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BOSTON -- For the second time in three days, Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell has had to come to the defense of his beleaguered closer, Joel Hanrahan. If the hard-throwing right-hander cannot solve his current issues, he may not get that support much longer.

Hanrahan followed up an explosive blown save in his previous outing by walking the only two men he faced in the ninth inning of Boston's 10-inning, 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. Farrell had seen enough, summoning Koji Uehara, who stifled the threat in spectacular fashion. But the questions surrounding Hanrahan's struggles remained after the walk-off victory.

Farrell provided the best answer he could.

"No, no move is going to be made," he said. "Joel's going through a little bit of a spell."

Farrell thought that part of that spell included some "careful" pitching Saturday. While Farrell insisted he has seen nothing mechanically wrong with Hanrahan, the closer suggested otherwise, hinting that a focused video session with pitching coach Juan Nieves might help. In the meantime, he's focusing on the basics.

"I'm not really worried about it," he said. "Just got to go out and throw strikes."

That's been the primary issue. Only four of Hanrahan's 12 offerings Saturday were strikes. Just over half of his 32 deliveries Thursday were strikes, and two of those were hit a country mile. He has recorded just two outs in 44 pitches in his past two games, and has walked 15 batters in 13 2/3 innings dating to the end of last season.

Meanwhile, some of those surrounding Hanrahan are producing effortless outings. Uehara and Andrew Bailey remain unscored upon in a combined 8 2/3 innings. For now, they are joining Farrell in throwing support behind the man the organization traded for in December.

"We'll put it together and be the best pen in the big leagues, for sure," Bailey said. "He's our guy down there."

Naturally, Bailey is a good fall-back option. He came to Boston as the team's new closer before an injury in spring training derailed his 2011 campaign, but he has plenty of closing experience and looks to finally be throwing the ball the way he did during two All-Star campaigns with the Oakland Athletics. Uehara has not allowed a run in 19 straight outings, an impressive stat that would boost his candidacy.

If a change is made, it's not as if Hanrahan goes to a factory to get an adjustment. He still has to work out the kinks in game action, and Farrell insisted he is "not going to deviate" from the initial plan.

"There are certain roles," he said.

With the continued support of his skipper and some time spent watching tape, perhaps Hanrahan will begin to embrace his.

BOSTON -- Although it took an extra day for them to play, the Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays put together a well-played, entertaining nail-biter Saturday with aces Jon Lester and David Price giving fans the duel they had hoped for.

The Sox, such a pitiful team when games went to extra innings last year (2-10), used a Jacoby Ellsbury single, an error on his stolen base attempt and an infield hit by Shane Victorino (against a five-man infield) to make it a memorable 2-1 victory for 33,000-plus at Fenway Park.

The walk-off rally somewhat overshadows the effort by Lester, who gave up a run on five hits in seven innings. Price gave up a run in six frames.

Boston has won the first game in all four series this season. Here's some of what took place along the way:

Climbing the ladder: With a strikeout of Evan Longoria in the third inning, Lester moved into sixth place on the Red Sox's career strikeout list, surpassing Luis Tiant. Lester finished the game with 1,078 career K's, now 30 shy of Josh Beckett and 263 behind Cy Young on the franchise list.

Those are just a few of the big names that Lester will be flirting with in the immediate future. He remains a win shy of tying Dennis Eckersley and Bruce Hurst on the career wins list, tied Lefty Grove on Saturday with his 190th career start for Boston and will have a chance to leap ahead of Babe Ruth on the innings list in his next start.

Oh, U: We may have an update on some broken hands suffered in the Red Sox dugout after the top of the ninth inning, all victim of Koji Uehara's exuberance. Uehara delivered a string of emphatic high-fives after coming on to clean up Joel Hanrahan's mess.

After Hanrahan walked the only two men he faced, Uehara got a strikeout and two weak outs in the air to rescue the Sox and firmly throw his name into the discussion of closer candidates should John Farrell elect to give Hanrahan a break.

Andrew Bailey worked an effortless eighth. He is also firmly embedded in any debate over who should finish games for Boston, a debate that will rage until Hanrahan can straighten himself out.

Uehara has recorded 19 straight scoreless outings. Bailey has yet to be scored upon in 2013. Hanrahan has walked four and given up six runs in his last 1 2/3 innings. You make the call.

Time to right the ship: Boston entered Saturday hitting .218 (24-for-110) with one home run against left-handers and just .184 (16-for-87) since it chased CC Sabathia after five innings in the first game of the season. Those numbers did not improve against Price and a pair of lefties out of the pen.

A .291-hitting bunch against righties, the Sox should feel a bit more comfortable at the plate in the immediate future. The Rays start two right-handers to close out this series, and Cleveland will probably have three righties going Tuesday through Thursday. After that, Kansas City, which like the Indians has nothing but right-handers in its rotation, comes to town.

It's likely Boston will face eight straight right-handers before Oakland, with two southpaws in its rotation, visits April 22. Expect to see plenty of Jarrod Saltalamacchia and maybe some Jackie Bradley Jr. in left before he gets a possible demotion upon David Ortiz's return.

Ross to the rescue: Among a handful of well-received imports for the Red Sox this season has been backup catcher David Ross, whose personality and veteran know-how have helped improve the atmosphere around the club. On Saturday, for the first time, Ross took a more central role in the team's mission with a solo homer off Price in the fifth, a solid partnership with Lester and an effective bullpen (Hanrahan notwithstanding) and a marvelous catch leaning into the first row near the backstop to make a snag that ended the top of the eighth.

Boston pitchers have a 2.57 ERA when pitching to Ross, and he has plenty of pop. It's high time we consider this under-the-radar signing as one of Ben Cherington's best of the offseason.

Lucky leather: The metrics that have redefined how we look at defense in baseball cannot always take into account the many fluky plays that are seen on a baseball field. Two of the flukiest have taken place in back-to-back games, both of them giving the Sox a little bump in their overall numbers.

There was the 3-5-3 putout Thursday night when a rocket hit off Mike Napoli and bounced to Will Middlebrooks, who was on the right side in a defensive shift and able to make the scoop and throw to Napoli in time. Saturday's oddity came on the first batter of the game, Desmond Jennings, who lined a shot that was redirected off the glove of Middlebrooks and right into the waiting glove of Stephen Drew.

We've seen guys catch popups or fly balls off of a teammate's glove before (think Pete Rose and Bob Boone in the 1980 World Series). Not often that you see a liner hit one glove, maintain a good head of steam and cover several more feet before landing in another. Almost like a rock skipping across a calm pond.

Up next: The Sox turn to Clay Buchholz on Sunday in an effort to extend an impressive streak by their starters. With Lester's gem, Boston's rotation has allowed three runs or fewer in 10 straight games, its longest streak to begin a season. Ever.

BOSTON -- It was not a complete shock to see Jackie Bradley Jr.'s name left off the Red Sox lineup card Saturday. Tampa Bay had ace left-hander David Price on the mound and young Bradley is scuffling.

Still, not giving Bradley playing time (he has sat two of the last four games) somewhat flies in the face of conventional organizational desire to have young, developing players on the roster only if they are going to play regularly. The fact that the other true option to play left field was Daniel Nava, who is 1-for-15 lifetime against Price, suggests a slight opening to give Bradley the tough assignment.

But Nava, who is 2-for-2 with a home run against southpaws this year, has earned the right to get regular at-bats.

"Talked about how confident Daniel is right now and I think at some point in this game the ability to break up those right-handers is going to be needed without too much pinch-hitting or really emptying the bench to match up," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "That's why Daniel is in the middle of this. I realize he's 1-for-15 against Price. I think overall he's put up very good at-bats consistently as anyone in our lineup on either side of the lineup."

The slump by Bradley, Nava's hot bat and David Ortiz's pending return suggests that the youngster's days are numbered in the majors. However, the Sox face right-handers in at least their next four games, and Farrell isn't ready to make any declarations on Bradley's status.

"It is a balance," Farrell said. "Going up against a guy like Price or [Baltimore left-hander Wei-Yin Chen] with some of the recent developments with Jackie over the last three, four days, still wanting to put the most competitive lineup we can on the field. We're not here to say that there's roster changes that are going to take place just because Jackie's not playing for the second time in four games, that's not what we're here about. We'll continue to find the right combinations and that will include Jackie in different scenarios as well."

Bradley is 0-for-11 with five strikeouts in his last four games. Nava is 5-for-12 with three home runs and six RBIs in the same span.

BOSTON -- One of the first sights at Fenway Park on Saturday morning was Felix Doubront going through a two-inning simulated game under gray skies and in temperatures hovering in the high 30s.

Meanwhile, several other Red Sox players were making progress independent of the team's first meeting with the Tampa Bay Rays later in the day.

Manager John Farrell said that designated hitter David Ortiz will get three or four at-bats in the first half of a doubleheader for Pawtucket on Saturday. Ortiz went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a strikeout in his first rehab game Thursday night.

Franklin Morales threw two innings in an extended spring training game Friday and is due for one more outing in Florida before going out on a rehab assignment, which likely includes one start at Portland and another with the PawSox.

Farrell said that Morales has had no further issues with the back strain that has kept him on the sidelines and it is just a matter of building back the arm strength for one of the organizations' top depth options at starting pitcher. Morales, who was 3-3 with a 4.14 ERA in nine starts with Boston last season, will eventually get up to a pitch count of 85 to 90.

"If the need is here we will have the ability to recall him at that point, provided there are no setbacks," Farrell said. "That's the range that we definitely want to get him to."

There is always the chance that the need will be greater in the bullpen, where Morales has spent the bulk of his career. If that is the case, the club will pick its spots with the hard-throwing left-hander.

"If he does come back to the bullpen, ideally we'll start him out with some clean innings before just running him into situations where there are men on base, that type of thing," Farrell added. "We'll see how that unfolds."

While Morales nears a return, John Lackey is closer to testing his injured right biceps.

"We're hopeful to put a ball back in his hand in the next couple of days," Farrell said. "There's decreasing symptoms, the tightness that he felt is gradually going away. I don't know that we have a template that we're going to follow with this one, but certainly how he feels is the most important guide in all this."

Lackey was placed on the disabled list retroactive to April 7 after leaving his start the day before with a strained biceps. An MRI revealed no tear, but the club will take a cautious approach on Lackey, who missed all of 2011 following Tommy John surgery.

"We'll need to test him just so that when he walks to the mound he's aware and he's confident that there's nothing structurally holding him back," Farrell said when asked if Lackey will be making rehab starts before returning to the big club.

Additionally, left-handed reliever Craig Breslow is scheduled to throw one more simulated game before getting his first taste of game action Tuesday in extended spring training. With Morales sidelined and Andrew Miller, the lone lefty in the bullpen, struggling a bit so far this season, Breslow's road to recovery from left shoulder tendinitis is important for the overall stability of the pitching staff, even though Breslow has never been a situational left-hander.

Miller has allowed the first man to reach in three of his four appearances this season.

Doubront was originally scheduled to start Friday's series-opener, which was postponed. He got through the simulation with no issues and remains on target to make his second start of the season Tuesday in Cleveland. That will be his first outing in 10 days.

"It served the purpose that we were intending, and that's to get him some work and keep him as sharp as we can," Farrell said.

BOSTON -- After Friday's Boston Red Sox game against the Tampa Bay Rays was postponed due to inclement weather at Fenway Park, Red Sox phenom Jackie Bradley Jr. was sitting at his locker inside the clubhouse and appeared as confident as ever.

Despite the rookie's recent 0-for-14 slump at the plate, he's not concerned with his lack of offense because he feels it's only a matter of time before he breaks out of it. Overall, he's 3-for-25 (.120) with eight strikeouts and six walks in eight games.

"It's one of those periods, man," he said. "Every hitter goes through it. I'm willing to work through it and it's definitely not going to affect me in the long run."

His focus since earning a spot on the Opening Day roster as the club's starting left fielder has been to maintain a routine both mentally and physically. Given the fact he's only 22 and this is his first taste of the big leagues, some struggles are to be expected. Still, getting an unscheduled day off due to Friday's postponement could be a blessing.

"A day off for someone when they're grinding a little bit can be a breather, and we're hopeful today is one of those for him," said Red Sox manager John Farrell.

It's too early in Bradley's big league career for him to give an accurate account of his transition because everything is still new to him.

"I guess we've got to get to a couple of weeks first," he said. "It's been a pretty long week dealing with family, too. It's a whole lot of aspects that go into it. It's been great. Everything will come around like it should and I'm willing to work at it."

Even though he was on an offensive tear during spring training, once the regular season began he's found out how good pitchers are at this level. The opposition has been mixing and matching pitches with him, and Farrell believes pitchers have exploited the inside half of the plate on Bradley.

"It doesn't look like to me that he's overswinging the bat, or trying to make up for previous at-bats, but he knows he's gotten some pitches that he hasn't quite squared up as he's done previously," Farrell said. "The one thing that hasn't changed is he's still fought his way back deep into counts. He'll drive a pitch count up, but they've exploited that inside part of the plate on him."

Bradley has the mental toughness to deal with such a slump, and at this point he's confident he'll be able to work his way out of it. He understands the sample size is still too small, so he's not putting any added pressure on himself to deliver at the plate.

"All it is is just taking the time, sitting down and making the adjustments. I'm not doing anything differently. I'm being the same ballplayer I am and sticking with the same approach, and hits will start falling."

He's been watching video of his at-bats and he's still trying to learn how pitchers are deciding to throw to him. Bradley has been working in the cage as he normally would and he's trying not to press too much, because that would only make things worse.

"The greatest teacher is what goes on between the lines," Farrell said. "He's dealing with that firsthand and that's not something you're going to necessarily work on in the cage, or video review. It's right there in front of him, so I'm sure his survival skills will kick in, and are kicking in as we speak."

No matter what he was asked about his struggles, and how he could fix it, Bradley showed the confidence that helped him reach this level so early in his career.

"I can only get stronger. I can only get better," he said. "It'll all work out. I'm going to keep learning. I'm going to keep fighting. I'm going to keep grinding."

The fact there's so much to deal with off the field, too, has been one of the biggest surprises for Bradley.

"How much other stuff you do and have to deal with a day, and not just dealing with baseball. It's all just an adjustment period. I'll be just fine -- I promise."

BOSTON -- The Red Sox announced that tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, which was postponed due to inclement weather, has been rescheduled for June 18 at 1:05 p.m. as part of a day-night doubleheader.

Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront, who was scheduled to start Friday, will likely start on Tuesday in Cleveland. The Sox rotation for the remainder of this series will stay the same: Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Ryan Dempster.

After Doubront's start in Cleveland, Alfredo Aceves will follow on Wednesday.

Boston’s Triple-A affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox, were also postponed Friday night at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., which means rehabbing designated hitter David Ortiz will have to wait until Saturday to play.

Ortiz began his minor league rehab assignment with the PawSox on Thursday night (2-for-3, RBI, run scored, strikeout). The PawSox and Rochester Red Wings will play a doubleheader on Saturday, and Ortiz will play in one of those games in hopes of getting four or five at-bats. Minor league doubleheaders are seven-inning games.

Ortiz was in the Red Sox clubhouse Friday afternoon and was scheduled to speak with Red Sox manager John Farrell.

“I’m looking forward to sitting down and talking to him directly, just to get a feel for where he’s at," said Farrell. "We’ve exchanged a few text messages along the way, but I’m looking forward to seeing him in person.”

Longtime Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield officially rejoined the club on Friday, named as a special assignment instructor and honorary chairman of the Red Sox Foundation.

The 46-year-old Wakefield, who spent 17 of his 19 major league seasons with the Red Sox, announced his retirement in February 2012. He will join former teammates Jason Varitek and Pedro Martinez on general manager Ben Cherington’s baseball operations staff. In that capacity, Wakefield will handle specific instructional assignments. He was in Fort Myers this spring working with young knuckleballer Steven Wright.

As honorary chairman of the team’s charitable foundation, Wakefield will contribute in fundraising efforts, community service and personal visits. Among the most devoted Red Sox players to charitable endeavors, Wakefield in 2010 won Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award, given each year to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contributions to his team.”

Wakefield ranks third all-time with 186 victories in a Red Sox uniform, trailing only Cy Young and Roger Clemens. His 430 starts and 3,006 innings are both team records.

Friday night’s Red Sox-Rays game at Fenway Park has been postponed due to heavy rain predicted throughout the night.

No makeup date has been announced. Tickets for Friday’s game will be good for admission to the rescheduled contest.

In the video above, the BBTN crew looks ahead to the four-game series between the Rays and the Red Sox that starts tonight at Fenway Park.

BOSTON -- Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell said that Alfredo Aceves is "on line to make his next start," which would be Tuesday in Cleveland. After Aceves' effort Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles, it isn't a very difficult decision.

While Aceves did not light the world on fire with his five innings in a 3-2 loss to the Orioles, he did allow Farrell to manage the game the way he wanted to. This was especially important after the Sox used five relievers in a tough loss the night before and did not have the services of closer Joel Hanrahan.

"Gave us five solid innings of work," Farrell said of Aceves. "Given his first start of the year, kept the game under control. I thought he managed the lineup well with the exception of a solo home run on the 3-0 pitch to [Chris] Davis, I thought he worked his way around the lineup pretty well tonight."

Aceves allowed two runs on six hits and three walks while striking out four. The homer by Davis landed practically in the Charles River, but it was just one run and Davis has been doing such things to many others this season. The Orioles managed only five more singles versus the Sox right-hander.

John Lackey is eligible to return April 22, which gives Aceves at least one and likely two more starts, if in fact Lackey returns on time. A lot can change between now and then, but Aceves indicated he will "stay ready" for whatever role he has going forward.

"Feel OK. Lasted five innings. I felt OK," said Aceves, never one for hyperbole. "Unfortunately we didn't win the game. That's all that matters."

Aceves has made five starts in his Red Sox career. He has lasted at least five innings in all of them and has allowed two runs or less in three. Given the challenge of jumping out of one role and into another, his flexibility is appreciated.

"I thought he threw the ball, coming out of the bullpen and getting a spot start, he threw the ball well," catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. "Gave up a couple of runs but kept us in the ballgame."

That's about all the Sox can ask for. With a long season ahead and with a limited amount of starting pitching depth to turn to in case of emergency, they will most certainly ask for it again.

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox's first series loss in 2013 largely came down to one crucial factor. Simply put, their bullpen was not on par with that of the Baltimore Orioles, a scenario that played out again in Thursday's 3-2 loss at Fenway Park.

The Boston bullpen was considered to be a strength entering the season and sparkled in the Opening Day win at New York, but has become a slight issue. Thursday's results by five Red Sox relievers (one run in four innings) do not scream for changes, but the pen as a whole was outdueled by Baltimore's and now has an ERA of 5.47 since that season-opening victory.

The Orioles, meanwhile, have a bullpen ERA of 2.79, and looked much more capable over the last two cold, dreary nights in Boston.

Alfredo Aceves gave the Sox enough to be satisfied in a spot start, giving up two runs in five innings. Clayton Mortensen gave up a hit with two outs in the seventh and Andrew Miller -- the lone left-hander at manager John Farrell's disposal -- entered to do one thing, that being to retire Nick Markakis.

However, Miller walked Markakis, continuing a troubling trend that has seen him allow the first man he faces to reach in three of four outings (the one time he retired the batter was when he was cleaning up Joel Hanrahan's mess Wednesday night, the most notable of the bullpen woes thus far). Farrell has to choose wisely when using Miller, and when the lanky southpaw struggles immediately, it can hurt.

"That's the life of a situational left-hander. He's pressed into action right away," Farrell said.

The skipper insisted there is no reason to panic, but it hurts to make that call for Miller and see things go sour.

"We're in the first 10 games of the season so I'm not going to rush to judgment," Farrell said. "Certainly you'd like to see the effectiveness be there but I'm sure in time it will be. He's a valuable guy for us right now. We have to pick our spots with that one left-hander out there, even though [Koji Uehara] and [Junichi Tazama] have been fairly successful against lefties, but that's the situation he's in right now."

Uehara had a chance to pick up his teammate, but it took just one of his pitches, a split-finger fastball that lacked bite, for Adam Jones to rip a tiebreaking RBI double, plating the decisive run for the O's.

The Boston bats managed two singles in 3 2/3 innings against four Orioles relievers, the first of whom -- Brian Matusz -- struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Stephen Drew with two men on to end the sixth.

After the game, Saltalamacchia was asked about the Baltimore bullpen.

"They're good," he said.

Then, Drew was asked the same question.

"They're great," he said.

Whether they are good or great is a matter of semantics. What is clear is nobody can look at the Boston relief corps as it is currently performing and use either term to describe it. And because relievers and starters are so intertwined, that could become more of an issue.

Indeed, the Red Sox have a pair of dynamos at the top of the rotation right now in Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz. In part due to one injury and one rain delay, the other four men who have started for Boston this year have failed to last beyond five innings in five separate starts. That puts more emphasis on winning those late wars, something Boston could not do Wednesday when Hanrahan imploded and failed to do on Thursday, even if it was just a matter of a pitch here or there.

The Orioles have won 21 of their past 30 games against the Red Sox, including 15 of 21 over the past two seasons, when their pen has been exceptional and Boston's has been a mess. It's too early to tell if that trend will last, but the Sox are keen on the fact that tight games with Baltimore are not going to be easy.

"We just have to keep going after those guys, we're going to see them a lot more," Saltalamacchia said.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- When the Boston Red Sox signed veteran shortstop Stephen Drew during the offseason, prospect Jose Iglesias knew he would be playing at Triple-A Pawtucket during the 2013 season.

It really didn't matter how well he played during spring training, because as long as Drew was healthy, Iglesias would not be the starting shortstop. That plan changed when Drew suffered a concussion during spring training and landed on the disabled list. Plus, Iglesias did play well during the Grapefruit League season, so with Drew sidelined, Iglesias made the Opening Day roster and started at shortstop.

However, Drew was activated from the seven-day DL prior to Wednesday's game, and Iglesias was optioned to Pawtucket.

"I was disappointed, but it's out of my control," Iglesias said. "All I can do is come to the field, be a better player, take extra BP, learn something every day and be a better player. When I get another opportunity, I will be better that time."

Iglesias' two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning helped the PawSox to a 5-4 win over the Rochester Red Wings on Thursday night at McCoy Stadium.

"Fun," he said of his first home run of the season. "It was a good pitch in and I was able stay inside the ball and hit a homer for the team. It was fun."

He finished the night 1-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

"I'm going to come here and give 100 percent every single day," he said. "I'm going to take extra BP and I'm going to get better every single day."

Iglesias went 9-for-20 (.450) with two doubles and one RBI with three strikeouts in six games for the Red Sox.

"It was hard to leave the team, but I had a good time," he said. "My first Opening Day in the big leagues, it was exciting. It was fun to win; we won a lot of games when I was there. I enjoyed it and it was great to be there."

Red Sox manager John Farrell told Iglesias during the Sox's off day on Tuesday that he was being optioned. The PawSox concluded their first road trip of the season at Lehigh Valley Wednesday and returned to McCoy Stadium early Thursday morning. While PawSox manager Gary DiSarcina allowed the players to arrive to the ballpark a little later than normal, Iglesias was already here and going about his normal routine.

"He took the news about coming down very professionally," DiSarcina said. "He's had a great attitude since he walked through the door. The point of emphasis is to get him the hell out of here and get him back up there. That's the ultimate goal; we don't want these guys down here. Every now and then in baseball things happen. He performed really well up there, Stephen came back and that's the way the game is. I just want him to maintain and grow as a player."

When the clubhouse opened to the media, Iglesias was eating lunch with Red Sox veteran David Ortiz, who began his minor league rehab stint with the PawSox on Thursday. Ortiz has been a mentor ever since Iglesias signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2009. For Iglesias, and the Boston Red Sox, it was good timing to have Ortiz here in order to help the prospect understand the situation and make sure he handles it properly.

"Iggy is like a son to me," Ortiz said. "Man, I'm old. I always talk to him, and I always let him know how hard this game goes. Sometimes this situation is going to happen, you've got options and the team's got to make a move. What you've got to do is come down here, keep on working hard and the minute the team has the opportunity to need somebody, they'll call you up. But you've got to keep in mind that you've got to come here and bust your tail just like you were doing in the big leagues and everything's going to come true easier."

Iglesias finally proved he can handle the big league level during the small sample size this season, but he'll need to continue that progress with the PawSox until he gets another opportunity in Boston.

"I've got a better idea with what I need to do in the field, that's the bottom line," he said. "I grow as a player and a person every day, every year. I feel ready what I need to do."

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Thursday was the first time David Ortiz stepped into the batter's box since Aug. 24. Ortiz went 2-for-3 with an RBI, run scored and a strikeout to help the PawSox to a 5-4 win over the Rochester Red Wings on Thursday night at McCoy Stadium.

"I feel all right," he said. "I felt good running. I got to see some action on the bases and everything was fine."

Originally, he was hoping for four or five at-bats, but he settled for three.

"I was getting cold out there and I was getting a little sore, a good sore. I kind of ran a lot today, so you don't want to go too crazy about it and that's why I'm going to play a lot of games here, and I'll get ready for tomorrow."

During his first at-bat, he had a 0-2 count when Red Wings starter Kyle Gibson delivered a pitch low and inside, forcing Ortiz to jump out of the way. He showed no ill effects and worked the count 2-2 before striking out swinging.

Ortiz then hit a first-pitch single up the middle in his second at-bat in the third inning. In the fifth, he provided a RBI-single up the middle, but more importantly he showed no ill effects when he ran from first to third on double by PawSox teammate Mark Hamilton. Ortiz then scored on Drew Sutton's single to left field.

"The couple of days I spent in Florida, we were testing that [first to third] and it went well. Basically, there was no hesitation when I was running the bases today."

As far as his timing at the plate and facing live game pitching, Ortiz is also focused on that aspect of his game.

"That's another thing I'm concerned about," he said. "That's why we have a long spring training, to make sure you get ready to play in a major league baseball game, and that's another area I want to make sure I cover some ground in."

BOSTON -- The 2013 Red Sox have lost their luster. At least for now.

In front of many empty seats (more on that in a bit) on a chilly night that ended in a steady rain, five Baltimore Orioles pitchers scattered eight singles and got just enough offense to take a lackluster game by a 3-2 score and hand the Boston Red Sox their first series loss in 2013.

Here's some of what we saw along the way:

A roller-coaster ride: That's what Alfredo Aceves' Red Sox career has felt like. Some ups (most of 2011), some downs (most of 2012), a whole mess of head-scratching moments. There have been arguments to make him a full-time starter, and others to flat-out release him. In giving up five runs in his first 4 2/3 innings out of the pen to begin the year, there was another dip in the ride and many detractors lined up to slam his mere presence.

Then there was Thursday, a reminder as to why an organization somewhat thin on pitching depth absolutely has to have a guy like Aceves around. The day after a rain-delayed affair saw Boston use five relievers, and with the other team limiting Boston's offense, Aceves did his part to get this one to the latter portions with the Sox in fine shape, tied 2-2. He didn't clinch the Cy Young Award yet, but five solid innings (two runs on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts) is just about the best the home team could hope for.

And they'll likely hope for it again in Cleveland next week.

Perfect no more: Koji Uehara has drawn rave reviews in his short time as a Red Sox reliever, and likely will continue to do so -- he has been one of the American League's top relievers over the past few seasons. He will, however, make mistakes.

After breezing through his first three innings with Boston in a total of only 26 pitches, Uehara's first offering out of the pen Thursday night was a splitter with little dip whatsoever, and Adam Jones ripped it into the left-field corner for an RBI double that snapped the 2-2 tie.

There's no mistaking that the Red Sox bullpen has potential and, at times, has looked rather dominant this season. It's also clear that some guys are still getting their feet wet out there. The Jones hit came after Andrew Miller came on to face lefty Nick Markakis (and lefty Nick Markakis only), and promptly walked him. Miller has walked three and hit a batter in 1 1/3 innings this season. And we all know about closer Joel Hanrahan's recent issues.

No new streak: A day after the vaunted sellout streak came to an end with a crowd just above 30,000, the Red Sox announced an attendance of 27,704. The game itself did not have a lot of pizzazz, with Chris Davis' mammoth shot off Aceves in the second the only real eye-popping moment. Group that with the empty seats and you have a rather staid evening in Fenway. Overheard in the press box during the sixth inning: "When's first pitch?"

That kinda night.

Till we meet again, man: Chris Tillman was a highly regarded prospect who came into his own with a strong showing for Baltimore in the second half last year. So there may be a day when we say, "Of course the Red Sox never homered off Tillman." Still, I can't be the only one who finds it rather amazing that the right-hander has thrown 30 1/3 innings against the Sox (more than he has thrown against all but one other team) and has yet to allow a homer.

Overall, Tillman -- who turns 25 on Monday -- has given up 42 home runs in 275 2/3 career innings, not a bad rate, but he has a lifetime ERA of 4.80. The Yankees have hit five homers off of him, the Blue Jays eight and the Rays nine.

Boston got six singles and two walks against Tillman to keep him busy enough. Still, no power on a night when just one big fly would've been the difference.

First time for everything: Without glancing at every box score through the years, it's safe to say that there have been very few 3-5-3 putouts in baseball history. In the modern era when more third basemen are lingering on the right side of the infield in defensive shifts, it is a possibility, but hard to imagine in the mind's eye until the Orioles hit into one to end the top of the fifth.

Chris Davis ripped a shot at first baseman Mike Napoli, who had it carom off of him sharply toward third baseman Will Middlebrooks playing on the right side. Middlebrooks easily made the scoop and assist to first and official scorer Mike Shalin ever-so-calmly called out over the press box microphone, "That putout goes 3-5-3."

Like they drew it up.

First time for everything (again): Alex Wilson made his major league debut for Boston by pitching the ninth. The former second-round pick, who was brought up when John Lackey hit the disabled list, faced an imposing trio in Manny Machado, Nick Markakis and Adam Jones. Wilson initially struggled, throwing six of his first seven pitches outside the zone. But after walking Machado he got Markakis to hit into a 6-4-3 double play and then whiffed Jones on three pitches, the last a rising heater that sent the game into the bottom of the ninth very much up in the air.

Up next: The Tampa Bay Rays come to town Friday for the first of four straight games, capped by the traditional 11:05 a.m. start on Patriots' Day.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz has not played in an actual game in nearly eight months because of an Achilles injury.

His road to recovery takes another positive step as he begins a minor league rehab assignment with the Pawtucket Red Sox on Thursday night at McCoy Stadium. He's scheduled to hit third and get four to five at-bats during the PawSox's opening night against the Rochester Red Wings.

"Come down here and get the engine going," Ortiz said prior to the game. "It's been good lately. I'm finally seeing good results."

He struggled to get healthy during spring training, but after the team decided to shut him down, that's when he started to feel better again.

"Right after they shut me down and treating everything differently, I started to feel better," he said. "I had a lot of inflammation down there, so the main key was to get rid of it and it's working pretty good."

Ortiz played a simulated game Monday in Fort Myers, Fla., and an extended spring training game on Tuesday. He was scheduled to play again on Wednesday, but instead he flew to Boston, spent some time with his family and drove to Pawtucket on Thursday afternoon.

Red Sox manager John Farrell said before Boston's game that although Ortiz took Wednesday off, aside from some side work, the plan to get the big slugger back has not changed.

"Scheduled for four to five at-bats. That's the goal over the next four to five days," Farrell said. "Going into this it felt that a minimum of 20 at-bats were needed, so that plan is still consistent."

Ortiz took BP on Thursday and showed no ill effects. After the brief session, he was asked about getting his timing back during the two games earlier in the week.

"I wasn't worried about that, to be honest with you, down there, I was more afraid about getting hit," he said with a laugh. "The kids getting excited down there. I remember those days when I played down there, when you see a Major League Baseball player you get excited and sometimes you try to do too much, but everything went well and everybody was under control.

"When I was down there I wanted to just put the ball in play and try to run -- that was my goal down there. My idea was to put the ball in play and take off running just to see how it feels."

Since he hasn't played in a game since last August, Ortiz said he'll rely on memory and instincts in order to return to form.

"When it comes down to hitting, I haven't played in a while, so you just wanna go back to that zone that everybody knows you need to be able to dominate once you get to the bigs, because otherwise it'll give you a hard time. On the other hand, I want to make sure my foot is doing well."

There's been some concern that Ortiz may not be able to log the similar amount of games he normally does during the season, but he insists once he's activated his realistic goal is to play on a regular basis.

"I'm looking forward to going out there and play every day," Ortiz said. "I'll get that one day off once in a while, but my goal is to go back up and do what I normally do."

During his absence the Red Sox are off to a strong start. Ortiz has been paying close attention. He likes what he sees and can't wait to contribute.

"Awesome, man," he said of the club's start. "When you can win games at the beginning and start things ahead it's easier down the road, so seeing everybody playing well, and our pitching has been outstanding and it gets no better."

Information from ESPNBoston.com contributor Tony Lee was used in this report.