Final, Diamondbacks 7-6: The Red Sox ran out of walk-off magic.
Boston made some noise, as both Stephen Drew and Shane Victorino singled in the ninth inning, but Brad Ziegler successfully shut the door on a 7-6 Diamondbacks win.
Jon Lester didn’t suffer the loss because Stephen Drew tied the game, 6-6, in the sixth inning with a two-out, two-run homer, but the lefty was very shaky in his 4 1/3 innings of work. Lester gave up six runs on 11 hits, as the D-Backs hit him early and often.
Jake Peavy will make his Red Sox debut Saturday, and he’ll now be tasked with getting Boston back on track following a loss. Peavy will go up against Patrick Corbin, who is 12-2 with a 2.24 ERA this season. Saturday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
Good night, everyone.
Mid 9th, Diamondbacks 7-6: Fasten your seat belts. We’re heading to the bottom of the ninth inning with the Red Sox trailing by a run.
Junichi Tazawa tossed a scoreless top of the ninth, and the Red Sox will now seek their third straight walk-off win.
Stephen Drew, Brock Holt and Jacoby Ellsbury are the scheduled hitters for Boston. Brad Ziegler will be tasked with closing this one out.
End 8th, Diamondbacks 7-6: If the Red Sox are going to win, it’s going to require another walk-off.
Heath Bell pitched the eighth inning for Arizona, and he immediately put the tying run on base. Mike Napoli was plunked, at which point Brandon Snyder entered the game as a pinch runner.
Bell induced a huge double play to silence the Fenway crowd, though. Daniel Nava hit a ground ball to short that Didi Gregorius flipped to Aaron Hill to start the twin killing.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia battled back after falling behind in the count, 0-2. But he couldn’t get the bat off his shoulder as Bell dropped a 3-2 curveball on the outside black.
Junichi Tazawa will come back out to pitch the ninth inning. Brandon Snyder will remain in the game as the first baseman.
Mid 8th, Diamondbacks 7-6: Pedro Beato recorded the first out, and Junichi Tazawa took care of the rest.
A.J. Pollock flied out to Jacoby Ellsbury in center field to begin the eighth inning. John Farrell then turned to Tazawa.
Aaron Hill — like Pollock — flied out to center, and Paul Goldschmidt struck out swinging.
The Red Sox will send Mike Napoli, Daniel Nava and Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the dish in the eighth inning.
End 7th, Diamondbacks 7-6: Joe Thatcher recorded a big out in his Diamondbacks debut.
Shane Victorino hit a ground-rule double with one out in the seventh inning, and he moved up to third base when Daniel Nava flied out to deep right field.
The D-Backs then called upon Thatcher, who was acquired in a trade just prior to Wednesday’s deadline, to face David Ortiz, and the lefty came through.
Thatcher retired Ortiz on a little popup into foul territory on the left side, and the Red Sox stranded the potential tying run at third base.
Mid 7th, Diamondbacks 7-6: Cody Ross really likes playing at Fenway Park.
Ross is now 4-for-4 in this game after smacking a solo homer that landed just atop the Green Monster in the seventh inning.
Ross has two doubles and a single in addition to the seventh-inning blast, and he has driven in three of Arizona’s seven runs.
Ross, who played for the Red Sox last season, entered Friday’s game hitting .292 with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs in 69 career games at Fenway. He was one of Boston’s few bright spots in 2012, and he was a significantly better hitter at home.
The solo homer, which came on Pedro Beato’s second pitch, was reviewed, but it was clearly a home run. It hit on top of the wall, just in front of the railing.
J.J. Putz is going to pitch the seventh inning for Arizona after six innings by the starter, Randall Delgado.
End 6th, 6-6: Stephen Drew is starting to come up with some big at-bats.
Drew delivered the game-winning hit in Wednesday’s game, and he worked a ninth-inning walk in Thursday’s game. Drew just tied Friday’s game with a two-out, two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Mike Napoli drilled a single into center field to lead off the inning. Randall Delgado then recorded back-to-back outs, but Drew proved to be too much.
Drew sent a 1-0 fastball into the Red Sox’ bullpen to tie the game at six apiece.
Mid 6th, Diamondbacks 6-4:Â Paul Goldschmidt’s two-out single was the only hiccup for Matt Thornton, who came back out after recording the final two outs of the fifth inning.
Thornton got both A.J. Pollock and Aaron Hill to ground out. Then, after Goldschmidt’s soft liner into right field, he got Martin Prado to ground into a 3-6 forceout.
Brock Holt made an excellent play in the sixth inning to rob Hill of a hit. Hill smashed a rocket down to third base that took a very tricky hop, but Holt made a diving play before bouncing to his feet and delivering a strong throw to first.
End 5th, Diamondbacks 6-4: Randall Delgado was forced to escape a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning. The fifth frame was much smoother.
Delgado took care of Shane Victorino, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz with ease. Victorino and Pedroia scattered a couple of fly-ball outs before Ortiz struck out swinging.
Ortiz has struck out twice since his first-inning home run.
The book is officially closed on Jon Lester, and it was an extremely shaky outing for the southpaw. He allowed six runs on 11 hits. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out six, but the Diamondbacks really squared some balls up.
Chalk this one up as a major step in the wrong direction for Lester, who had enjoyed three straight solid outings.
Mid 5th, Diamondbacks 6-4: Matt Thornton settled things down a bit upon entering.
Thornton almost ended the inning with one pitch, as Wil Nieves grounded down to first base with a runner on first. Mike Napoli threw to second base to get the out there, but Stephen Drew’s relay throw back to a covering Thornton was a tad late.
Gerardo Parra then reached on an infield single to put runners at first and second, but Thornton rebounded to strike out Didi Gregorius.
9:02 p.m., Diamondbacks 6-4: Things unraveled for Jon Lester in the fifth inning, and John Farrell has taken the ball from the left-hander.
Aaron Hill started the inning with a double into left field, and he moved up to third base when Paul Goldschmidt hit a chopper to Dustin Pedroia at second base.
Goldschmidt’s groundout was the only out that Lester could record before departing. Martin Prado and Cody Ross struck back-to-back doubles, and Jason Kubel then hammered an RBI single into right field.
The Diamondbacks have scored three runs in the frame, and Matt Thornton will now take over with one out.
End 4th, Red Sox 4-3: The Red Sox had an excellent chance to extend their lead in the fourth inning. They left the bases loaded.
Mike Napoli led off the inning with a hot shot back up the middle. Shortstop Didi Gregorius dived and got a glove on it, but the ball ricocheted into center field for a leadoff single.
Randall Delgado plunked Daniel Nava to put runners at first and second. Delgado dropped in a couple of offspeed pitches to get ahead in the count, 0-2, but his third pitch hit Nava in the leg.
After Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out swinging for the first out, Stephen Drew worked a five-pitch walk to load the bases for Brock Holt.
Holt hit a ball right back to Delgado, and the right-hander nearly made a costly mental error. Delgado turned to fire to first after fielding Holt’s ground ball — seemingly thinking that there were two outs in the inning. Catcher Wil Nieves yelled to Delgado at the last second, though, and the pitcher decided to throw home to record an out there instead. If Delgado went ahead and threw to first base, the Red Sox would have scored a run.
Jacoby Ellsbury dug in with the bases loaded and two outs. He lifted a fly ball to left field that looked like trouble, as Cody Ross charged in and Gregorius ran out. Ross eventually called for it, though, and the D-Backs escaped the bases-loaded, one-out jam unharmed.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 4-3: Jon Lester tossed his first 1-2-3 inning of the game in the fourth.
Gerardo Parra, Didi Gregorius and A.J. Pollock went down in order, with the last two going down by way of the K.
Gregorious fouled a pay-off pitch into the mitt, and Pollock went down looking at a 3-2 cutter.
End 3rd, Red Sox 4-3: Randall Delgado finally enjoyed a nice, calm inning.
Delgado, who gave up two runs in each of the first two frames, tossed a quick, 1-2-3 inning in the third.
Shane Victorino flied out to right field for the first out, and Dustin Pedroia then smoked a line drive that was right at third baseman Martin Prado.
David Ortiz, who crushed a two-run homer into the center field bleachers back in the first inning, struck out swinging to end the third.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 4-3: Cody Ross did some damage against his former team in the third inning.
Martin Prado hammered a one-out double off the Monster to set the table for Ross’ RBI single. Prado nearly had his 10th home run of the season, but the ball slammed a couple feet from the top of the wall.
Jon Lester struck out Jason Kubel for the second out after Ross singled into right field to plate Prado, and he struck out Wil Nieves swinging to end the inning.
Ross put himself into scoring position by stealing second base, but Nieves got caught off balance on a 2-2 curveball near the dirt.
End 2nd, Red Sox 4-2: Do. Your. Job.
The Red Sox posted two runs in the second inning, and it was largely because Stephen Drew and Brock Holt did exactly what they needed to do.
Daniel Nava led off with a ground ball back over the mound. Shortstop Didi Gregorius made the play, but his throw brought first baseman Paul Goldschmidt off the bag and Nava reached safely.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia then doubled off the left field wall. Cody Ross had a hard time handling the ball down in the corner, and Nava almost had a chance to score as a result, but he was held up by third base coach Brian Butterfield.
Drew and Holt came up with one thing on their minds: put the ball in the air. Both did just that, and a pair of sac flies to center field have the Red Sox on top 4-2 through two.
Mid 2nd, 2-2: Jon Lester managed to avoid any damage in the second inning.
Wil Nieves led off the inning with a bloop single into left-center field. Lester then bounced back to retire both Gerardo Parra and Didi Gregorius before A.J. Pollock bunted his way on.
Pollock dropped a bunt down the third base line with the infield playing back, and Brock Holt had a long way to go. Holt fielded the play with his bare hand, but he didn’t even bother making a throw.
Aaron Hill, who singled in his first at-bat, ripped a line drive with two outs. It was right at Holt, though.
End 1st, 2-2: David Ortiz was responsible for the only out in Thursday’s ninth-inning rally. He’s also the reason this game is tied after one inning.
Jacoby Ellsbury led off the bottom of the first by smoking a line drive off the wall in left-center field. A.J. Pollock gave chase before eventually pulling up near the wall, and the ball ricocheted past him and back toward center field. Ellsbury cruised into third base with a triple.
The Red Sox almost spoiled the scoring chance, as Shane Victorino grounded out to first base and Dustin Pedroia struck out swinging on a pitch in the dirt. Ortiz made sure that wasn’t the case, though.
Ortiz jumped on the first pitch he saw from Randall Delgado. It was a fastball right in Ortiz’s wheelhouse, and the slugger drilled it to straightaway center field for a two-run jack.
Mid 1st, Diamondbacks 2-0: Paul Goldschmidt is an NL MVP candidate. He showed why in the first inning.
Goldschmidt hit an absolute rocket into the Monster seats to give the D-Backs an early 2-0 edge.
Aaron Hill preceded Goldschmidt’s home run with a single into left field, meaning the long ball was of the two-run variety. It was Goldschmidt’s 25th bomb of the season, and he now has 88 RBIs.
Old friend Cody Ross also hit a two-out double in the first inning, but Jon Lester managed to pitch around that.
The inning ended with Brock Holt chasing a popup near the Arizona dugout. He made the grab on the dirt patch in front of the dugout, and he then tumbled backward. It’s certainly not the first or last time we’ll see Holt get dirty.
7:12 p.m.: Jon Lester’s first pitch is a strike, and we’re underway.
6:42 p.m.: For those curious about how the rotation shakes up the rest of the weekend, here’s a look at the probables.
Saturday: Jake Peavy (8-4, 4.28 ERA) vs. Patrick Corbin (12-2, 2.24 ERA)
Sunday: Felix Doubront (7-5, 3.77 ERA) vs. Brandon McCarthy (2-4, 5.00 ERA)
6:26 p.m.: Here’s a fun fact from the Red Sox game notes.
On this date in 1901, Cy Young won his 20th game of the year. His 33 wins that season would stand as a Red Sox record until Smoky Joe Wood posted 34 W’s in 1912.
6:07 p.m.: Obviously, the Red Sox can’t focus too much on Thursday night’s miracle comeback. (And they probably won’t given this team’s ability to take things one day at a time.) But that doesn’t mean we can’t still look back before officially turning the page.
The Red Sox sent 10 men to the plate while scoring six runs on six hits and two walks in the ninth inning Thursday. According to Elias, it was the first time since the start of the 2011 season that a winning team trailed by at least five runs entering the ninth inning.
Thursday’s comeback also marked just the fourth nine-inning win in Red Sox history in which Boston trailed by five runs or more heading into the ninth. They hadn’t done it since the famous 2007 Mother’s Day Miracle.
The last time the Red Sox came back to win after trailing by six or more runs entering the eighth inning? You have to go back a long time to find that one. It came on July 3, 1940, and the game ended with back-to-back homers by Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx.
Click here to read about the comeback >>
Click here to read about Jonny Gomes’ role in comeback >>
Click here to read about Daniel Nava’s bounce-back effort >>
Click here to read about Steven Wright’s underrated performance >>
5:37 p.m.: Daniel Nava’s playing time has become somewhat sporadic, but he’ll be in the starting lineup for Friday’s game. Nava, of course, delivered the game-winning hit in Thursday’s incredible comeback, and he even started the rally by drawing a leadoff walk in the ninth inning.
Check out Friday’s complete lineups below.
Red Sox (66-44)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Daniel Nava, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Stephen Drew, SS
Brock Holt, 3B
Jon Lester, LHP (10-6, 4.27 ERA)
Diamondbacks (55-35)
A.J. Pollock, CF
Aaron Hill, 2B
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
Martin Prado, 3B
Cody Ross, LF
Jason Kubel, DH
WilNieves, C
Gerardo Parra, RF
Didi Gregorius, SS
Randall Delgado, RHP (3-3, 2.85 ERA)
8 a.m. ET: How do you follow up that win?
The Red Sox rallied for six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday to defeat the Mariners, 8-7, at Fenway Park. It was an insane comeback, leaving us to wonder what they have on tap for an encore as the Diamondbacks arrive in town for a three-game interleague set.
Boston’s walk-off win Thursday was its major league-leading 11th of the season and its second in two games. In fact, you can technically say that the back-to-back walk-offs both came on the same day, as the Red Sox didn’t win Wednesday’s game until after midnight.
Jon Lester will head to the mound for Boston on Friday, while Randall Delgado will take the ball for Arizona. Lester has returned to form over his last three starts, so we’ll see if he can keep things rolling as the Red Sox seek their sixth win in seven games.
Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Be sure to tune in on NESN, and keep it right here with NESN.com’s live blog.
