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BOSTON -- The Red Sox brought their newly signed first-round draft pick, left-handed pitcher Trey Ball, to Fenway Park Wednesday afternoon. Let the chirping begin.

Ball, the seventh overall pick in the draft and highest Sox pick since Trot Nixon in 1993, signed for a bonus of $2.75 million. That was nearly $500,000 less than the $3.246 bonus recommendation assigned to his slot.

"It's been amazing. It's been a blast out there with all the guys," Ball explained. "Growing up all I wanted to do was be a baseball player. Being able to potentially fulfill that? It's a great honor."

A great honor, yes, but not without a little bit of fun had at his expense. After manager John Farrell hinted that Ball "got a taste" of the clubhouse, the 18-year-old admitted that he heard it as soon as he walked in.

"[They were all saying] hurry up and get here," Ball said. "Dustin Pedroia was like, 'Hurry up so I can retire!' and all that. He was giving me a hard time, but it was a good time."

The Sox weren't as creative in their teasing as the Cleveland Indians, who greeted their No. 1 pick, red-haired outfielder Clint Frazier, by wearing bright red clown wigs last week. And Ball said in the midst of the hilarity, some advice was dispensed as well.

Right-hander Clay Buchholz, for example, gave him some tips on how to throw a curveball, a pitch Ball has been working on for only two years.

"I think he will soon realize he's in a very special place and there's a lot of history that goes behind the uniform he will put on," Farrell said. "With that comes some increased expectations, but it's also the reason he was selected by us."

General manager Ben Cherington cited the many reasons why the Sox picked Ball.

"Makeup, athleticism, stuff, projectability," Cherington said. "We sort of go through the checklist of things that we need to see in a high school pitcher to invest a first-round pick, and he just checks all the boxes. He's got the chance to be really good one day."

For now, that day is well in the future. The 6-foot-6 Ball will be flying to Fort Myers on Thursday in order to get into the routine and throwing schedule that professional baseball will require of him. Although the Gulf Coast League Red Sox's season is slated to begin on Friday, Ball is expected to pitch in his first game for the team at some point in July.

The signing of Ball was the quickest the Sox have signed a first-round high school pick since outfielder Jason Place in 2006. That works to the team's advantage, Cherington said.

"It's helpful to establish routines and sort of get through all the things that a young player has to learn about an organization," Cherington said. "When we get that stuff ingrained the year before it helps give a guy a better chance to break into a full-season club next year."

Much like another tall left-handed Red Sox prospect, Henry Owens, Ball will have the chance to skip Lowell and start next year with the Greenville Drive. However, Ball understands that he is about to embark on what Cherington described as a long path to the big leagues.

"I haven't been pitching [recently] so I'm probably going to take it slow," Ball said.

Right now, the prized prospect is focusing on enjoying his first time in Boston with his family, a trip that has included a duck tour. The Sox gave him a vision, complete with a healthy dose of Pedroia, of what might lie ahead when he returns as something more than a visitor.

"To his credit, he handled it great," Farrell said. "An 18-year-old who walks in, in a jacket and tie, who obviously comes from a good family, you could see that. He did his family proud, given what he heard.

"I'm sure he's starting to realize a dream come true. His responses to questions, his ability to interact with a lot of people that one, he doesn't know all that well or may know only by name, he handled himself well. This is a beginning of what hopefully is a long and successful journey for him."

Kyle Brasseur is an intern for ESPNBoston.com.

BOSTON -- A few quick hits from manager John Farrell:

* Catcher David Ross is scheduled to be examined Thursday in Pittsburgh by neuropsychologist Dr. Micky Collins, MLB's consultant on concussions, at the University of Pittsburgh's Medical Center. Ross was not examined there the first time he went on the DL for concussion symptoms back on May 12 and missed 11 games.

In his first game back from the DL, on May 25 against Cleveland, Ross struck out in all five of his at-bats. He has played in just eight games, batting .136 (3 for 22) while striking out 13 times. Ross was struck again by a foul ball in the third inning Friday night in Baltimore, and though he remained in the game, he struck out in his final two at-bats.

“There was a further onset of symptoms," Farrell said. “That while he’s not as severe as the first time he was on the DL, there’s still some things that are lingering we’re going to have examined."

* Despite catching for 18 innings, 5 hours and 37 minutes, sitting through a rain delay of 2 hours and 59 minutes, receiving 261 pitches from 7 pitchers, and batting 7 times, Jarrod Saltalamacchia was behind the plate again Wednesday.

“He felt good coming out of yesterday," Farrell said.

Farrell also cited Wednesday night’s matchup -- Saltalamacchia was 6 for 20 with two home runs against Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson -- and noted that Ryan Lavarnway, called up Tuesday night, would be catching Thursday in Detroit against Tigers left-hander Wilson Alvarez.

The Sox had hoped that Lavarnway would arrive in time to catch the second game of Tuesday’s double-header, but weather kept his flight grounded in Columbus and he did not arrive until around the fourth inning.

* Shane Victorino did not play Wednesday because he was a bit banged up after playing both ends of the double-header. Victorino singled, tripled and scored two runs in the opener, then went 0 for 4 in the second game. Mike Carp said he was good to go after coming out of Sunday’s game with a tight hamstring, but Farrell said he wanted to limit Carp to pinch-hitting duty. With both Victorino and Carp out, Jonny Gomes got another start against a right-hander, his 10th. He’s batting .200 (9 for 45) against right-handed starters, with 4 home runs.

* The question lingered a day later: Felix Doubront had thrown eight scoreless innings, retired the last 17 batters he faced, had not walked a man, and had thrown just 93 pitches. So, just what circumstances have to be present for a Sox pitcher to throw a complete game?

“He was in line to do that." Farrell said. “Everything lined up for him to do that. And yet, you also look at what Felix has come through.

This was the longest outing in which he’s ever pitched in the big leagues last night, eight innings. He’s making very good progress in terms of momentum in his own game. And the fact is that he walked off that field after eight innings with only one thing that could happen, and that’s to get a win.

Obviously, he gets a no-decision because of what transpired, but if there’s a little bit more room on the scoreboard, he’s probably going back out for that ninth inning.

“But yet, I thought it was important for him to end the night on a very positive note... He continues into his next start with quite a bit of momentum on his side.”

* Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster remain the two candidates to make Saturday’s start in Detroit.

The decision will be made, Farrell said, on “who has been most consistent of late and who’s throwing the ball over the plate more consistently."

De La Rosa threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings Monday in Columbus, allowing just two hits, but he walked five. Webster went 6 scoreless innings last Friday against Buffalo, allowing just one hit while walking just one. In his last four starts, he has walked a total of 7 batters in 21 1/3 innings, so the pendulum might have swung in his favor.

BOSTON -- The Red Sox on Wednesday announced the signing of 18-year-old first-round pick Trey Ball as well as 10 other draft picks.

Ball, a left-handed pitcher out of New Castle, Indiana, was the seventh overall pick in the draft, Boston’s earliest pick since selecting Trot Nixon at seven in 1993. Ball will report to the Gulf Coast League Red Sox next week, where he’ll begin his professional career.

According to ESPN Insider Keith Law, Ball was the top draft-eligible left-handed pitcher. The 6-foot-6 southpaw went 6-0 with an ERA of 0.76 and 93 strikeouts in 46 innings in his senior season at New Castle High School, where he was named an All-American. Ball also stood out as an outfielder, batting .329 with 9 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Many draft experts projected that he could go in the first round as either a pitcher or outfielder.

Ball is the earliest high school first-rounder to sign a deal with the Red Sox since Jason Place in 2006.

In addition to Ball, the Red Sox confirmed the signings of outfielder Forrestt Allday (eighth round), right-hander Kyle Martin (ninth round), right-hander Taylor Grover (10th round), infielder Carlos Asuaje (11th round), catcher Jake Romanski (14th round), outfielder Bryan Hudson (15th round), right-hander Joe Gunkel (18th round), infielders Reed Gragnani (21st round) and Jantzen Witte (24th round), and catcher Daniel Bethea (34th round).

The terms of each signing was not released.

Brasseur contributes to ESPNBoston.com’s Red Sox coverage.

BOSTON -- Pragmatist that he is, Jonny Gomes decided 9½ hours of baseball, a tally that included a lengthy rain delay, was sufficient for all parties involved.

The Boston Red Sox left fielder, whose big league roots can be traced to Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field, hit the first pitch he saw from Tampa Bay Rays reliever Joel Peralta in the bottom of the ninth for a two-run home run that gave the Sox a 3-1 walk-off win and a doubleheader sweep over his former team.

The Sox won the opener, 5-1, and have now beaten the Rays 9 of 11 times this season, with five of those wins coming in the ninth inning or later.

The Sox also have won 10 of their past 13 games at Fenway Park.

A day that started with Game 1 winner Alfredo Aceves stuck in traffic and was interrupted for three hours by heavy rain ended with Felix Doubront finding only open road in what was easily the best start of his major league career.

Doubront did not walk a batter, allowed just three hits and worked eight scoreless innings, the longest start of his career, and was poised to win his third straight start.

But in a decision that almost certainly will revive a closer crisis in town, manager John Farrell elected to replace Doubront, who had thrown just 93 pitches, with closer Andrew Bailey, despite Bailey's missteps of late.

That decision looked good for all of two pitches, as Kelly Johnson hit Bailey's second pitch over the Red Sox's bullpen to tie the score at 1. Bailey has given up five home runs in just 22 1/3 innings, and three of those home runs have come in the past eight days -- one by Jose Lobaton of the Rays, when Bailey blew an 8-6 lead in the 10th, and a two-run home run to Matt Wieters on Saturday, a game the Sox held on to win by a run.

But Bailey emerged with a tainted win (3-0) when Daniel Nava, whose 10th home run in the second had accounted for Boston's first run, drew a walk to open the ninth against Peralta. Gomes then hit Peralta's next pitch off the AAA sign over the Monster, giving the Sox their sixth walk-off win this season.

BOSTON -- Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz threw a bullpen before Game 2 on Tuesday night, but apparently did not show sufficient progress to clear him to start this weekend. Buchholz, who has a strained trapezius muscle in his neck, was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 9.

Buchholz will not be eligible to pitch until next Tuesday, when the Sox play the Colorado Rockies in Fenway Park.

The Red Sox also placed catcher David Ross on the 7-day concussion disabled list. Ross was placed on the list back on May 12, and missed 11 games before being activated May 24. Ross was hit by another foul ball in the third inning of last Friday night’s game against the Orioles, and while he finished the game, he hasn’t played since.

Reliever Alex Wilson and catcher Ryan Lavarnway were recalled from Pawtucket, with hopes that they would arrive at some point during Tuesday’s game. The PawSox were playing in Columbus.

The Red Sox will need another starter Saturday in Detroit. The most likely candidate for a call-up at this stage would appear to be Allen Webster, who pitched one-hit ball over six scoreless innings against Buffalo in his last start Friday and wasn’t slated to start again until Thursday.

The Sox have not announced rotation plans past Wednesday, when Ryan Dempster is scheduled to pitch the series finale against the Rays here. John Lackey, coming off his strong start in Baltimore on Saturday (7 IP, 2 ER), figures to stay on regular rest and pitch the series opener in Detroit on Thursday night. It’s conceivable that Sox manager John Farrell could pitch Webster on six days’ rest Friday and give Jon Lester, who pitched Sunday, an extra day’s rest and pitch him Saturday.

BOSTON -- For the second time this season, rain marred a matchup at Fenway Park between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays. This time, there was actually a final result, as the Sox endured a rain delay of nearly three hours before securing a 5-1 victory in the makeup of a game that was postponed by the wet stuff April 12.

Boston received five solid innings from Alfredo Aceves before the rain delay and three hits and three runs from Jacoby Ellsbury in improving to 8-2 this season against their American League East rivals. The Red Sox have won nine of their last 12 at home and will go for a sweep of the doubleheader, which was expected to begin at 8:05 p.m.

Better late than never: Manager John Farrell has discussed Aceves’ ability to adjust and perform in situations that might lack the usual structure. Tuesday may have offered up one of the all-time great examples of Alfredo being Alfredo, as the enigmatic righty nearly arrived too late to make his scheduled start before plowing through his pregame routine and performing quite admirably.

“Ace was delayed in traffic. He’s not a guy that reports to the clubhouse early to begin with and was a little delayed,” Farrell said. “But [he] had ample time to get loose inside, go out, throw his 25 pitches of warm up. Much like we talked about, the unstructured ability to perform.

“We were in communication with [Aceves] for the hour and a half prior to, and he was well aware of the start that was taking place today. He had Game 1. But as the delay continued, we were in contact with him and he was on his way in. So we were getting close, but he made it.”

Franklin Morales was buzzing around the bullpen as the team waited for Aceves, just in case he needed to warm up. Morales never began to throw.

Aceves showed signs of a rushed warm-up session when he walked three men in the second inning. However, he settled down and began to throw strikes. Aceves got a double play to end the second with just one run being scored, and allowed only two hits over his final three frames before the skies opened up.

The enigmatic righty is now 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his three fill-in starts over the past three weeks, surviving 10 walks against nine strikeouts in 17 innings.

“Once again, Alfredo comes in and does his thing,” Farrell added. “Five solid innings of work, would have been in line to go back out for the sixth had it not been interrupted by the rain. I think, most importantly, other than the three walks in that second inning, he was around the plate often, got some early outs, was overall efficient.”

Taking aim at Archer: With a leadoff double in the bottom of the first inning, Ellsbury improved to 5-for-5 against Rays starter Chris Archer. That was the only Red Sox hit until Ellsbury improved to 6-for-6 against Archer with a leadoff single in the third.

Ellsbury’s run against the young Tampa Bay right-hander ended in the fifth, but he had already recorded the ninth multi-hit effort in his last 16 games, and he added to his surge with his American League-leading seventh triple in the sixth off Josh Lueke. That left Ellsbury a home run shy of the cycle. The elusive blast never came, but Ellsbury is now hitting .371 (33-for-89) with 18 runs scored over his last 21 games.

Top heavy: Ellsbury’s effort spearheaded a productive showing for the top of the order. The first four hitters in the Red Sox lineup were 7-for-15 with all five RBIs and all five runs scored. The next five were 1-for-16 with eight strikeouts and left a bunch of runners on base.

Milestone watch: The Red Sox media relations team reserves a portion of its game notes to milestones. Tuesday’s version featured just one player, David Ortiz, who, as noted in the handout, entered the doubleheader needing five doubles to reach 500 for his career.

While Ortiz went without a two-base hit, he did drive in a pair of runs with a single in the third to leapfrog a pretty special player in Hall of Famer Johnny Bench on the all-time RBI list. Ortiz added another RBI, the 1,378th of his career, on a run-scoring base hit in the fifth to tie the immortal Lave Cross -- a 155-pounder from Milwaukee whose career ended in 1907 -- for 76th all-time.

Like peas in a pod, those two.

Buchholz update: Clay Buchholz was able to throw a quick bullpen session after the first game, which should clear the way for him to avoid the disabled list and start Saturday in Detroit. If Buchholz was unable to make the session, the club was prepared to DL him due to a lingering neck issue, but he seems to be on the right path.

Provided he came through with everything OK, Buchholz will throw a more intense bullpen session Thursday. Farrell will provide an update following the nightcap.

When I was a boy: Seeing the Sox and Rays play in a doubleheader at Fenway is reminiscent of some awkward days at the old ballpark back in April 2010. In the opener of a four-game set between the two rivals, rain halted a 1-1 game in the ninth. It was picked up the following day and Tampa Bay won in 12 innings before taking the “nightcap” and then the remaining two games of the series, the last on Patriot’s Day, to send Boston to a 4-9 record.

In looking back on the suspended situation, it’s worth nothing a few items. For one, closer Jonathan Papelbon, who was pitching for the Red Sox when the game was suspended, was unavailable when it was resumed because his wife had given birth overnight. Pat Burrell homered off Manny Delcarmen to win the suspended contest, and Ellsbury, who had collided with Adrian Beltre about a week earlier in Kansas City, told reporters that day he was on the verge of returning to the lineup.

It would be more than a month before Ellsbury got back in the lineup and that would last just three games before the rib injury sidelined him again until August, when he played in just nine more.

Up next: Felix Doubront toes the rubber opposite Rays rookie right-hander Jake Odorizzi in the nightcap. Doubront is still looking to complete seven innings this season. After four relievers ate up four innings in the first game, now would be a good time for the lefty to extend himself.

The Red Sox announced that the first game of today’s doubleheader, delayed in the bottom of the 5th with the Sox leading 4-1 over the Rays, is expected to resume later this evening. The second game of the doubleheader will start 35-45 minutes after the first game ends. Fans with tickets for Game 2 can attend the end of Game 1, and fans with tickets for Game 1 can stay and watch Game 2.

Here’s the statement from the Sox:

Game 1 of today’s Red Sox-Rays doubleheader, delayed in the bottom of the 5th inning with the Red Sox holding a 4-1 lead over Tampa Bay, is expected to resume later this afternoon.

The current forecast, provided by the Red Sox professional weather service, Telvent DTN, calls for the possibility of thunderstorms to remain in the Fenway area until about 5:30 or 6:00 p.m., followed by relatively dry conditions for the remainder of the evening.

Game 2 of the doubleheader is expected to start approximately 35-45 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1. Fans coming to Fenway Park to attend Game 2 are invited to enter the ballpark to watch the conclusion of Game 1. The official start time for Game 2 will be announced immediately after the completion of Game 1.

In addition, fans holding tickets for Game 1 are invited to attend Game 2 free of charge. They can exchange their tickets at the Gate E ticket window.

BOSTON -- Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz will test his sore neck with a throwing session between the first and second game of Boston’s doubleheader Tuesday against Tampa Bay, after which a decision will be made on whether Buchholz lands on the disabled list or not.

Buchholz was originally expected to throw on flat ground prior to the afternoon game, and move to a mound session if everything felt OK. That exercise was pushed back a bit after the pitchers stretched. His ability to get on a mound Tuesday is imperative if he is to avoid the DL, as he would need another bullpen Thursday in order to be ready for a start Saturday, when Boston next needs a starter.

“If that bullpen can’t be executed today, he’s probably out of that mix,” manager John Farrell said.

Farrell indicated that the two candidates to replace Buchholz, if indeed he cannot go Saturday, would be Allen Webster or Rubby De La Rosa. Alfredo Aceves is pitching the afternoon game Tuesday so he would not be ready by Saturday, and the team is not interested in continuing to shuffle Franklin Morales back and forth between the bullpen and the rotation.

After being skipped at the end of May due to the neck strain, Buchholz made two starts before the issue cropped up again. He has not appeared in a game since June 8, when he left his outing against the Los Angeles Angels with two outs in the seventh inning due to discomfort in his neck.

Depending on which pitcher the Red Sox recall, the retroactive date of Buchholz’s potential DL placement could change. For instance, if De La Rosa is the choice, the retroactive date would go back to when De La Rosa was last active, which was June 16. (De La Rosa was not used, and was optioned two days later.) If the Sox go with Webster, the retroactive date goes back to June 8, when Buchholz was hurt.

Those potential roster moves are just part of a dizzying array of transactions involving pitchers in the past week or so. If Buchholz is DL’d Tuesday, it would amount to the seventh alteration of the pitching staff in a span of eight days.
Farrell said there is a chance the team could start a call-up Friday rather than Saturday and bump everyone else back a day to steal some extra rest for other members of the rotation.

In other pregame news:

* Oufielder/first baseman Mike Carp is expected back in the lineup for the nightcap. He left Sunday’s loss in Baltimore with a sore hamstring, but has healed sufficiently and looked to be unbothered during exercises on the field Tuesday morning. Carp is batting .405 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 13 games this month.

* First baseman Mike Napoli has returned to the lineup for the first half of the twinbill. Napoli departed the series opener in Baltimore on Thursday with an illness and has not played since. He was sent back to Boston for further evaluation when the symptoms did not subside, but has recovered enough to take his customary fifth spot in the lineup behind David Ortiz.

* Right-hander Alfredo Aceves was added to the roster to make the start Tuesday afternoon. There is no corresponding move as teams are permitted to take on a 26th man for doubleheaders. Aceves limited the Rays to a run on four hits in six innings last Wednesday and owns a 2.27 ERA in his career vs. Tampa Bay.

* Tuesday will mark the major-league debut of Rays top prospect Wil Myers, who is hitting sixth and playing right field. Myers, acquired in the big trade that sent James Shields and Wade Davis to Kansas City in December, hit .286 with 14 homers and 57 RBIs in 64 games for Triple-A Durham.

BOSTON -- Here's the lineup for the first game of today's doubleheader against the Rays (1:05 p.m.)

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Shane Victorino, RF
3. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
4. David Ortiz, DH
5. Mike Napoli, 1B
6. Daniel Nava, LF
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
8. Will Middlebrooks, 3B
9. Stephen Drew, SS

BALTIMORE -- The Red Sox find themselves temporarily short of first basemen, with Mike Napoli having returned early to Boston to determine the cause of dizziness and grogginess and Mike Carp leaving Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Orioles in the seventh inning with tightness in his right hamstring.

But the Sox have a day off Monday before playing a day-night doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, and manager John Farrell said after Sunday’s game that Napoli was much improved and hopeful of playing Tuesday, while Carp said he believes he may have just cramped up in the humid conditions and he’ll be good to go as well.

Will Middlebrooks, meanwhile, has been taking ground balls at first base, having volunteered to do so after Napoli took ill Thursday night while the Sox were playing the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla. Middlebrooks said the shift across the diamond, one made so effortlessly by Kevin Youkilis when he was here, has not been difficult.

“A lot bigger glove, so it’s been pretty easy,’’ he said. “Not a big deal. Yeah, there’s the footwork, but you don’t have to worry about making the throw across the field, except on a double play, and that’s easy.

“I knew Naps was sick. I just said, ‘Hey, I can catch the ball over there in an emergency situation. I wanted them to see that if they need me, they can throw me over there.’’

Middlebrooks had his best game Sunday since coming off the disabled list last Monday, making a diving stop to his left on a ball hit by Alexi Casilla in the fourth, and hitting a three-run home run in the seventh that accounted for all of Boston’s runs against the Orioles Sunday afternoon.

The home run was the first by Middlebrooks in 9 games since May 19. He is 4 for 22 with the home run and double since coming off the DL, and also had looked uncomfortable in the field at times. He missed 16 games with a lower back strain, and acknowledged Sunday that he’s not fully healthy.

“I don’t want to make excuses,’’ he said, “but I’ve been pretty tight. My back is pretty tight, but I want to get out there and do what I can to help us win.’’

Middlebrooks mentioned a need to regain focus.

“It’s easy to get caught up in, ‘I’m not playing well, I don’t want to let us down, I’m sore, I’m tight,’ instead of just focusing on the task at hand,’’ he said. “That’s what I’m getting to, just simplifying things.’’

Middlebrooks lined a ball deep to right in the third inning off Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez that was maybe just a ball’s width off the plate.

“I told David [Ortiz], ‘If he throws me the same pitch, I’m going to hit it out,’’’ he said.

Gonzalez threw him the same pitch with two on in the seventh, and Middlebrooks drove it into the right-field seats.

“If I’m squaring up a pitch there, that means I’m covering thge whole plate,’’ Middlebrooks said.

BALTIMORE -- The world, or at least that part of it inhabited by those who have an excessive fondness for the Boston Red Sox, appears to be divided along a very obvious fault line:

Those who believe Jon Lester is in a month-long funk from which he will ultimately emerge;

Those who believe that Lester ain’t what he used to be, and the past month bears witness to just how much he has slipped.

There doesn’t seem to be much room in between when the topic is the Red Sox left-hander.

On May 15, Lester was 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA, his place at the top of the Red Sox firmament fully restored.

After giving up five runs on nine hits in Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Lester is 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA in his past six starts. He lasted five innings Sunday after going just 4 2/3 innings Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays. His overall ERA has climbed to 4.37; public confidence in him has dropped somewhere below the temperature of liquid hydrogen.

He did a number of things right Sunday, registering eight strikeouts, walking no one, and inducing 22 swings and misses.

But he also gave up five extra-base hits, including a two-run home run by Chris Davis -- the Orioles’ first baseman who hit his major league-leading 23rd roundtripper in the third -- then gave up a couple of more runs in the fifth, an inning that began with a double by Nick Markakis, was followed by a bloop single by Manny Machado compounded by a throwing error by Mike Carp, and culminated in a flared opposite-field double by Davis that fell just out of the reach of Jonny Gomes.

The Orioles tacked on another run against Junichi Tazawa in the seventh; the sum of the Sox offense was provided by Will Middlebrooks, who hit an opposite-field three-run home run.

The Orioles took three of four from the Sox, cutting Boston’s lead to 1 ½ games in the AL East.

BALTIMORE -- The Sons of Gary DiSarcina continue to make a steady exodus from Pawtucket, though for each so far, it has been a round-trip ticket.

On Sunday, reliever Pedro Beato became the fifth PawSox player to be activated by the big club since Tuesday, when Jose De La Torre started the conga line of callups that also has included Alfredo Aceves (Wednesday), Alex Wilson (Thursday) and Rubby De La Rosa (Friday).

De La Rosa came and went without appearing in a game, but there is purpose behind his demotion. With Clay Buchholz still a question mark regarding his next start and a candidate for the disabled list, the Sox want De La Rosa to start Monday for the PawSox in Columbus. That would put him on regular rest for Saturday, when he would be a candidate to start in Detroit in the event Buchholz can't go.

Sox manager John Farrell said Allen Webster also has put himself in the conversation as a potential Buchholz replacement by virtue of his six-inning, one-hit performance Friday night.

Farrell made it official that Aceves, who has allowed one run in each of two emergency starts after a callup, will start one of the games in Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Rays at Fenway. Felix Doubront will start the other, order to be determined.

Beato, meanwhile, made seven appearances last July for the Mets after opening the season on the DL with shoulder stiffness. He made 60 appearances for the Mets in 2011, beginning his career with a string of 18 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. Beato came to the Sox last Aug. 16 in a deal for catcher Kelly Shoppach and is 4-1 with a 1.89 ERA for the PawSox. He has a save or win in four of his last five outings.

BALTIMORE -- Red Sox manager John Farrell showed no visible scars when he strolled into the dugout Sunday morning to conduct his daily media session. That came as a mild surprise, given that his lineup card did not include Dustin Pedroia’s name for the first time this season.

But no, Farrell assured one and all, it didn’t take a steel-cage match to persuade the Red Sox second baseman that a day off was not the end of the world.

“Pedey was, I think, a little more willing to take today and tomorrow,’’ Farrell said of Pedroia, who is just 4-for-23 on this trip and admitted Saturday that the baseball has looked like a “baby aspirin” the last few games.

Besides, there was no guarantee that Pedroia wouldn’t find a way to inject himself into the action before the day was through, keeping alive his undeclared goal of playing in all 162 in 2013.

The most games Pedroia has played in a season is 159, in 2011. He has played 154 or more games three times in his career; injuries have gotten in the way in other years, but Pedroia didn’t let even a torn UCL muscle in his left thumb, incurred in the first game of 2013, stop him from playing every day this season.

Jose Iglesias made his first professional start at second base, after appearing at the position a total of four innings in two games as a late-inning replacement.

Iglesias takes a 16-game hitting streak into Sunday’s game, the longest by a rookie in the AL this season and longest by a Sox rookie since Jacoby Ellsbury hit in 18 straight in 2008. Iglesias is batting .439 during his streak and has nine multihit games in his last 13 games.

Farrell had acknowledged on Saturday that Iglesias may force the team to review its plan of Iglesias playing three times a week, mostly by spelling Will Middlebrooks at third and Stephen Drew at short. Middlebrooks has a double and two singles in 18 at-bats since coming off the DL Monday, while Drew is batting .147 (5-for-34) in his last 10 games, though he hit a tie-breaking double in Saturday’s 5-4 win.

“I don’t know if we’re at that point today,’’ Farrell said, “but he’s certainly making a strong case for it. As we continue to go through, before the first half is complete, those things will become a little more clear. In the meantime, he continues to do a very good job.’’

This will be Iglesias’s fourth start since Farrell announced the rotating arrangement. Iglesias is 5-for-11, .455 in his previous three starts.

BALTIMORE -- A few takeaways from the Boston Red Sox's 5-4 win in Camden Yards, a.k.a. the House That Lucchino Built, although we suspect a few Baltimore Orioles fans would beg to differ and say that if Babe Ruth gets credit for Yankee Stadium, Cal Ripken Jr. deserves the same for this jewel:

* If all else fails for Dustin Pedroia, there is always his power of persuasion. The Red Sox second baseman succeeded in convincing plate umpire Jeff Nelson that he had foul-tipped what would have been strike three from Orioles pitcher Freddy Garcia to open the fourth. Given a reprieve, Pedroia hit the next pitch for a single, and one out later Mike Carp ended a streak of 18 consecutive scoreless innings here for the Red Sox with a two-run home run.

"I've got to be honest with you, the last four, five games, the ball has looked like a baby aspirin coming in," said Pedroia, who had just three hits in 20 at-bats on this trip before his single. "I actually thought I did hit it. I swung and felt something.

"I'm like, 'I swore that ball off.' I didn't; that's how locked in I am at the plate right now. It was a break for us. I just said, 'I thought I fouled that,'" he said of the foul ball.

"I thought I hit something. It was probably the ground, I don't know."

* The last time Pedroia made an error, John Lackey was still on the disabled list, recovering from Tommy John surgery. That was Aug. 29, 2012.

"That's one of the more surprising things I've ever seen on the field," Lackey said of the ground ball hit by Nate McLouth that passed under Pedroia's glove and through his legs in the fifth inning. "I told him I probably won't have to worry about seeing that again. I'll be gone before that happens again."

The error was the first made by Pedroia this season in 70 games, and his first in 97 games, one short of his club record for second basemen.

"It was weird," Pedroia said. "He hit it with a little topspin on it. It hit the lip [of the grass] and stayed down. I thought it would come up, but it sped up. I was in close, trying to turn two. [Lackey] picked me up and pitched great."

* Pedroia's error was preceded by an infield hit that handcuffed third baseman Jose Iglesias, a play that could have easily been called an error, and left Lackey in a first-and-third, no-out predicament. But he kept his composure and got out of it with the help of a terrific throw by Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who nailed McLouth at second attempting to steal with the dangerous Manny Machado at the plate.

Saltalamacchia also made another strong throw to nail Machado trying to steal in the third.

At first blush, it might appear odd that the Orioles were running in that fifth-inning situation, down by two runs, but Baltimore has the highest success rate of steals in the league this season, having stolen 50 of 60 coming into Saturday's game, an 83.3 percent success rate.

And Lackey in his past two seasons (2011 and this one) has proven to be eminently easy to run on, opponents succeeding on 44 of 48 attempts, including 11 of 12 this season.

Given that Saltalamacchia came into the game having thrown out just 5 of 38 attempted base-stealers this season, it's no surprise that the Orioles felt like they had a license to run.

Instead, Saltalamacchia became the first catcher this season to throw out two would-be Orioles thiefs in the same game.

"Two tremendous throws," manager John Farrell said. "Salty had such clean exchanges on two occasions."

Saltalamacchia gave Lackey some credit.

"I thought he was a lot quicker [to the plate]," the catcher said. "He made good pitches for me to throw on, a cutter away and a fastball up and away that I was able get a feel for. He was moving pretty quick."

* The Sox, conversely, stole three bases, the first team to steal more than two against the Orioles this season. Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino all stole safely, with Ellsbury now at 31 in 34 attempts.

It helped, of course, that Balitmore's catcher was backup Taylor Teagarden, who had caught 1 of 3 baserunners coming in and nabbed Iglesias on Saturday. No. 1 catcher Matt Wieters leads the league throwing out attempted base-stealers, having caught 13 of 25, a 52 percent rate.

* Farrell thought Lackey's shutting down the Orioles after the first four batters had reached, two of them scoring, was key to the game.

"I didn't let the game speed up on me, minimized the damage, settled in a little bit," said Lackey, who went seven innings Saturday and has now allowed three runs or fewer (two Saturday) in nine of his 11 starts this season.

Farrell said Lackey did a good job of going to his breaking balls earlier in the count to neutralize the Orioles' aggressive approach.

"We've seen John in middle, later innings unravel a little bit," Farrell said. "He didn't let innings speed up, especially after the first four base hits."

* Closer Andrew Bailey, who blew a two-run lead in The Trop on Monday before bouncing back with a save Wednesday, was shaky again Saturday, giving up a leadoff single to Adam Jones and a two-run home run to Wieters.

Bailey has had a habit this season of giving up hits to the first batter he faces; they're hitting .350 (7-for-20) against him. That was not the case in 2011, his last season in Oakland. The first batters he faced that season were only 5-for-40, a .125 average.

"I don't know, I get ahead of a guy, try to put him away, maybe waste one too many pitches," Bailey said of the Jones at-bat. "I end up with an even count, then fall behind 3-and-2, have to throw a strike, have to throw a fastball.

"I've got to put a halt to this little bad spell I'm having. I'm missing in bad spots. I've got to focus on the glove more, throw better pitches."

Farrell's take?

"A little jumpy, much like in Tampa," he said. "When he comes to the plate too quick, it takes away the second gear on his fastball that he's known for."

* Jonny Gomes made only his seventh start this season against a right-handed pitcher, in part, Farrell said, because he had homered in his only at-bat against Garcia. Small sample size? After Gomes fouled out in his first at-bat, he singled and scored from first on a double by Stephen Drew, and homered in the sixth, his fourth of the season.

Gomes started in left in place of Daniel Nava.

"I wanted to give us some energy in the lineup," Farrell said, "not so much at the expense of Daniel. Energy was needed a day game after a night game."

Gomes had a tremendous jump on Drew's double, though the Sox could have done without the head-first slide into home plate. Too easy to get hurt that way.

"I don't think people give Jonny Gomes enough credit for the baseball player he is and the intelligence he has," Farrell said. "He's on the move from the get-go. He makes a good read, and as we look back, that was a key baserunning move in the game."

* Finally, there is Carp, who now has hit five home runs in his past 10 games, and eight in just 103 at-bats. Ellsbury, by contrast, has 1 in 271 at-bats. Baltimore's Chris Davis, who has 22 home runs, began the day leading the league in home run ratio with one every 11 at-bats. Carp is averaging one every 12.8 at-bats.

BALTIMORE -- John Lackey looked even taller than usual as he strode off the mound at the end of the fifth inning of the Boston Red Sox's 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday afternoon, and if there was a little swagger in each step, why not.

The 6-foot-6 Texan had just squashed a first-and-third, no-out jam, refusing to be flustered by consecutive infield misplays, including one by Dustin Pedroia that was the first error of the 2013 season for the Red Sox second baseman, ending a streak of 97 straight errorless games dating back to last Aug. 29.

Lackey was aided considerably by catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who gunned down Nate McLouth trying to steal, the Orioles apparently thinking the Sox catcher would not throw with a runner at third and Manny Machado at the plate. Lackey then retired the hot-hitting Machado on a comebacker to the mound, freezing Taylor Teagarden at third, then retired Nick Markakis on a fly ball to the track in left.

That would be the last the Orioles would be heard from Saturday afternoon until the ninth inning, when a two-run home run by Matt Wieters off Sox closer Andrew Bailey drew the Orioles to within a run. J.J. Hardy followed with a single, but a colossal baserunning error by pinch-runner Alexi Casilla enabled Bailey to escape further peril, as Ryan Flaherty lined out to right and Shane Victorino easily doubled off Casilla, who said he thought Victorino had "no chance" of catching the ball and was on third base when Victorino threw to Mike Carp at first.

"Terrible read," Casilla said.

The Red Sox, losers of the first two games of the series, extended their lead over the Orioles to 2 ½ games in the AL East, emerging from an offensive deep freeze that had seen them score in just three of their previous 40 innings.

Mike Carp, rapidly stamping himself as the most dangerous part-time slugger in the American League, hit a game-tying two-run home run in the fourth inning, his eighth in just 103 at-bats this season and fifth in the past 10 games.

Carp, starting in place of the ailing Mike Napoli, who was sent back to Boston for tests to determine the cause of dizziness and grogginess he has experienced since Thursday, broke a string of 18 consecutive scoreless innings for the Sox. Pedroia was aboard on a single after he was given a reprieve by plate umpire Jeff Nelson, who ruled that Pedroia had foul-tipped a third-strike pitch, a dubious call.

Stephen Drew's double into the right-field corner broke the tie in the same inning, Jonny Gomes scoring from first with a great read, beating the throw with a head-first slide. A little small ball added a run in the fifth. Jacoby Ellsbury singled, stole second, took third on Victorino's sacrifice bunt, and scored on Pedroia's infield out.

Gomes hit his fourth home run of the season in the sixth, finishing Orioles starter Freddy Garcia.

Lackey trailed, 2-0, four batters into the game, but wound up going seven innings for the win, his first since May 24. McLouth opened the Orioles' first by lining a ball off Lackey's foot for a single, Machado doubled, Markakis singled home a run, and an infield hit by Adam Jones made it 2-0.

But Lackey closed it off there, and after Koji Uehara struck out the side in the eighth, Bailey held on at the end.