Final, Red Sox 4-0: The Red Sox have won three straight, as Craig Breslow finished things off with a scoreless ninth inning.
John Lackey once again was solid for Boston. He lasted into the seventh inning and kept the Braves off the scoreboard. The right-hander surrendered eight hits but also recorded nine strikeouts.
Xander Bogaerts reached base four times to pace the offense. He collected three hits and scored a run.
A.J. Pierzynski, Jonny Gomes and Jackie Bradley Jr. each produced two hits in the victory.
It was a special night at Fenway Park, as the 2004 World Series team was honored before the game. The victory made it even sweeter for Boston, though, as the Red Sox look like they could be on the verge of getting on a roll following their recent 10-game losing streak.
End 8th, Red Sox 4-0: The Red Sox are three outs away from locking up their third straight win.
Alex Wood began the eighth inning for Atlanta. Anthony Varvaro ended it.
Jackie Bradley Jr. and Brock Holt struck out swinging against Wood. Bradley chased a nasty curveball that briefly got away from catcher Evan Gattis, but Gattis recovered to throw out Bradley at first base.
Xander Bogaerts greeted Varvaro with a ground ball to the left side. Third baseman Chris Johnson stopped it with a diving play, but his throw across the diamond was off the mark.
Varvaro unleashed a wild pitch that enabled Bogaerts to advance, but Dustin Pedroia grounded to short for the inning’s final out.
Craig Breslow will begin the ninth inning for Boston in a non-save situation.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 4-0: Junichi Tazawa breezed through the eighth inning.
Tazawa took care of Justin Upton, Evan Gattis and Ryan Doumit in order. Gattis and Doumit both struck out swinging.
Taz needed just nine pitches to handle business.
End 7th, Red Sox 4-0: The Red Sox have one more run to play with after adding a tally in the seventh inning.
Jonny Gomes’ one-out RBI single made it 4-0 in the seventh. Gomes’ knock was preceded by a leadoff single from Dustin Pedroia and a one-out single from A.J. Pierzynski.
The Red Sox threatened for more, as Grady Sizemore walked to load the bases. Unfortunately for Boston, Ryan Lavarnway, who entered earlier as a pinch-hitter, grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 3-0: Chris Capuano escaped some trouble in the seventh inning.
John Lackey exited after surrendering back-to-back singles to Tommy La Stella and Ramiro Pena.
Capuano took over and almost had his head taken off by a broken-bat grounder to second base. Both La Stella and Pena advanced on the play.
B.J. Upton walked to load the bases with two outs, but Capuano got the always dangerous Freddie Freeman to hit a ground ball to second base, where Dustin Pedroia made a nice stop to end the inning.
End 6th, Red Sox 3-0: The Red Sox struck for another run in the sixth inning.
Alex Wood relieved starter Gavin Floyd. He promptly walked Jonny Gomes and surrendered a single to Grady Sizemore.
Jackie Bradley Jr. made it 3-0 with a one-out double to left field that plated Gomes from second base.
The Red Sox could have done more damage, but Brock Holt’s ground ball to second base was handled cleanly by Tommy La Stella, who fired home for the second out.
Xander Bogaerts struck out to end the inning.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 2-0:Â John Lackey keeps buckling down when he needs to.
Justin Upton extended his hitting streak with a one-out double high off the Green Monster. It came within a foot or two of leaving the yard.
Lackey responded by retiring Evan Gattis and Ryan Doumit.
Lackey has surrendered six hits, but the Braves haven’t produced a run. One major reason is Lackey’s propensity for strikeouts, as the right-hander has nine punchouts in this contest.
End 5th, Red Sox 2-0: Xander Bogaerts began the fifth inning with a rocket down the third base line.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, they couldn’t do anything with Bogaerts’ leadoff single, which was deflected by a diving Chris Johnson.
Dustin Pedroia lined out to second base, David Ortiz flied out to center field and A.J. Pierzynski grounded back to the pitcher.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 2-0: John Lackey worked around a couple of singles in the fifth inning.
Tommy La Stella singled into center field with one out. It marked the first hit of La Stella’s major league career.
Jason Heyward added a single with two down before Lackey rebounded to strike out B.J. Upton swinging. The free-swinging Upton came up empty on three straight pitches.
End 4th, Red Sox 2-0: Jackie Bradley Jr.’s two-out single was the only noise of the fourth inning for Boston.
Grady Sizemore grounded out and Daniel Nava flied out before Bradley’s knock.
Brock Holt grounded to short to end the inning.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 2-0:Â John Lackey has six strikeouts thus far.
Lackey struck out two more in the fourth inning. Justin Upton and Ryan Doumit were the ones victimized.
Evan Gattis singled into left field before Lackey sat down Doumit.
End 3rd, Red Sox 2-0: The Red Sox added a run in the third inning.
Xander Bogaerts started things with one out. He dropped a fly ball into center field for a double. B.J. Upton, Ramiro Pena and Tommy La Stella converged on it, but no one made the play.
David Ortiz grounded into the shift with two outs. La Stella made a nice diving stop in shallow right field, but Ortiz hustled his way to a single as Bogaerts took third base.
A.J. Pierzynski gave Boston a two-run lead with a single back up the middle and into center field.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: Ramiro Pena’s one-out single went for naught.
Pena hit a sinking line drive into left-center field. Jackie Bradley Jr. laid out but fell way short. The ball dropped in for Atlanta’s second hit of the game.
John Lackey rebounded to retire Jason Heyward with his fourth strikeout. B.J. Upton grounded out to second base for the third out.
End 2nd, Red Sox 1-0: The Red Sox are on the board.
Jonny Gomes began the inning with a slow roller in the infield. Shortstop Ramiro Pena, who made a nice play in the first inning, charged it and made a barehanded play. Pena’s throw sailed up the first base line, though, and Gomes wound up on second base.
Gomes moved up another station when Gavin Floyd uncorked a wild pitch with Grady Sizemore batting. Sizemore ended up working a 10-pitch walk in a very nice at-bat by the veteran outfielder.
The game’s first run crossed when Daniel Nava grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Gomes trotted home from third base.
The run was unearned.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: It’s been three strikeouts and three popouts for John Lackey to this point.
Evan Gattis and Ryan Doumit popped out to begin the second inning. Gattis’ pop fly was handled by Dustin Pedroia in foul territory, and Doumit’s was handled by third baseman Brock Holt.
Lackey struck out Chris Johnson to end the inning. All three of Lackey’s K’s have been swinging.
End 1st, 0-0: Gavin Floyd struggled with his control a bit in the first inning. The Red Sox couldn’t capitalized with a couple of men on base, though.
Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz both walked in the first inning. Bogaerts walked on five pitches with one out, and Ortiz walked on five pitches with two outs.
A.J. Pierzynski threatened to line a ball into center field, but shortstop Ramirez Pena got dirty and made a nice play to end the inning.
Mid 1st, 0-0: John Lackey worked around a two-out double to toss a scoreless first inning.
Lackey struck out B.J. Upton and Justin Upton — both swinging — in the first inning.
Lackey’s only blemish was a double by Freddie Freeman down the left field line.
7:18 p.m.: After an awesome pregame ceremony, we’re underway at Fenway Park. The Red Sox shoot for their third straight win.
7:15 p.m.: Manny Ramirez was called upon to deliver the first pitch. Sure enough, Johnny Damon cut it off before it reached home plate.
Payback.
7:12 p.m.: What a scene at Fenway.
David Ortiz emerged from the dugout and hugged all of his former teammates. He went right down the line in the middle of the infield.
Manny Ramirez then emerged from the left field wall. (Haven’t we seen that before?)
7:08 p.m.: Curt Schilling, who is battling cancer, made a surprise appearance at Fenway Park. The crowd went nuts.
Regardless of how you feel about Schilling, who always has been a polarizing figure, that was a pretty dramatic moment.
Schilling looks pretty good, too.
7:05 p.m.: Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe and Pedro Martinez each received big ovations.
Pedro even gave a little shuffle dance in the outfield. Pretty hip.
6:58 p.m.: Moments after a round of “Youkkkk!” chants comes a huge ovation for Kevin Millar.
John Farrell was asked before the game whether there are similarities between Millar and Jonny Gomes. Farrell said he’s never been on a team with Millar but that he certainly sees how one could make that comparison from an energy/on-field standpoint.
6:50 p.m.: The pregame ceremony is underway.
6:25 p.m.: Here are some quick Red Sox pregame notes.
-Clay Buchholz threw a bullpen session before the game. His status for his next start still is unclear, although manager John Farrell left open the possibility of a disabled list stint.
-Mike Carp is not in the lineup because of some swelling in his foot, stemming from him being struck Tuesday. Daniel Nava is at first base.
-Will Middlebrooks’ injured finger still is immobilized. Mike Napoli’s injured finger is swollen, though an MRI revealed no structural damage.
Below are Wednesday’s lineups.
Boston Red Sox (22-29)
Brock Holt, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Jonny Gomes, LF
Grady Sizemore, RF
Daniel Nava, 1B
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
John Lackey, RHP (5-3, 3.58 ERA)
Atlanta Braves (28-23)
Jason Heyward, LF
B.J. Upton, CF
Freddie Freeman, 1B
Justin Upton, LF
Chris Johnson, 3B
Ryan Doumit, DH
Tommy La Stella, 2B
Gerald Laird, C
Ramiro Pena, SS
Gavin Floyd, RHP (0-1, 2.49 ERA)
6:10 p.m.: Media availability with the 2004 Red Sox just wrapped up. It was a free-for-all, but all of the guys seemed genuinely fired up about returning to Fenway Park for this 10th anniversary celebration.
That includes Manny Ramirez, who emphasized that he’s a changed man. Manny even said that he apologized to long-time Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick, whom he had an altercation with before being traded away in 2010.
Stay tuned with NESN.com throughout the evening for more on the ’04 World Series team’s return to Fenway.
3:30 p.m. ET: The Boston Red Sox won’t have to look far for inspiration Wednesday. The 2004 World Series team is returning to Fenway Park for a 10th anniversary celebration.
This year’s Red Sox squad is off to a rocky start despite winning two in a row. Perhaps soaking in a pregame ceremony honoring the ’04 champs can provide an extra kick as the Sox look to turn their season around.
John Lackey and Gavin Floyd will square off once Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves begins. Lackey tossed seven shutout innings in his last start Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays, but the right-hander didn’t factor into the decision because the Red Sox’s bats were silenced.
Wednesday’s game is scheduled to get started at 7:10 p.m. Tune in on NESN beginning at 5:30 for complete coverage of what should be a memorable night at the ballpark.
