Bottom 9th, Red Sox 10-3: Junichi Tazawa gave the Red Sox three strong innings in relief to bolster Boston's bullpen.
In the process, the Red Sox' offense exploded once again, with Kevin Youkilis and Jarrod Saltalamacchia putting their slumps in the past with some clutch homers.
And for the first time in 2012, Felix Doubront has a victory in the column. It was a well-rounded strong effort.
Mid 9th, Red Sox 10-3: Mike Aviles was just inches away from his fifth home run of the season. Instead, it turned into a double.
Nevertheless, the hit extended his hit streak to eight games. Ryan Sweeney drove him in with a single to eclipse the double-digit mark once again.
Bottom 8th, Red Sox 9-3: Franklin Morales is warming up in the bullpen and he's been a stalwart on the road.
Heading into this game, Morales hasn't allowed a run on the road in his last 19 appearances. That's a pretty nice streak for him.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 9-3: Kevin Youkilis slugged a single there and is looking like he's climbing out of that early slump for real now.
Many were calling for the Red Sox to promote Will Middlebrooks, who has been ripping the ball in Pawtucket with homer after homer.
Although Middlebrooks will eventually see time, Youkilis is proving he can still do damage.
Bottom 7th, Red Sox 9-3: Junichi Tazawa still hasn't allowed a run since being recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket.
He's been a pleasant surprise for Boston after an inconsistent performance in the spring. Maybe a little bit of seasoning was all he needed.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 9-3: Dustin Pedroia was limping a bit earlier in the game, but ran fine in that groundout to Paul Konerko.
The Red Sox certainly could do without another injury. The team has been plagued by them since spring training.
Bottom 6th, Red Sox 9-3: As impressive as Felix Doubront has been, he's flirting with another really high pitch count.
He still needs to work on his efficiency, but there's no doubt that he's been one of the shining stars of the Red Sox' rotation so far.
This could probably be it for him, considering Junichi Tazawa is in the bullpen warming up.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 9-3: In this outing, Humber was far from perfect, allowing a career-high nine runs against the Red Sox.
He was replaced by reliever Will Ohman. But Marlon Byrd collected another hit and has definitely found his timing and could emerge key with Carl Crawford's injury.
Bottom 5th, Red Sox 9-3: Here's some breaking news on the status of Carl Crawford.
The Red Sox issued a statement: "Carl Crawford was examined by the Red Sox medical staff. He was diagnosed as having a left elbow ulnar collateral ligament sprain. A conservative treatment protocol was recommended. Carl was also examined by Dr. James Andrews who was in agreement with the assessment and plan. Carl received a Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injection and will be shut down from baseball activity during the initial phase of his treatment."
He visited Boston twice to get his elbow examined.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 9-3: After the series against the Rangers, there was much criticism surrounding Jarrod Saltalmacchia, who was batting .080 at the time.
With each swing, he's making people forget those memories. The catcher just connected on his second homer of the game — this one went opposite field — to get his fourth round-tripper of the season.
Bottom 4th, Red Sox 7-3: Dayan Viciedo crushed a solo shut to add another run and close the gap in the Red Sox' lead.
Viciedo is finally getting some run in the majors after knocking on the door for a couple years. He entered the league as a third basemen, but converted to an outfielder to accelerate his rise. It looks like the move is working out for him so far.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 7-3: After getting roughed up, Humber had a 1-2-3 inning over there.
Having been charged with seven runs, the young White Sox hurler now has a 3.93 ERA.
Here's a stat you'll like, too — on 108 games last year, Ryan Sweeney only hit 11 doubles. He already has 10 doubles through 18 games this year.
Bottom 3rd, Red Sox 7-2: For the first time all night, a ball was hit to left field as a test for newly-converted outfielder Lars Anderson.
Anderson tracked it down with no issue. He was replacing Cody Ross, who was sitting out as a precaution for his sore left knee. Valentine told reporters in Minnesota that Ross would've played if Friday was an off day.
The White Sox managed to tack on a run, with Pierzynski hitting an RBI single.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 7-1: Ryan Sweeney just loves those extra-base hits. He unloaded his 10th double of the season.
He set the plate for Kevin Youkilis to blast a grand slam. He said last week that he wasn't concerned about his early slump and pointed to Jeff Bagwell as an example. The blast was Youkilis' second career grand slam.
Jarrod Saltalmacchia continues to show confidence in his swing, belting back-to-back jacks right after Youkilis.
Bottom 2nd, Red Sox 2-1: Felix Doubront settled down there and racked up his first strikeout of the game.
Who would have imagined that he would own the lowest ERA on the Red Sox' rotation right now? He certainly deserved the win against the Yankees before the bullpen unraveled. But if he keeps up his momentum, it'll come around sooner or later.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 2-1: That was more of the Philip Humber that people remembered from the perfect game last weekend.
He got Marlon Byrd and Lars Anderson to fly out while getting Mike Aviles to ground out in just 11 pitches after an exhausting first inning.
Bottom 1st, Red Sox 2-1: For the first time in four starts, Felix Doubront allowed a run in the first inning.
He had some uncharacteristic walks there too, issuing bases on balls to A.J. Pierrzynski and Adam Dunn that required a mound visit from Bob McClure.
Maybe it could be the weather, considering the coldy and windy atmosphere.
Mid 1st, Red Sox 2-0: The dream of back-to-back perfect games and no-hitters ended rather quickly for White Sox pitcher Philip Humber.
He walked Mike Aviles to lead it off and allowed Dustin Pedroia — his third batter of the night — to hit a single.
His shutout aspirations went away as well as Adrian Gonzalez doubled to drive in Aviles for the game's first run. So there's that, Humber.
4:30 p.m.: Here are the lineups.
Red Sox
Mike Aviles, SS
Ryan Sweeney, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Jarrod Saltalmacchia, C
Lars Anderson, LF
Marlon Byrd, CF
Felix Doubront, P
White Sox
Alejandro De Aza, CF
Alexei Ramirez, SS
Adam Dunn, DH
Paul Konerko, 1B
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Alex Rios, RF
Dayan Viciedo, LF
Brent Morel, 3B
Gordon Beckham, 2B
Philip Humber, P
8 a.m. ET: On the heels of their first sweep of the season, the Red Sox (7-10) are looking to continue showcasing that offensive surge in Chicago against the White Sox (10-8).
But it'll be an intriguing matchup for Boston's batters, considering Thursday's game will mark White Sox pitcher Philip Humber's first start since throwing a perfect game against the Mariners. Humber owns a miniscule 0.63 ERA.
Boston will have Felix Doubront, who is 0-0 and 3.94, to take the mound against Humber. Doubront has been the most effective pitcher in the Red Sox' rotation at this point and exited Saturday's game against the Yankees with one earned run on his docket — before the bullpen collapsed and he received the no-decision.
For more analysis, follow NESN.com's live blog. Be sure to tune into NESN for the game which starts at 8:10 p.m. ET.
