Final, Red Sox 2-1: They’ve done it again.
Jonny Gomes smacked a pinch-hit, walk-off home run over the Green Monster, and the Red Sox win 2-1. It’s the eighth walk-off win this season for Boston.
John Farrell called upon Gomes to hit for Brandon Snyder, and the slugger once again showed a flair for the dramatic. He lifted a 2-2 pitch into the first row of Monster seats to give the Red Sox their second straight victory over the Padres. The Sox have now won seven of their last eight.
Koji Uehara, who pitched a scoreless ninth inning, received the win, although Jon Lester was solid for seven innings. Lester surrendered just one run on six hits over his seven frames. He struck out five, walked one and threw 102 pitches (71 strikes).
The Red Sox will finish off their nine-game homestand with a matinee affair Thursday. Allen Webster will go up against Eric Stults in the series finale, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:35 p.m.
Good night, everyone.
Mid 9th, 1-1: Koji Uehara issued a two-out walk to Jesus Guzman, but that was all.
Chase Headley grounded out to second base for the first out, and Kyle Blanks hit a little grounder back to the mound that Uehara handled for the second out.
Guzman then walked, but Uehara got Yasmani Grandal to hit a lazy fly ball to shallow center field to end the inning.
Brandon Snyder, Jose Iglesias and Jacoby Ellsbury are due up for the Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth inning. It looks like Jonny Gomes will bat for Snyder.
The Red Sox have seven walk-off wins this season. Will this be No. 8?
End 8th, 1-1: The Red Sox had the potential go-ahead run at second base with no outs, but they couldn’t push it across.
Luke Gregerson took over and did an excellent job of keeping the game tied. He retired Daniel Nava, Mike Carp and Jarrod Saltalamacchia upon entering. Nava and Saltalamacchia both struck out on pitches down, while Carp was retired on a flyout to left-center field.
Dustin Pedroia’s leadoff double was spoiled. The two-bagger gives him two hits in this game, though, and he should once again punch his ticket to the Midsummer Classic. To see how Pedroia’s 2013 season thus far stacks up against Tony Conigliaro’s 1969 season, check out BostonFanFavorites.com.
Koji Uehara will pitch the ninth inning for Boston.
9:56 p.m., 1-1: The Red Sox are threatening in the eighth inning.
Dustin Pedroia led off with a double high off the left-field wall, and the Padres then intentionally walked David Ortiz with first base open.
Luke Gregerson will take over for Nick Vincent with two on and no outs. Daniel Nava will get first crack at Gregerson.
Mid 8th, 1-1: Junichi Tazawa took down the top of the Padres’ order in impressive fashion.
Tazawa struck out the side, getting Logan Forsythe, Chris Denorfia and Carlos Quentin to all go down swinging.
Quentin had been 3-for-3 to that point, meaning he had half of San Diego’s hits against Jon Lester. Tazawa went with a slider in the dirt to get Quentin this time around, though.
Tazawa, as usual, made good use of his forkball in the eighth inning.
Lester exited after seven innings of one-run ball. He gave up six hits, struck out five, walked one and threw 102 pitches (71 strikes).
Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Daniel Nava are due up for Boston in the bottom of the eighth.
End 7th, 1-1: Nick Vincent was the first reliever called upon for San Diego. He tossed a perfect seventh inning.
Jose Iglesias grounded to first, Jacoby Ellsbury grounded to short and Shane Victorino struck out. Victorino chased a pitch up and away to cap the inning.
Edinson Volquez surrendered just one run on seven hits over six innings. He struck out six, walked one, hit a batter and threw 104 pitches (63 strikes).
This game is suddenly a battle of the bullpens, as Jon Lester’s night is also done. Junichi Tazawa will take over for Boston in the eighth inning.
Mid 7th, 1-1: Jon Lester is through seven innings, and he was very sharp in the seventh.
Lester retired Yasmani Grandal, Pedro Ciriaco and Alexi Amarista in order, picking up two strikeouts in the process.
Lester struck out Grandal swinging with a changeup on the outside corner. He sat down Amarista looking with a pretty nasty cutter.
Lester has certainly taken another step in the right direction in this start, and he has his offspeed stuff to thank. His changeup has been a difference-maker in keeping hitters off balance.
The Padres will turn to the bullpen after six solid innings from Edinson Volquez.
End 6th, 1-1: The Red Sox have had a hard time cashing in on their scoring chances.
Mike Carp, who scored Boston’s only run, singled with one down in the sixth inning, but he was stranded at second base.
Carp followed up a Daniel Nava flyout by hammering a ball into the right-center field gap. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Brandon Snyder then struck out.
Saltalamaccha fanned on a pitch down and in, and Snyder also came up empty on an offspeed offering in the dirt. Saltalamacchia and Snyder have each struck out twice, although Salty is responsible for driving in the Red Sox’ only run.
Mid 6th, 1-1: A big double play changed the complexion of the sixth inning.
Carlos Quentin singled into center field and Chase Headley walked. Quentin now has three hits and Headly has been aboard twice.
That immediately thrust Jon Lester into a difficult spot, but the left-hander induced a huge ground ball to second base with Kyle Blanks batting. Dustin Pedroia made the play and flipped to Jose Iglesias, who stepped on the bag and fired to first on the run to complete the double play.
Quentin advanced to third base on the twin killing, but Lester stranded him there by striking out Jesus Guzman.
End 5th, 1-1: David Ortiz has made some solid contact in this game, but he has been hitting the ball to the wrong spots.
The old saying is, “hit it where they ain’t,” and Ortiz hasn’t been able to do that thus far. Ortiz, who hit into an unassisted double play on a well-struck liner back in the first inning, smoked a line drive to left field with two outs in the fifth inning. Carlos Quentin ranged over and snagged it, though.
Edinson Volquez retired Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia before taking care of Ortiz. Victorino popped out to short, and Pedroia flied out to center.
Mid 5th, 1-1: Jon Lester enjoyed a quick inning, and the Red Sox’ offense will go back to work.
Alexi Amarista, Logan Forsythe and Chris Denorfia went down in order in the fifth. Each grounded out.
Lester needed just 10 pitches to take care of business.
End 4th, 1-1: We’re all knotted up.
Mike Carp led off the fourth inning with a single into right field, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove him in with a wall-ball double to left.
Saltalamacchia went the other way with a pitch down in the zone. It plunked off the wall and bounced back over Carlos Quentin’s head. That allowed Carp to score all the way from first base.
Since Salty’s double came with no outs in the inning, the Red Sox had some chances to knock him in. But they failed to do so.
Brandon Snyder and Jose Iglesias each grounded out, and the hot-hitting Jacoby Ellsbury flied out to left field to end the inning.
Mid 4th, Padres 1-0: Yasmani Grandal kept up the trend of making noise with two outs.
Grandal hammered a ball off the left-center field wall after Jon Lester retired the first two batters of the fourth inning.
Kyle Blanks flied out to center field and Jesus Guzman struck out swinging before Grandal jumped on a first-pitch fastball.
Pedro Ciriaco lined out to end the inning.
End 3rd, Padres 1-0: The Red Sox loaded the bases in the third inning. They have nothing to show for it.
Jose Iglesias was hit by Edinson Volquez’s first pitch of the third inning. That prompted home plate umpire Doug Eddings to warn both benches.
It’s unlikely that Volquez was throwing at Iglesias — especially after seeing Volquez’s reaction — but Eddings probably thought that there was some ill intent because of an incident involving Jon Lester and Chase Headley back in the first inning.
Eddings called a late timeout with Headley batting, and Lester — not realizing that time had been called — continued delivering a pitch to the plate. He hit Headley in the foot/ankle area. No words or anything were exchanged, but it was likely in the back of Eddings’ mind when issuing the warning.
Jacoby Ellsbury followed up with a single to extend his hit streak to 13 games. He’s now 22-for-52 over the course of his season-high hit streak.
Shane Victorino then hit a comebacker to the mound with Iglesias and Ellsbury on second and first, respectively. Volquez looked to third and to second before firing to first base to record the sure-out. Volquez might have been able to record an out elsewhere, but he was somewhat indecisive.
After Dustin Pedroia struck out on a pitch on the outside corner, the Padres opted to intentionally walk David Ortiz with two outs and first base open. The move paid off, as Daniel Nava grounded out to end the inning.
Mid 3rd, Padres 1-0: Carlos Quentin once again made some noise with two outs. This time, Jon Lester pitched through it.
Lester faced the top of the order in the third inning and got two quick outs. Logan Forsythe grounded out to short, and Chris Denorfia drilled a line drive right at Jacoby Ellsbury in center field.
Quentin forced Lester to work a little more by hitting a double into the left-center field gap. Jacoby Ellsbury cut it off right before it reached the wall, but Quentin slid in safely at second base.
Lester bounced back to retire Chase Headley on a ground ball to third base. Brandon Snyder’s throw was a one-hopper, but Mike Carp had no trouble handling it.
End 2nd, Padres 1-0: Edinson Volquez regained control after a leadoff single.
Daniel Nava led off the second inning with a base hit into center field, but Volquez bounced back to strike out the side.
Mike Carp, who is getting the start in place of Mike Napoli, went down looking. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Brandon Snyder each fanned on changeups that dropped off the table.
Mid 2nd, Padres 1-0: Jose Iglesias’ surprising offense is the biggest reason he was named AL Rookie of the Month Wednesday. His defense is what is going to keep him in this league, though.
Yasmani Grandal led off the second inning with a hot shot back to the mound. The ball ricocheted off Jon Lester and ended up rolling toward short. Iglesias charged in and — in one motion — flipped a strike to first base to complete the out. (I use the term “flipped” because Iglesias’ throw really was somewhat underhanded.)
Pedro Ciriaco, who killed Boston’s first-inning rally with an unassisted double play, hit a popup near the Red Sox dugout. Mike Carp ran over and hauled it in just before the top step.
Alexi Amarista lined out to Dustin Pedroia to end the inning.
End 1st, Padres 1-0: The Red Sox looked poised to respond until a loud double play squashed their rally.
Shane Victorino got the Red Sox’ offense moving in the right direction by lining a ball into the right field corner. Victorino might have had three bases, but a fan reached over and grabbed it, which resulted in a ground-rule double.
Dustin Pedroia then hit a little dribbler off the end of his bat. Third baseman Chase Headley charged in to make a play, but Pedroia reached with an infield single. Victorino moved up to third base.
Pedroia, who swiped a bag on Tuesday, stole second base, marking his 13th steal of the season. That put runners at first and second with one out for David Ortiz.
Ortiz drilled a ball right up the middle. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the sharply hit liner was right at shortstop Pedro Ciriaco, who was shifted over behind the bag. Ciriaco made the play and stepped on second base with Pedroia running to complete an unassisted double play.
Mid 1st, Padres 1-0: Jon Lester’s biggest issue this season has been finishing off innings. He struggled to do so again in the first inning, and the Padres are out to an early lead.
Lester started his night with back-to-back outs. Logan Forsythe flied out to deep center field, and Chris Denorfia struck out swinging on a changeup down and in.
San Diego didn’t go down easily from there, though.
Carlos Quentin hit a bouncer down the third-base line. Brandon Snyder appeared to have it sized up, but it took a tricky hop. Snyder fielded it barehanded, but Quentin was able to reach.
Chase Headley followed up by planting a ball off the Green Monster. Daniel Nava got it back in quickly to hold Headley to a single, but Quentin went from first to third on the wall ball.
Kyle Blanks put the Padres on the scoreboard with a single into center field.
7:12 p.m.: Jon Lester’s first pitch is a ball. We’re off and running at 87-degree Fenway Park.
7:06 p.m.: We’ve got a good-looking night at Fenway. It’s shaping up to be a nice holiday week/weekend.
6:49 p.m.: While Jose Iglesias earned AL Rookie of the Month honors at the big-league level, a couple of Red Sox minor leaguers were recognized for their accomplishments at the Triple-A level.
Right-handers Rubby De La Rosa and Anthony Carter were selected to the International League All-Star Team.
De La Rosa is 2-1 with a 2.47 ERA this season, while Carter is 1-0 with 13 saves in 14 save opportunities.
6:26 p.m.: Manny Ramirez has agreed to a minor league contract with the Rangers, according to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. So that’s fun.
6:19 p.m.: It looks like Clayton Mortensen is still part of the Red Sox organization.
According to multiple reports, Mortensen has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Mortensen was designated for assignment Saturday so that the Red Sox could call up infielder Jonathan Diaz in the wake of Stephen Drew’s hamstring injury.
5:45 p.m.: John Farrell has elected to give Mike Napoli a day off.
Farrell said that he has considered moving Napoli down in the lineup as the slugger continues to struggle in the power department. The Red Sox don’t have many options when it comes to protecting David Ortiz in the middle of the order, though.
Mike Carp will play first base and bat sixth Wednesday, while Daniel Nava will move up to fifth in the lineup.
Brandon Snyder will get another start down at third base.
Wednesday’s complete lineups are below.
Red Sox (51-34)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Daniel Nava, LF
Mike Carp, 1B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Brandon Snyder, 3B
Jose Iglesias, SS
Jon Lester, LHP (8-4, 4.61 ERA)
Padres (40-44)
Logan Forsythe, 2B
Chris Denorfia, RF
Carlos Quentin, LF
Chase Headley, 3B
Kyle Blanks, DH
Jesus Guzman, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Pedro Ciriaco, SS
Alexi Amarista, CF
Edinson Volquez, RHP (6-6, 5.50 ERA)
5:10 p.m.: Jose Iglesias’ special season continues.
Iglesias, who enters Wednesday’s game hitting .415, was named the American League Rookie of the Month for June. He hit .395 (34-for-86) while getting on base at a .453 clip in the month.
8 a.m. ET: Jon Lester has two straight wins, but he’ll be the first to tell you that there’s still room for improvement.
Lester will take the ball as the Red Sox try to open up their three-game series against the Padres with back-to-back victories. The left-hander exited his last start Thursday in the eighth inning with a jammed hip, but he said shortly after the game that he expected to make his next start, so the “injury” doesn’t appear to be much of an issue.
Lester has been plagued by some ineffectiveness over the last few weeks. After starting the season 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA, he lost his next four decisions while watching his ERA balloon to 4.37. His ERA is now up to 4.61 despite picking up back-to-back wins.
Lester, who will look to follow up a solid performance by John Lackey on Tuesday, will be opposed by Edinson Volquez, who also had some rough patches this year. Volquez has allowed three earned runs or fewer in his last four starts, though.
Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. You can catch all of the action on NESN, as well as right here at NESN.com.
