End 9th, Red Sox win 4-3: Jackie Bradley Jr. led off the inning with a walk.
Brock Holt earned a walk on five pitches to give Boston runners on first and second with no outs.
Xander Bogaerts hit a ground ball to Chris Johnson at third base, who threw it to second base to begin a double play. Tommy La Stella couldn’t handle the throw cleanly as Holt slid into the base, and the ball rolled toward right field.
That allowed Bradley to score from third base. Johnson received an error on the play.
The Red Sox extend their winning streak to four games and will host the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game series starting Friday night at Fenway Park.
Mid 9th, 3-3: Koji Uehara replaced Jake Peavy. Peavy allowed three runs, struck out four and walked one in eight innings.
Ryan Doumit singled to left field. Jordan Schafer pinch ran for Doumit and advanced to second base on a bunt by Tommy La Stella.
Andrelton Simmons grounded out to shortstop, and Jason Heyward struck out to end the inning.
End 8th, 3-3: Dan Carpenter entered the game for Mike Minor. Minor gave up one earned run, struck out three and walked no one in seven innings.
Brock Holt collected his third hit of the game with a single to left field. He advanced to second base on an error by Justin Upton.
Xander Bogaerts picked up his second hit of the night and drove in Holt with a single to right field. The Red Sox trail 3-2.
Dustin Pedroia hit a single up the middle that was fielded by Tommy La Stella, but he tumbled to the ground and couldn’t make a play.
A.J. Pierzynski hit a single to center field, which scored Bogaerts. Pedroia went to third base on an error by B.J. Upton.
Relief pitcher Luis Avilan replaced Carpenter for Atlanta and struck out Grady Sizemore.
David Ortiz pinch hit for Daniel Nava and was intentionally walked to put runners on the corners.
Braves closer Craig Kimbrel replaced Avilan. Mike Carp entered the game as a pinch runner for Ortiz at first base.
Davis Ross flied out to left field to end the inning.
Mid 8th, Braves 3-1: B.J. Upton singled to left field and was quickly driven home on Freddie Freeman’s double off the Green Monster. That hit gave the Braves a 3-1 lead.
Justin Upton grounded out to second, which moved Freeman to third base.
Evan Gattis grounded out to shortstop for the second out.
Chris Johnson grounded out to third to end the inning.
End 7th, Braves 2-1: Grady Sizemore began the inning with a base hit to right field. He wouldn’t advance past first base, though.
Daniel Nava flied out to center field, David Ross struck out on a filthy breaking ball and Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded out to shortstop.
Mid 7th, Braves 2-1: Jake Peavy came back out to the mound to start the seventh and struck out Ryan Doumit.
Tommy La Stella grounded out to first base for out No. 2.
Andrelton Simmons hit a single into left field for his second hit of the game.
Jason Heyward grounded out to second base to end the inning.
End 6th, Braves 2-1: Dustin Pedroia grounded out to third base for out No. 1.
A.J. Pierzynski flied out to left field.
Jonny Gomes flied out to shallow center field for the final out.
Mid 6th, Braves 2-1: Justin Upton and Evan Gattis both popped out to second base.
Chris Johnson struck out to end the inning.
INJURY UPDATE: Ryan Lavarnway left the game with left wrist soreness. He was replaced by Daniel Nava.
End 5th, 2-1 Braves: Daniel Nava pinch hit for Ryan Lavarnway and struck out.
David Ross doubled off the Green Monster.
Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded out to the shortstop, and Ross advanced to third base.
Brock Holt doubled off the Green Monster to drive in Ross as the Red Sox trimmed the Braves’ lead to 2-1.
Xander Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.
Mid 5th, 2-0 Braves: Tommy La Stella led off the inning with a fly out to left field.
Andrelton Simmons singled into center field, and then stole second base.
Jason Heyward hit a ground ball up the middle that was gloved by Dustin Pedroia. He wasn’t able to make a play, though, as he was forced to dive for the ball. It was Heyward’s second hit of the game.
B.J. Upton lined out to Xander Bogaerts at shortstop for out No. 2.
Freddie Freeman grounded out to first base as the Braves left runners on the corners to end the top of the fifth.
End 4th, 2-0 Braves: A.J. Pierzynski grounded out to first base to start the inning.
Jonny Gomes hit a single high off the Green Monster. He missed a home run by about six feet.
Grady Sizemore hit into an inning-ending double play.
Mid 4th, 2-0 Braves: Atlanta doubled its lead in the fourth inning.
Freddie Freeman drew a walk to start things off.
Justin Upton flied out to center field for the first out.
Jake Peavy was called for a balk, which gave Freeman a free pass to second base. Peavy was unhappy with the call and argued with the second base umpire.
Evan Gattis drove in Freeman hit a single to left field. He took second base on the throw to the plate.
Chris Johnson flied out to center field for out No. 2.
Ryan Doumit flied out to left field for the third out.
End 3rd, 1-0 Braves: Jackie Bradley Jr. flied out to center field to begin the inning.
Brock Holt hit a single to left field.
Xander Bogaerts popped up to the second baseman for the second out.
Dustin Pedroia flied out to left-center field for the final out.
Mid 3rd, 1-0 Braves: Tommy La Stella grounded out to second base for the first out of the inning.
Andrelton Simmons flied out to deep right field near the foul pole for out No. 2.
Jason Heyward hit a solo home run (his fifth of the season) to right field for the first run of the game.
B.J. Upton flied out to right field to end the inning.
End 2nd, 0-0: Grady Sizemore led off the inning with a ground out to the pitcher.
Ryan Lavarnway grounded out to shortstop. Andrelton Simmons made a great throw to first base that barely arrived before Lavarnway touched the bag. Simmons won the NL Gold Glove at shortstop last season.
David Ross flied out to center field for the final out of the inning.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: The Braves got a man on base to begin the inning but couldn’t generate any more offense after that.
Justin Upton led off the second inning with a ground ball to shortstop that Xander Bogaerts decided to keep rather than make a long throw to first base. Upton was going to beat out the throw with his great speed, anyway.
Evan Gattis hit a fly ball deep to right center field that Jackie Bradley Jr. caught on the warning track, just outside the Sox bullpen.
Jake Peavy struck out Chris Johnson and Ryan Doumit to end the inning.
End 1st, 0-0: The Red Sox were able to put runners on the corners but couldn’t break the tie.
Brock Holt led off the inning with a ground out to first base.
Xander Bogaerts hit the first pitch he saw off the Green Monster for a double. That extended his hitting streak to three games.
Dustin Pedroia was unable to advance him after grounding out to third base.
A.J. Pierzynski hit a ground ball up the middle that couldn’t be fielded cleanly by Tommy La Stella. Pierzynski made it safely to first and Bogaerts reached third.
Jonny Gomes couldn’t drive any runs in as he flied out to left field for the third out.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Jake Peavy made quick work of the Braves by retiring the side in order.
Jason Heyward led off the game with a pop out in the infield grass that was caught by Dustin Pedroia.
B.J. Upton fouled out to A.J. Pierzynski to the right of the first base line for out No. 2.
Freddie Freeman grounded out to Pierzynski for the final out of the inning.
Brock Holt will lead off the bottom of the first for the Red Sox.
7:10 p.m.: Jake Peavy delivers the first pitch for a ball, and we’re underway at Fenway Park.
6:35 p.m.: Peavy is looking for his first win since April 25. He’s 29-16 in 61 career starts in May.
The Red Sox offense has been heating up as of late, and Bogaerts’ resurgence is a primary reason why. He’s collected 15 hits in his last 10 games and enters Thursday night with a team-leading .287 batting average.
4:40 p.m.: The Boston Red Sox will send Jake Peavy to the mound Thursday night at Fenway Park as the defending World Series champions aim to extend their win streak to four games in the final contest of a two-game series against the Atlanta Braves.
There are a few lineup changes of note for Boston.
David Ortiz is getting a day off as a precaution due to calf tightness. “It’s more about managing the situation,” manager John Farrell said. He added that Ortiz should be back Friday.
A.J. Pierzynski will replace Ortiz at designated hitter. Ryan Lavarnway will make his first start of the season for the Red Sox and play first base.
Opposing Peavy is Braves left-handed starter Mike Minor, who’s 2-3 with a 3.90 earned run average and a 1.15 WHIP. He suffered a loss in his last start against the Colorado Rockies on May 24. Boston is 10-7 against lefty starters this season.
Atlanta has won just two of its last 10 road games, and its 10 total road victories are the fewest among division leaders.
Check back to this blog for analysis, score updates and play-by-play of tonight’s action. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Here are the lineups for both teams.
Boston Red Sox (23-29)
Brock Holt, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
A.J. Pierzynski, DH
Jonny Gomes, LF
Grady Sizemore, RF
Ryan Lavarnway, 1B
David Ross, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Jake Peavy, RHP (1-2, 4.65 ERA)
Atlanta Braves (28-24)
Jason Heyward, LF
B.J. Upton, CF
Freddie Freeman, 1B
Justin Upton, LF
Evan Gattis, C
Chris Johnson, 3B
Ryan Doumit, DH
Tommy La Stella, 2B
Andrelton Simmons, 3B
Mike Minor, LHP (2-3, 3.90 ERA)
