entered the game, replacing Jon Lester. Lester gave up five hits, struck out seven and didn’t allow an earned run through eight innings.
Adam Jones and Chris Davis both struck out swinging to begin the inning.
J.J. Hardy grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.
End 8th, 2-2: Daniel Nava grounded out to the pitcher.
Dustin Pedroia was hit in the arm by a fastball and advanced to second when Mike Napoli drew a walk.
A.J. Pierzynski hit a pop up to the first baseman in foul territory for out No. 2 and received plenty of boos from the Fenway crowd.
A wild pitch allowed Napoli and Pedroia to advance to second and third, respectively.
Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning.
Mid 8th, 2-2: Nick Markakis singled up the middle.
Steven Pearce grounded into a fielder’s choice at third base. Xander Bogaerts got the lead runner at second, but Dustin Pedroia couldn’t turn two and decided not to throw toward first.
Nelson Cruz hit into a double play to end the inning. Stephen Drew made a sweet diving play at shortstop, then flipped the ball to Pedroia, who made a quick turnaround throw to first. Great defense all around.
Lester has given up five hits with five strikeouts and zero earned runs through eight innings.
End 7th, 2-2: Stephen Drew struck out swinging, and David Ross lined out to left field to begin the inning.
Jackie Bradley Jr. collected his second hit of the game with a single to right field.
Brock Holt grounded out to second base to end the inning.
Neither team has scored since the third inning.
Mid 7th, 2-2: Delmon Young grounded out to shortstop.
Caleb Joseph struck out swinging.
Jonathan Schoop grounded out to shortstop for the final out of the inning.
End 6th, 2-2: Mike Napoli struck out swinging.
A.J. Pierzynski popped out in foul territory down the first base line for out No. 2.
Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning.
Mid 6th, 2-2: Nelson Cruz flied out to deep right field to start the inning.
Adam Jones singled to center field.
Chris Davis struck out looking.
J.J. Hardy flied out to right field to end the inning.
End 5th, 2-2: Brock Holt grounded out to first base.
Daniel Nava hit a single up the middle.
Dustin Pedroia hit into a double play to end the inning.
Mid 5th, 2-2: Delmon Young struck out swinging to start the inning.
Caleb Joseph hit a single into left field. He’s 2-for-2 so far.
Jonathan Schoop collected his first hit of the game with a single to left field.
Jon Lester bobbled a possibly double-play ball but still managed to throw out Nick Markakis at first base. Schoop and Joseph advanced to second and third, respectively.
Steven Pearce popped up in foul territory right by the Red Sox dugout to end the inning.
End 4th, 2-2: Stephen Drew led off with a fly out in foul territory past first base.
David Ross grounded out to third base.
Jackie Bradley Jr. lined out to first base to end the inning.
Mid 4th, 2-2: Adam Jones grounded out to shortstop to begin the inning.
Chris Davis struck out swinging for out No. 2.
J.J. Hardy flied out to left field to end the inning.
End 3rd, 2-2: Mike Napoli flied out to deep left field.
A.J. Pierzynski hit a pop up to first base for out No. 2.
Xander Bogaerts grounded out to second base.
Mid 3rd, 2-2: Delmon Young reached first base safely because of a throwing error by Dustin Pedroia.
Caleb Joseph reached on a single in Baltimore’s next at-bat.
Jon Lester struck out Jonathan Schoop.
Nick Markakis grounded out to first base as Mike Napoli dove on the dirt to prevent the ball from going into the outfield.
Xander Bogaerts couldn’t handle Steven Pearce’s ground ball to third base, and the ball went into the outfield. Two runs scored before Stephen Drew retrieved it. Boston has made three errors through three innings.
Nelson Cruz struck out to end the inning.
End 2nd, Boston 2-0: Xander Bogaerts struck out to start the inning. He’s now batting .241 on the season.
Stephen Drew sent the first pitch he saw from Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez into the visiting bullpen to give Boston a 1-0 lead. Drew entered the game batting .149 with one home run and three RBI this season.
David Ross grounded out to the shortstop.
Jackie Bradley Jr. doubled to left-center field.
Brock Holt hit an infield single to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead. Chris Davis, who was forced to come off the bag because of an errant throw from second, received an error on the play as he attempted to tag Holt. Bradley Jr. wisely kept running the entire time and scored from second. Holt did not receive an RBI because Bradley Jr. scored on the error.
Daniel Nava singled to right field to put baserunners on first and second.
Dustin Pedroia lined out to second to end the inning.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: Adam Jones popped out to first base to begin the inning.
Chris Davis hit a weak ground ball five or six feet beyond the plate and reached first base safely on an error by Jon Lester. Lester throw’s to first was wide, but Dustin Pedroia backed him up to ensure the ball didn’t get into the stands.
J.J. Hardy hit into a double play to end the inning.
End 1st, 0-0: Brock Holt led off with a groundout to second base.
Daniel Nava drew a walk for Boston’s first base runner.
Dustin Pedroia singled to shallow right field, advancing Nava to second.
Mike Napoli went down swinging for out No. 2, and A.J. Pierzynski popped up to the catcher behind the plate for the final out.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Jon Lester struck out Nick Markakis on three pitches to begin the game.
Steve Pearce grounded out to the pitcher, and Nelson Cruz grounded out to third base to end the top half of the inning.
Brock Holt will lead off for Boston.
12:15 p.m.: The Boston Red Sox will turn to their ace in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles.
Jon Lester starts for Boston as they attempt to end a three-game losing streak versus an Orioles team that now leads the American League East division thanks to a four-game win streak.
The Red Sox have won six of the last seven games that Lester has pitched, and he’s gone 5-1 in that span to improve his record to 9-7. He’ll need his A-game against a Baltimore lineup which ranks third in the AL in batting average and fourth in slugging pecentage. Chris Davis, Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz are all capable of dominating offensively for a team averaging over six runs scored in its last five games.
In fact, Baltimore has won 16 of its last 24 games at Fenway Park and is 29-18 against the Red Sox overall since the beginning of the 2012 season.
Be sure to follow this blog for score updates, play-by-play and analysis of today’s game. First pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.
Here are the lineups for both teams. David Ortiz will return for Game 2. He is missing Game 1 due to a family commitment.
Boston Red Sox (38-47)
Brock Holt, RF
Daniel Nava, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Mike Napoli, 1B
A.J. Pierzynski, DH
Xander Bogaerts, 3B
Stephen Drew, SS
David Ross, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Jon Lester, LHP (9-7, 2.92 ERA)
Baltimore Orioles (46-39)
Nick Markakis, RF
Steve Pearce, 1B
Nelson Cruz, DH
Adam Jones, CF
Chris Davis, 3B
J.J. Hardy, SS
Delmon Young, LF
Caleb Joseph, C
Jonathan Schoop, 2B
Miguel Gonzalez, RHP (4-5, 4.56 ERA)
