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BOSTON -- Greetings from the Edes cave, where we start the day with a few notes, quotes and gloats on the state of the Sox, the team with the best record in baseball (18-7) as they prepare to embark on a six-game trip to Toronto and Texas:

* David Ortiz missed all of spring training and played just six games on a rehab assignment for Pawtucket, batting .222 (4 for 18), which makes his performance since returning to the Sox beyond rational explanation. Here is how Ortiz compared with his big-league peers over the same span since returning to the Sox lineup on April 20.

-- Only Nate McLouth of the Orioles had a higher batting average, .517 to .516.

-- He had 16 hits, a number matched only by Manny Machado of the Orioles.

-- His .871 slugging percentage was the highest in the American League.

-- Only Nelson Cruz of the Rangers, with 13 RBIs, had more than Ortiz, who tied with Ryan Howard of the Phillies with 11.

-- Only Josh Donaldson of the Athletics (7) and Sox teammate Mike Napoli (6) had more doubles than Ortiz (5).

-- Only McLouth (.611) and Donaldson (.576) had a higher on-base average in the AL than Ortiz (.529).

* Hope has not yet expired in Toronto, but it is definitely on the critical list. The Blue Jays, after an extreme roster makeover this winter, were a popular choice to win the American League East, but instead are eight games under .500, have a 9-17 record that is better only than Houston in the AL, and are already 9 ½ games behind the Sox in the division.

The Jays were just swept four straight by the Yankees in New York, and at the moment the month ranks as the second worst April in franchise history. They are returning home after a 1-6 trip against the Orioles and Yankees in which they scored just 23 runs, barely more than three runs a game. They’ve scored three runs or fewer in 15 of their 26 games.

The team took a huge hit when Jose Reyes, who was counted upon to be a transformative force at the top of their lineup, severely sprained his left ankle and is expected to miss at least three months. The two pitchers who came with Reyes from Miami, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson, both have ERAs over 6, and the oft-injured Johnson already has missed a start and underwent an MRI because of tightness in his right triceps. The team’s other big acquisition, R.A. Dickey, the 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner, has 2 wins and a 4.50 ERA in his first six starts, and he is expected to undergo an MRI this week to determine the cause of tightness in his upper neck and back.

It’s not just the newcomers who are struggling. Slugger Jose Bautista has 7 home runs but is batting .192 overall with 11 RBIs. And closer Sergio Santos is on the DL with a strained triceps.

On the Sox first visit to Toronto, crowds of 40,000-plus booed Boston manager John Farrell mercilessly, their ill humor made worse when the Sox took two out of three. That was on a weekend. This will be a midweek series, which will mean smaller crowds, and it will be interesting to see if Farrell will be on the receiving end of even more bile, or whether Jays fans will revert to their default mode, apathy.

“It’s going to get better and I still expect us to be a contending team,” Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos told reporters Sunday.

His optimism isn’t shared by many at this stage.

* When the Sox returned home from Cleveland April 18, they held a 2 ½ game lead over the Yankees in the division. Even after winning 7 out 10 on this homestand, the lead remains the same. Other than the Jays, who went 2-8 over that span, Boston’s other division rivals -- the Yankees, Orioles and Rays -- also went 7-3.

The Yankees, of course, have defied all the prophets who forecast doom because of their rash of injuries and advancing age. They’ve won with pickups like Travis Hafner, who has a 1.118 OPS, Vernon Wells (.911 OPS) and Lyle Overbay, a late-spring discard by the Sox, and with the likes of Ben Francisco serving as DH. Eight of the last nine Yankee wins have been by either one or two runs, and now they get their crack at the woeful Astros, who left Boston for three games in the Bronx.

* Jacoby Ellsbury has already set career highs for April in hits (30), steals (11) , and total bases (45), and his 18 runs are within two of his career high with one game left in the month. He has just one home run (1), which lends support to those who argue that his 32 home runs in 2011 were an anomaly, but let’s withhold judgment on that. He had four home runs in April 2011, so it’s possible the power stroke can still come.

* Dustin Pedroia is ending the month on a definite upswing, posting a .361/.477.472/.949 line on the homestand, with four doubles in the last five games. And after a decidedly un-Pedroialike 15 K’s in a span of 11 games, Pedroia whiffed just once during the 10-game homestand.

* The Sox have lost back-to-back games twice all season. In their last 32 games of 2012, they won back-to-back games only twice.

* The Sox are 4-2 in one-run games this season, and 6-2 in blowouts (games decided by five runs or more).

* Mike Napoli returns this weekend to Texas, where he played two seasons and was an integral part of the Rangers team that went to the World Series in 2011. He expects a far different reception than the one Rangers fans accorded former star Josh Hamilton, who was booed without letup when he returned with the Angels. “I don’t think they’ll boo me," he said with a grin.

Napoli leads the majors with 13 doubles and 18 extra-base hits.

* Ortiz told two news outlets Sunday that he and his wife, Tiffany, are filing for divorce. The couple has three children.

Barry Larkin and Karl Ravech discuss the early-season surprises in the AL East, including the impact of John Farrell's presence and the emergence of Clay Buchholz.

BOSTON -- With Jacoby Ellsbury entering a contract year, Cody Ross gone to Arizona, Jackie Bradley Jr. waiting in the wings, Daniel Nava biding his time and imports Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes looking to fit in, the Red Sox's outfield situation was very much up in the air this spring.

As April winds to an end, Nava is looking like a star in right field, a position he has rarely played at the major-league level, and Mike Carp, an addition made early in spring training to provide depth, is holding down left field while helping to carry a potent lineup.

Just like the Sox drew it up.

The two unlikely standouts were the forces behind a 6-1 spanking of the Houston Astros on Sunday.
Carp had an RBI double, a single and a walk while Nava went 2-for-4, scored three times and did his best Dwight Evans (or was it Tom Brunansky?) impression during a busy afternoon in right.

Seven of Carp’s 10 hits (in just 22 at-bats) have gone for extra bases. Nava’s effort pushed his average to .310.

“What’s been most impressive is their ability to stay inside the ball and drive it to left field. Both guys have done it, both guys have used the whole field with their overall approach,” manager John Farrell said. “Mike Carp has given us a very nice lift in the role that he’s been in. And then when you consider the two plays that Nava made in right field today, one the over-the-shoulder catch and the diving catch to end the ballgame, both guys have contributed a lot.”

Nava played just twice in right field in 2012. He showed considerable improvement defensively in left as the season wore on, a factor that indicated he would be in the mix to get playing time in front of the Green Monster this season. When Victorino’s back became an issue, Nava made the transition from the tiny garden in left to the vast pasture in right, a move that he has made swimmingly.

“It’s different,” he said of playing in right. “You go from probably one of the shortest distances you have to cover in left to probably one of the largest in right and that distance difference alone makes it challenging. I like it, but it’s taken awhile to adjust to the vastness of the area.”

One would think that the adjustment is complete based on the two highlight-reel grabs in this one. The first, a Willie Mays-esque grab on the warning track, saved a run and ended the second inning. The second, on a curling liner ticketed for the corner, saw Nava cover a ton of ground before a full layout and catch inches above the grass.

“He made a heck of a play,” Farrell said. “Off the bat you think it might be another ball in the corner but he’s done an outstanding job defensively.”

And at the plate. And on the bases. Batting second. Batting fifth. Batting sixth. Playing first base. Serving as the designated hitter.

Nava has excelled in just about any role, and Carp has pulled alongside him as the pair form an unexpected corner outfield tandem that has served as a catalyst in recent days.

BOSTON -- After missing a full season following Tommy John surgery, exiting his first start in 2013 with an arm injury and throwing 27 pitches in the first inning Sunday against the Houston Astros, the expectations for John Lackey had to be relatively low. Just do what you can to get us to the middle innings, John, and be on your way.

In what amounts to a wonderful development for the Red Sox, Lackey far exceeded those expectations in a 6-1 victory, picking up his first win in 614 days and solidifying an already potent starting rotation.

“Feels good. It’s been a long time,” said Lackey, who yielded a run on five hits and two walks in six innings. “Been a lot of hard work to get back to this point and hopefully I can keep it rolling forward.”

Lackey threw 76 pitches before suffering a biceps strain in his first start in Toronto on April 6. He tossed 67 more in a rehab outing for Double-A Portland. Manager John Farrell said that five innings on Sunday was a “realistic goal,” but after Lackey walked two and gave up an RBI single in the lengthy first inning, it seemed unrealistic.

An aggressive approach by the Astros helped Lackey get some quick outs after the first. And after surprising most in attendance by reaching the sixth, he did wonders for his confidence by wiggling out of a sticky situation.

Lackey loaded the bases on three straight singles with one out in the sixth. With action in the bullpen and eyes on the Red Sox dugout for any sign of Farrell, Lackey pressed on and got a huge strikeout of Fernando Martinez on a darting slider, then an inning-ending grounder to shortstop on the very next pitch. The third out prompted a rather joyous celebration for Lackey and some of his teammates, for they knew he had broken through a barrier in his effort to regain what he once had.

“I think everyone was pulling for him to get out of that inning,” Farrell said.

Lackey admitted to sensing “a little bit of something” in the biceps, but feels that any issues will go away as he builds up arm strength, a process he figures will take him four or five starts. Simply knowing that he doesn’t have to spend time rehabbing before he can get back out on the mound speaks volumes for the veteran right-hander.

“It was a relief probably to know I’m going to get my next start, to come out of it healthy, more than anything. It’s been a long time,” he said. “Nice to still be moving forward.”

As Lackey makes that move forward, there will be a whole new set of expectations. Farrell, for one, sees a return to the days when Lackey was a stalwart in rotations in Anaheim and Boston for much of 2010.

“A healthy John Lackey and one that is capable of a career that’s been very good, he gives us a huge boost,” Farrell said. “Not in terms of just innings alone, the number of innings he can pitch, but the performance. When you look back to when he was healthy, and I think we can all recognize the last couple of years have been as much competing against his own body as it has been the opponent.

"He’s in a good place right now and there were no physical issues today. He came out of today fine. He does give us a seasoned veteran and a very good pitcher in that spot in the rotation.”

Farrell expressed surprise not only in Lackey’s ability to go six innings after a 27-pitch first inning, but also in the effectiveness of Lackey’s stuff.

“I thought the ball got out of his hand better than expected,” he said. “Not only in terms of velocity but the action that some of his pitches showed at the bottom of the strike zone. Whether it was a two-seamer, he got a number of ground balls. He had a good cutter, consistent sharpness to his curveball as we saw in his first start in Toronto.

“Honestly it was better than expected in most ways today.”

Prior to Sunday, the last time Lackey was on the mound at Fenway Park, he allowed eight of the last 13 men he faced to reach safely and finished with 4⅓ miserable innings smack dab in the midst of the worst team collapse in baseball history.

More than 19 months later on a sunny April afternoon, it was a very different story, and Lackey appears poised to pen a new, more positive chapter in a spotty Red Sox career.

BOSTON -- The Red Sox's bullpen shuffle will continue when the club begins a six-game road trip Tuesday in Toronto. Daniel Bard was optioned to Double-A Portland after Sunday's game and is expected to be replaced on the active roster by Joel Hanrahan, who tossed a scoreless inning of relief for Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday.

Bard, who walked the only two men he faced Saturday night at Fenway Park, was called into manager John Farrell’s office Sunday, just moments after Hanrahan worked around a leadoff walk in Pawtucket in his second rehab outing as he works his way back from a hamstring strain.

Hanrahan told The Providence Journal that “the thing that’s been holding me back isn’t holding me back anymore,” and that he was ready to rejoin the big club. Bard, who made two appearances for Boston since being recalled Wednesday, did not speak with reporters in the Red Sox clubhouse.

Left-hander Craig Breslow also pitched Sunday in Pawtucket, giving up a run in two-thirds of an inning before being pulled. He threw 26 pitches and will need to throw some more as he recovers from left shoulder tendinitis. Farrell indicated Sunday that Breslow, because of his lack of a full spring training, will need more time than Hanrahan to build up his arm strength.

The Red Sox’s longest homestand of the season included one game that was postponed due to a citywide lockdown, an emotional return to normalcy punctuated by the most famous expletive in team history, a doubleheader capped by an extra-inning affair, a rain-shortened 13-0 loss and a whole mess of wins for the home team.

To be exact, there were seven of those (wins, not expletives), including five in a row to end the stay, and perhaps none felt quite as nice as Sunday’s relaxing 6-1 win over hapless Houston, which featured John Lackey’s successful return to the mound and 11 more Boston hits in front of a sellout crowd under a cloudless sky.

Here are a few takeaways as the Sox improved to 18-7:

Take two: Lackey allowed one run on five hits in six innings, striking out four and walking two. Perhaps every start made against Houston deserves an asterisk, but the Sox have to be overjoyed with the way in which Lackey rebounded from his biceps strain.

His effort gives Boston’s rotation a 15-4 record and a 3.07 ERA. It also revives the Opening Day quintet, now fully healthy and on an absolute roll as May approaches.

Lackey will next pitch in Texas, a house of horrors for the righty. He has posted a 6.68 ERA in 18 career starts at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Astros are welcome anytime: When Houston dragged its paltry payroll to the American League, many teams in the junior circuit circled the dates they would get to beat up on the Astros. The Sox certainly took advantage, outscoring Houston by a 28-10 margin and outhitting the visitors 51-26.

The Astros are now 0-7 all time at Fenway Park. They host Boston for three games Aug. 5-7, just in case you want to circle that on the calendar.

Now comes the hard part: Not to take anything away from Boston’s phenomenal start, but 10 of its 25 games have come against teams currently in last place and 16 have been played at home. On Tuesday, the Sox begin a stretch in which they will play 15 of 22 on the road, including visits to Texas, Tampa Bay and the New York Yankees, who figure to be a bit healthier by then. Overall, the Sox play 41 road games and 29 home games leading to the All-Star break, then 16 out of 19 away from home through the heart of August.

It may not mean a thing. Boston had identical home and road records in 2011 and was slightly better away from Fenway in 2012. Also, it is 7-2 on the road so far this season. Just something to keep in mind.

Day tripper: Daniel Nava is a California kid who now lives in Arizona. He probably loves the sunshine. It certainly plays out in his performance. After a 2-for-4 showing Sunday, Nava was hitting .478 (11-for-23) with three homers, a double and four walks in day games this year.

Nava’s latest showing also included some stellar work in right field, where he made his sixth appearance. He handled four fly balls in the first four innings alone, as well as multiple hard hits in his direction, and ended the second with a beautiful over-the-shoulder grab on the warning track. He also ended the game with a spectacular diving grab headed toward the corner.

Prior to the game, manager John Farrell said he has “complete confidence” playing Nava in right while Shane Victorino remains sidelined with back pain, despite Nava’s relative inexperience out there and the quirkiness of the position at Fenway Park. That confidence must be soaring right now.

Two-run triples. That’s what I do: The hits have been few and far between for Stephen Drew so far.

But they have started coming with a bit more regularity, as is some solid run production at the bottom of the order. Drew has five RBIs in his last four games, thanks to two two-run triples. He had one in the fourth inning Sunday that gave Boston the lead for good.

Three-base hits are nothing new to Drew. He finished second in the National League in triples for three straight years with Arizona. It looks like he will take full advantage of the roomy right field at Fenway.

Still streaking: David Ortiz’s first-inning RBI single did two things. First it caused 36,527 at Fenway to gasp as one at the thought of what a ball hit that hard could do to someone if they were caught flush with it. It was the very definition of a line drive.

The screamer also extended Ortiz’s hitting streak to 20 games going back to last season. That is a career high for baseball’s hottest hitter. The slugger is hitting .471 (33-for-70) with four homers, seven doubles and 17 RBIs during the run. He is 16-for-31 since returning from the disabled list.

Red Sox right fielder Shane Victorino is out of the lineup Sunday, the fourth straight game he has missed since tweaking his lower back. An MRI revealed only inflammation and manager John Farrell said he hopes to have Victorino back when the club begins a three-game series in Toronto on Tuesday.

If the veteran is unable to play by then, the club will approach a tricky time period in which it will have to make a call on Victorino’s roster spot.

“We’re hopeful that the upcoming series he will be available to us. He’s still day to day at this point,” manager John Farrell said. “We feel like, and just in talking with [general manager Ben Cherington], when you start to get into more than half of what the DL period would be then you've got to really look at making a decision on a roster, and that point being able to retroactive the injury date, so we’re still a few days away from that.”

Those few days present another obstacle, however. The turf at the Rogers Centre is not the most forgiving for those dealing with such injuries. Farrell knows this well from his time spent managing the Blue Jays. At the very least it will provide a good test for Victorino.

If that test proves to be too difficult, the Sox have taken steps to prepare for more time without the veteran speedster. Daniel Nava is playing right field again Sunday, the sixth time he has started there after doing so just twice in 2012. While Nava played plenty of right field in the minors, it’s a different beast at Fenway Park.

Farrell said that Nava’s all-around play and preparation have made it easy to slot him into Victorino’s spot.

“A very reliable guy, even at Fenway Park in this left field that can be tricky,” Farrell said. “Knowing he played a couple of games in right field last year, we wanted to get some of that exposure in spring training and here we are, because of Shane’s situation, he’s our everyday right fielder. I don’t know that he’s been tested as much as Shane has with ranging into the gap or to the line on some balls but still we have complete confidence in him in that spot.”

The organization also has given Jackie Bradley Jr. back-to-back starts in right field at Pawtucket this weekend, a move likely designed to get him used to the position in case Nava is needed elsewhere and Victorino is still sidelined. Bradley had played just one game in right field in his career in the minors prior to the recent shift.

Victorino missed two games during the Kansas City series last weekend, then aggravated the injury Wednesday against Oakland. He is hitting .292 with 12 runs scored and three stolen bases in 19 games.

In other pregame news:

* Craig Breslow threw 15 pitches in a one-inning rehab outing Saturday night, the second he has made as he works his way back from left shoulder tendinitis. Breslow and Joel Hanrahan are scheduled to pitch for the PawSox on Sunday night.

While Hanrahan is expected to be activated Tuesday, Farrell hinted that Breslow could still require more time due to the fact that he was unable to get much work in during spring training.

* For the second straight day, Farrell would not provide a specific pitch count for John Lackey’s return to the mound Sunday. A lot of it depends on the stress of the pitches, but an outing that lasts into the middle innings would satisfy the skipper.

“If John can go out and give us five innings today I think that’s a realistic goal for all of us, and I feel like he’s going to be capable of that,” Farrell said.

Lackey, who suffered a biceps strain April 6 in Toronto, threw 67 pitches in 3 2/3 innings of his only rehab outing Monday for Double-A Portland.

* Red-hot David Ortiz is in the lineup for the fifth straight game after sitting out two of the first five games following his activation from the disabled list April 20. It is nearly impossible to remove such a scorching bat from the order, but Farrell does have be careful not to overuse both Ortiz and first baseman Mike Napoli, who occasionally got rest while serving as the designated hitter when Ortiz was on the shelf.

Farrell said that Ortiz told him before the series with Houston that he felt great and was good for all four games. Napoli has had no issues with the hip condition revealed this winter. As long as both feel fine and both are hitting, Farrell can maintain the status quo.

“I guess the best way to describe it is we’ve got a good problem right now,” he said. “The way David and Mike are swinging the bat. The one thing in talking with Mike daily is the condition in which he was discovered over the winter, that has not reared its head. We have to be mindful of it.”

BOSTON -- The Red Sox made official what we knew for days on Sunday by activating John Lackey from the 15-day disabled list. Lackey will start the series finale against Houston.

Catcher Ryan Lavarnway, recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday, was optioned to make room on the roster for Lackey. Lavarnway did not appear in a game for the Sox.

It will be the first start in Fenway Park for Lackey since Sept. 19, 2011, when he gave up eight runs on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings against Baltimore. The right-hander missed all of 2012 following Tommy John surgery, then suffered a right biceps strain in his first start of the season April 6 in Toronto.

Manager John Farrell said he hopes to get five innings from Lackey, who threw 70 pitches against the Blue Jays before the injury and 67 in a rehab outing Monday for Double-A Portland.

Lavarnway hit .310 (13-for-42) with a home run, three doubles and seven RBIs while with Pawtucket prior to the recall.

BOSTON -- Red Sox right-hander Daniel Bard threw nine pitches Saturday night in his second game with the Red Sox. Just one was a strike.

So goes the latest chapter for Bard, whose ride from shutdown reliever to wayward starter to bullpen hopeful may have cast some doubt on his immediate future. At least those in the clubhouse are not concerned.

"Nothing he can't fix too easily," said catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who had to come out of his crouch to catch one of Bard's off-target deliveries.

Bard, whose 2012 experiment as a starter turned into a disaster that had a carry-over effect into his return to the bullpen, was showing some progress at Double-A Portland and had a scoreless outing against Houston on Friday in his return to Fenway Park.

However, he walked Ronny Cedeno on four pitches and then Carlos Pena on five before John Farrell came to get him. Bard, who always carries with him a calm demeanor, slammed his glove on his leg as he departed for the dugout. Farrell gave him a pat on the back and then was matter-of-fact in a postgame commentary.

"Right from the get-go Daniel didn't settle into a delivery," Farrell said. "We saw him cut a couple of fastballs on the first few pitches he threw and then some pitches got away from him."

Both Joel Hanrahan and Craig Breslow are close to returning to the bullpen from rehab stints, which makes Bard a candidate for more work in the minors in the very near future.

BOSTON -- On April 27, 2012, the Red Sox were on their way to becoming baseball's laughingstock. On April 27, 2013, they own the best record in the game.

While there may be a few holdovers from last year who are still looking to take sarcastic shots at the organization, it is tough to find fault with anything taking place on the field. Simply put, there are no holes.

When asked what has keyed the 17-7 start, the club's best since 2002, manager John Farrell cited a solid offensive approach. Then he referenced the consistency of the starting pitching. Then he made sure to mention an airtight defense.

"There's still room to improve in areas, but I think the fact is we've got three areas of the game that we're operating pretty well right now," he said.

The numbers back up Farrell's claim, some of them in dramatic fashion. Here are a few (tip of the cap to the Sox's PR team for their assistance):

* The Sox are 14-0 in games started by Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Felix Doubront.

* The starters entered Saturday with a 3.09 ERA, second in the American League, and leading the majors with 153 strikeouts. They already have more double-digit strikeout games (four) than they did all last season (three).

* Boston pitchers lead the American League in opponents' batting average (.222).

* The bullpen entered Saturday having allowed only 16.7 percent of inherited runners to score, also tops in the majors.

* Boston entered Saturday tied for the major league lead with 21 stolen bases, and picked up another when Dustin Pedroia swiped second.

* Mike Napoli leads the majors in RBIs, Jacoby Ellsbury leads the majors in steals and David Ortiz has an OPS flirting with 1.500.

* Boston is 12-0 when scoring first, the franchise's best mark since at least 1915. It is 8-0 in series openers, 10-2 when hitting a homer and 13-1 when scoring at least five runs.

* The Sox entered Saturday with the third-fewest errors in the majors (eight).

For the players, it starts with preparation.

"Obviously that's where you want to be," said catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. "You want to be in first. The guys are working hard. The best thing is we're prepared. We're ready to go every day. Everybody knows their role."

The season is not even a month old, but one really has to strain to find fault with what the Red Sox are accomplishing. And if one tries, the numbers -- in each phase of the game -- will make one think otherwise.

BOSTON -- The Red Sox own the best record in baseball. They have a bunch of good ol' boys who play hard for a business-first manager. They were at the heart of the city's recovery from recent tragic events. In a nutshell, April has been a feel-good month at Fenway Park.

That's what made it so strange to hear a significant amount of boos from fans at Fenway just minutes into Saturday night's meeting with the Houston Astros. But that was the result of an ugly first inning in which Felix Doubront could not throw strikes.

Doubront walked three, including one to force in a run, and had a wild pitch and a hit batter in an extremely erratic frame that took 31 pitches to finish. However, an outing that had the look of a disaster eventually became a stepping stone on Doubront's path to maturity. He rallied to go 6 2/3 innings and leave with a 5-3 lead and a heavy dose of confidence going forward.

"Overall after the first inning I was really focused, wasn't thinking of my mechanics at all," he said. "Just throw the ball and get quick outs to get deep in the game. I'm so proud that I did that."

Doubront has now made 36 career starts and has finished seven innings just three times. He came within an out of making it four. While he and the Sox hope there will be a day when Doubront has it in him to go deeper into games, the fact that he spared the bullpen was notable. John Lackey is starting Sunday in his return from the disabled list and is not expected to last much more than four innings, maybe five. Had Doubront been unable to harness his command, Sunday's series finale could have become a tricky one for manager John Farrell.

There was some light stretching in the pen as Doubront struggled early, but Farrell had every intention of waiting it out, knowing how much he needed some length Saturday.

"Wasn't really close at all," Farrell said when asked if he was close to removing Doubront early. "We needed him to get through those middle innings at a minimum. I wasn't thinking about taking him out. We needed him to get through the middle innings."

Farrell indicated that he, Doubront and pitching coach Juan Nieves may explore alternate ways to manage Doubront's warm-up routine. Perhaps warming in the pen, sitting down and then getting up again to simulate the first inning will work. All too often it takes the 25-year-old some time to find his groove, and eradicating those early speed bumps could do wonders.

"The one thing that we've seen is that many times it's taken him a couple of innings to get into the flow of the game and that was the case again tonight, as it was in spring training," Farrell said. "Then once he hits his stride he becomes more efficient. It's just a matter of him finding his rhythm on the mound and fortunately he was able to come through that first inning without a big number on the board."

Doubront has struck out more batters than innings pitched in six straight outings. He's 3-0 for the first time in his young career. He has four straight quality starts at Fenway Park. He seems to be knocking on the door to something better. If and when he can turn the seven-inning start from an extreme rarity into an expected outcome, Doubront will reach that next level.

He gets loads of credit for recognizing that he is still going through the process, and not near its completion.

"I'm just waiting for that moment I have to put it all together to be more efficient," he said.

When Doubront left with two outs in the seventh, most fans along the first-base line rose as one to show their appreciation for his efforts. He had made the fans feel good again, and may have grown up a bit more along the way.

BOSTON -- It was beautiful across the region Saturday afternoon. That loveliness did not necessarily extend to the Astros-Red Sox game Saturday night.

There were 15 walks, two errors, one hit batter, one wild pitch, one passed ball and one balk in a game that lasted three hours, 40 minutes, tied for the second-longest this season for Boston. The end result was an 8-4 victory for the Sox, who now have sole possession of the best record in baseball. For many in these parts that's a thing of beauty, no matter how it comes.

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

Large Papi: The Sox have been playing good baseball since the outset, but it's no coincidence that they are 6-1 with David Ortiz in the lineup. At 37 and on bad wheels, he still looks as good as ever at the plate and added to his phenomenal start with three more RBIs Saturday.

Ortiz singled in the first, doubled in two runs in the third and had a line-drive sacrifice fly to left in the fourth. He also drew a walk in the sixth and shook his head a bit as he strolled toward first, possibly upset he didn't get his hacks in. Ortiz's night ended on a fly to the warning track in left-center in the seventh.

Start me up: One of the last items NESN showed on its Red Sox pregame show was a statistic touting the team's ability to take early leads and make them stick. Boston entered Saturday with a 12-0 record when scoring first, the stat said.

Just minutes later the Astros had two runs on the board and runners all over the place as boos were raining down on Felix Doubront, who could not find the strike zone. The significantly less popular stat about Boston being 4-7 when the opponent scores first was never brought up, but winning would require an uphill battle after Doubront's difficult opening.

His 31-pitch first inning featured three walks (one to force in a run), a hit batter, a wild pitch and multiple mound meetings with teammates.

But because they're the Astros: Doubront did finish strong. He started throwing strikes and managed to work two outs into the seventh, allowing only four hits overall and leaving with a 5-3 lead. A big test for the lefty will come next weekend in Texas. The Rangers aren't the offensive power they've been in recent years, but they're still pretty darn good and that park can be a nightmare at times for opponents. Doubront should know. He gave up six runs in five innings there last July and owns an 11.37 ERA in his career at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Doubront's ability to settle down after the early hiccups is not without significance. With John Lackey coming back Sunday for his first start since the injury-shortened one in Toronto earlier this month, the Sox know they'll need their bullpen. Some guys were stretching in the pen before the sun went down Saturday, preparing for a possible early exit by Doubront, but John Farrell did not need to make a change until half the city was asleep.

Oh Daniel boy: The Daniel Bard saga had another chapter, as the hard-throwing but embattled righty walked the only two men he faced in the eighth, throwing just one strike along the way. Bard missed badly with some of the offerings and was eventually charged with a run when Alex Wilson came on and gave up an RBI single.

Bard slammed his glove on his leg as he left the mound. That amounts to a pretty extreme show of emotion for the mild-mannered Bard, who will not be called upon to get any big outs in the immediate future.

Bottom's up: While Ortiz did his damage and Dustin Pedroia reached base three times, the bottom of the order keyed the charge for the Sox. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Will Middlebrooks and Stephen Drew combined to go 4-for-9 with four walks, six runs scored and an RBI.

Middlebrooks looked especially comfortable at the plate and seems to be rediscovering his groove near the bottom of the order. He is now hitting .296 in limited action in the seventh and eighth spots in the order after batting .159 when slotted fifth or sixth.

Up next: Lackey faces Bud Norris in the series finale Sunday before Boston has a day off and then visits Toronto for three and Texas for three.

BOSTON -- Red Sox left-hander Franklin Morales has been shut down with a pectoral strain, manager John Farrell said Saturday.

Morales, originally placed on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain, was well into a rehab that began with extended spring training games and included a three-inning appearance for Class A Greenville on April 17. However, he was scratched from a scheduled rehab outing for Double-A Portland earlier in the week, and an MRI later revealed the strain.

Farrell said that the shut-down period will last five days. Thursday was the first day, meaning Morales may be able to start a new throwing program by Tuesday. Given Morales' shoulder issues at the end of the 2012 season and various ailments this spring, there will be no rush to the process.

"How long it takes remains to be seen," Farrell said.

As Morales progressed earlier this month he was a nice candidate, along with Alfredo Aceves, to pick up spot starts in the event of injuries. Aceves has since been demoted to Triple-A Pawtucket on the heels of a miserable outing, leaving Allen Webster, who made his major league debut Sunday against Kansas City, as a more likely candidate.

None of that matters if the Opening Day rotation remains intact once John Lackey returns Sunday for his first start since an injury-shortened outing in Toronto on April 6. The right-hander, who threw 3 2/3 innings Monday at Portland, is completely clear of any symptoms related to the biceps strain that shelved him.

Farrell would not put a number on how many pitches Lackey can throw but said he should be good to reach the middle innings, provided Lackey is effective.

As for that effectiveness, Farrell expects to see it. He said that Lackey, in the limited time since his return from Tommy John surgery, has looked a lot like he did in a solid second half of 2010.

"Whether in spring training or the first start back in Toronto, I see a guy who's pitching much like he did in the second half of that year," Farrell said.

Lackey had a 3.97 ERA in 15 starts after the All-Star break in 2010, eventually leading the staff in starts and innings pitched.

In other injury news:

* Right fielder Shane Victorino remains out of the lineup for the third straight game and is questionable for Sunday as he wrestles with a back issue. Farrell indicated that there is a good chance that Victorino will sit again Sunday and the team can then utilize Monday's day off to give him an extended break and "get ahead of this" injury.

The assumption is that Ryan Lavarnway will be sent down to make room on the roster for Lackey, but nothing is set in stone until Victorino improves.

"[Lavarnway's] spot could be the one that's adjusted for John. We have to get through the next 48 hours with Shane as well to determine any other moves," Farrell said.

Jackie Bradley Jr. made a rare start in right field for Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday and was penciled into that spot again Saturday, a strong indication that the organization is making preparations for a more extended period of time without Victorino.

* Right-hander Joel Hanrahan, sidelined with a hamstring strain, felt a slight twinge on one pitch in his rehab outing with Pawtucket on Friday, but otherwise got through his one inning of work just fine. He allowed two runs on two hits, including a homer, and struck out one. Hanrahan will make one more rehab appearance Sunday and could rejoin the team when it begins a six-game road trip in Toronto on Tuesday.

* Also continuing to rehab this weekend is Craig Breslow, who will throw both Saturday and Sunday as he works his way back from a shoulder issue. Breslow failed to record an out and gave up three runs in his first outing Tuesday in Portland.

BOSTON -- Chalk up a couple of “firsts” for the Red Sox’ super-charged battery on Friday night.

Right-hander Ryan Dempster worked six solid, strikeout-filled innings for his first win in a Boston uniform, and his batterymate, catcher David Ross, notched the first four-for-four game of his 10-year career, including a pair of solo homers, in leading the Red Sox to a 7-3 victory over the Houston Astros at Fenway Park.

Dempster received plenty of offensive support. Boston pounded out a season-high 17 hits, including nine for extra bases. Will Middlebrooks and David Ortiz joined Ross in the homer-hitting parade as the Sox scored at least one run in each of the first five innings for leads of 2-0, 5-1 and 6-2.

“It’s nice to get that first win out of the way, especially with a new team. Now I just want to build on it,” said Dempster, who signed a two-year free agent deal worth $26.5 million in the offseason.

It wasn’t as if Dempster had pitched poorly in his first four starts. The veteran’s earned-run average was a solid 3.38, but his record was 0-2. Friday night, though, Dempster was able to work out of a couple of jams, showing off an impressive repertoire of pitches featuring a fastball, slider and splitter in fanning a season-high-tying 10. He limited the youthful whiff-prone Astros (major-league-leading 232 K’s) to four hits and a pair of runs.

“He’s so reliable and dependable,” said Boston manager John Farrell. “He keeps the game in check and he’s done that every game so far.”

One factor Dempster has going for him, said Farrell, is that he has no fear. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder is confident enough to throw any of his pitches at any time in the count.

“The hitter can’t sit on any one approach,” said Farrell. “When he gets to a 3-and-2 count, he doesn’t give in. He’s not afraid to go to a full count, and when he gets there, to throw any of his pitches. He threw some of his best sliders on 3-and-2 counts. He’s able to go to any one of three pitches in two-strike situations.”

While Dempster fanned at least one batter in five of his six innings, including four in a row spanning the first and second innings, he also pitched a lot out of the stretch. Leadoff doubles in the third, fourth and fifth innings kept him from breezing.

“(After those doubles) I was trying to manage the inning and the game from there and I was able to do that and come away with a win,” said Dempster, who went 5-5 for the Cubs and 7-3 for the Rangers last year, bringing his career mark to 124-124 heading into this season.

The strikeouts certainly helped him. Dempster now has a team-leading 43 whiffs, though he’s hardly strikeout-happy -- even if he did just join Pedro Martinez as the only Red Sox pitchers since at least 1916 to fan at least seven in each of his first five career starts with Boston.

“Strikeouts are overrated,” said the 14-year veteran, who is a week away from his 36th birthday. “I’m just trying to get outs. I think fastball command (helps get strikeouts). If you can put that where you want it, you can expand the plate.”

And that’s what he did Friday night.

“He knows how to pitch,” said Ross. “He knows how to establish the fastball inside and out. He threw some great 3-and-2 sliders early in the game and a Bugs Bunny splitty, like a video game (pitch).”

As for Ross, meanwhile, his stats were hardly video game worthy before Friday night. Ross was batting an ugly .120, with only three hits in 25 at-bats. But Friday night he clubbed a couple of fat fastballs from Houston left-hander Erik Bedard over the Green Monster in the second and fourth innings, respectively, and added line-drive singles in the sixth and eighth.

“That’s the first time I’ve gone 4-for-4," said Ross, 36. “I’m pretty excited about that. It seems like every night there’s someone else (having a big night) for us. I’m excited to be part of that and be able to contribute.”

Ross took some early batting practice, and clearly it paid off.

“I haven’t been seeing the ball well. It’s a lot of work. I wanted to slow things down, get in a better rhythm. When you’re younger you just see ball, hit ball. As you get older you look at more videotape to see what (the opposing pitcher) might want to do. Sometimes you can think too much. You have to see ball, hit ball,” said Ross, who now has seven hits for the season, three of them homers.

Dempster appreciated the support.

“He was locked in. That was incredible. What a day,” said Dempster.

Ross’ big night, plus Dempster’s solid performance, kept the Big Red Sox Machine’s battery chugging atop the American league East standings, at 16-7.

BOSTON -- It took him five tries, but Ryan Dempster finally earned his first victory as a member of the Red Sox.

The veteran right-hander, who signed a two-year free-agent deal with Boston worth $26.5 million in the offseason, took advantage of the strikeout-prone Astros in claiming a 7-3 victory over Houston on Friday night at Fenway Park.

Dempster was amply backed by the Sox offense. Catcher David Ross led the way with a pair of solo homers and two singles in Boston’s season-high 17-hit attack.

Will Middlebrooks and red-hot David Ortiz also homered for the Sox, who banged out nine extra-base hits, including a pair of doubles by Dustin Pedroia (3-for-4).

Dempster whiffed 10, matching his season high, in a 104-pitch, four-hit, two-run, six-inning stint in improving to 1-2 for the season. Dempster now has fanned 43 in his five starts, totaling 30 innings this year. He is tops in strikeouts on the staff, which leads the majors in whiffs entering last night with 218.

He found a good match for his pinpoint fastball and tantalizing slider in the Astros. Houston entered the night leading the majors with 218 punchouts, comfortably ahead of both Boston and Cincinnati, which had 194 apiece.

Dempster fanned four in a row spanning the first and second innings. He struck out three batters in the fourth and had at least one whiff in each inning except the third. Dempster allowed single runs in the third and fifth innings, with third baseman Matt Dominguez, who had led off each inning with a double, scoring each time.

But the Sox had scored at least one run in each of the first five innings, so Dempster handed a 6-2 lead to Clayton Mortensen, who took over in the seventh. Mortensen, Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara and Alex Wilson finished up.

SETTING RECORDS: Mike Napoli’s RBI double in the third inning set a couple of Red Sox records for the month of April. It was his 17th extra-base hit and his 12th double. Jose Offerman had held the record with 16 extra-base hits in April 1999. Three other players had 11 doubles in the month. Napoli added an 18th extra-base hit, his 13th double, in the seventh.

Jacoby Ellsbury also set a record for April, swiping his 11th base, eclipsing the record of 10 he established in 2009. It was the 200th stolen base of his career, making him the third member of the Sox to reach that figure, joining Harry Hooper (300) and Tris Speaker (267).

ROCKY REHAB OUTING: Boston closer Joel Hanrahan, on the disabled list because of a hamstring issue, coughed up two runs on a double and a homer in his one inning for Pawtucket in Buffalo on Friday night. Eugenio Velez took him deep in the eighth inning, polishing off an 8-4 win for Buffalo. Hanrahan struck out one and did not walk a batter.

FEAST OR FAMINE: Will Middlebrooks, his latest skid reaching 2-for-16, fouled off a few pitches and then clubbed a 3-and-2 fastball for a long homer to left in the fourth inning. It was only Middlebrooks’ 15th hit of the year, but six have been homers. Middlebrooks, who entered the game batting a mere .169, leads the team in that category. He added an infield single in the eighth.

ROSS’ POWER SURGE: David Ross bashed solo homers off Erik Bedard in the second and fourth innings, accounting for the veteran catcher’s 11th career multiple-homer game. He last accomplished the feat exactly two years ago, while playing for Atlanta in San Diego. His second round-tripper was a back-to-back blast, following Middlebrooks’ long ball, the third time this year the Sox have hit consecutive homers.

GOMES GIVETH, TAKETH AWAY: Left fielder Jonny Gomes, not known for his defense, showed his unfamiliarity with the Green Monster in the fifth. He thought Matt Dominguez’ high fly would hit off the wall, so he peeled off, looking to field the carom. Unfortunately, the ball didn’t hit the wall. It landed on the warning track for a gift double. Dominguez eventually scored. But with two outs and a runner at first in the inning, Gomes raced to his right and made a diving, sliding catch of Jason Castro’s slicing liner in a highlight-reel play.

SEND HIM, SEND HIM!: As Pedro Ciriaco zipped past first base and then second base with Houston center fielder Robbie Grossman trying to track down his drive in the triangle, the anticipation in Fenway began to build. Would he be able to turn this into one of the game’s most exciting plays -- the inside-the-park home run?

Ciriaco steamed toward third base. But as he approached it, Red Sox third-base coach Brian Butterfield saw that the relay throw was heading toward shortstop Marwin Gonzalez, so he held up Ciriaco rather than take a two-out gamble. Unfortunately for Boston, Jacoby Ellsbury then grounded out to second, stranding Ciriaco.