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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.

It took 14 innings for the Boston Red Sox to outlast the Tampa Bay Rays, something that would not have happened without the defense of second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

Pedroia made two huge plays in key spots -- a catch on a popup and a snag of a bunt-hit attempt -- to preserve the tie game.

Pedroia picked up another Web Gem from "Baseball Tonight," giving him five this season. That’s second-most among second basemen behind Brandon Phillips, who has seven.

Pedroia’s Plays
Pedroia entered Monday with eight "defensive runs saved" (DRS) -- the most in the majors among second basemen (for an explanation of the stat, click here).

Pedroia’s 37 DRS dating back to the start of the 2011 season also rank most among second basemen. In fact, only three players have more than that at any position in that span -- Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan (50), Royals left fielder Alex Gordon (47) and Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie (39).

What makes Pedroia so good is that he maximizes great plays while minimizing his mistakes.

Baseball Info Solutions does video tracking, crediting fielders for more than 30 categories of good fielding plays (think Web Gem nominees) and penalizing them for more than 50 categories of defensive misplays & errors.

Pedroia’s ratio of good plays to misplays & errors is 40 to 6 (he’s yet to make an error this season). By comparison, three of the game’s best defensive second basemen -- Barney, Phillips and Robinson Cano -- all have ratios of about 3-to-1. In other words: about half of Pedroia’s ratio.

Pedroia’s defensive value is integral to what he brings to the game. And he’s recognized for it. Entering Monday, Pedroia was worth 3.7 WAR (wins above replacement) this season, edging out Miguel Cabrera for the highest among position players in the American League.

BOSTON -- The top of the seventh inning was ugly for the Red Sox.

Franklin Morales, pitching for the first time in nine days, lost total contact with the strike zone, ultimately walking three straight batters with two outs, the last two of which received four-pitch, bases-loaded free passes to force home a couple of runs.

After he was finally yanked and trudged to the dugout while the restless crowd of 34,499 voiced its displeasure with his outing, Clayton Mortensen was nicked for an infield RBI single, tacking a fourth run onto Morales' log before the final out was recorded, and a close game had been blown open by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

But while the performance of Morales, who entered in the seventh in relief of Felix Doubront, was a clear focal point in the Red Sox' 9-5 setback, Boston's offense had to shoulder its share of blame in the loss in the opener of a day-night doubleheader at Fenway Park despite a spirited two-out, three-run rally in the ninth.

Boston batters had a difficult time coming through in the clutch against Angels starter Tommy Hanson, who labored through five innings and allowed seven hits and walked four in a 114-pitch struggle.

The Red Sox were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position over the first five innings.

And it was some of Boston's top hitters who failed most significantly.

In the first inning, with runners at second and third and one out, David Ortiz waved weakly at a curveball for a strikeout, and then Mike Napoli grounded out to third. In the second, Jose Iglesias and Jacoby Ellsbury failed to deliver with runners at first and second.

The third inning was similar to the opening inning. Ortiz swung and missed at a curveball for a strikeout with runners at first and second, Napoli took a called third strike and Jarrod Saltalamacchia popped up to third.

Daniel Nava snapped the drought with an RBI single in the fourth, narrowing the Angels' lead to 3-2, but with runners at first and third and two outs later in the inning, Ortiz again failed, this time grounding out to second and stranding his fifth and sixth runners of the day.

The Sox had one other chance to overtake the Angels. With runners at first and second and one out in the sixth, Dustin Pedroia scalded the ball, but shortstop Erick Aybar deftly short-hopped the smash and turned it into an inning-ending double play, keeping it a 3-2 game.

And then the Angels, thanks to seventh-inning doubles by Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo as well as Morales' wildness, put the game out of reach. Andrew Miller punctuated the forgettable afternoon by walking home a run in the Angels' two-run ninth, putting the visitors on top 9-2.

Decent outing: Felix Doubront (4-3) was saddled with the loss. He pitched decently, allowing three runs on six hits in six innings, but his pitch count hit 97 on his final pitch of the sixth inning, prompting manager John Farrell to opt for Morales to open the seventh.

Predictable pitch, positive result: In Mike Carp's second at-bat, leading off the fourth, Hanson slipped a breaking ball over for a called strike on the first pitch. His second pitch was another breaking ball, which Carp took for another strike. Hanson tried a third breaking pitch, a slower curveball, but bounced it on his next delivery, making the count 1-and-2.

It's unusual for a pitcher to double up on breaking balls, let alone throw three in a row. So the reasonable expectation was that Hanson would throw a fastball on his next delivery. He did, and Carp was ready for it, launching a home run into the Angels bullpen for Boston's first run of the game and cutting the Sox deficit to 3-1. The homer traveled 434 feet, making it the longest homer hit at Fenway this season by a batter other than Ortiz, who has blasts of 446 and 439 feet to his credit.

In Carp's next at-bat against Hanson in the fifth, the pitch sequence went changeup (strike called), slider (ball), slider (ball). With the count 2-and-1, Hanson stayed away from a predictable fastball and threw a changeup. But Carp was able to keep his weight back and he drilled a two-out single to right-center.

Bad luck: With Ellsbury at second and none out in the first, Nava ripped a shot up the middle. The ball struck Hanson's foot and ricocheted right to third baseman Alberto Callaspo.

Ellsbury, running on contact on what could have been an RBI single up the middle, was instead caught in a rundown. And even though Callaspo dropped the ball when he tagged Ellsbury halfway between second and third, Callaspo was able to pick up the ball and throw to Hanson covering third for the easy out.

BOSTON -- Thoughts on a rainy night unfit for man, beast or zombie, but damn near perfect for a hockey team poised to return to the Stanley Cup finals for the second time in three years:

It goes overlooked in the glare of walk-off home runs, record-setting stolen bases and game-ending strikeouts, but the Boston Red Sox have not made an error in their past nine games, their longest errorless streak of the season.

The Sox rank seventh in the league in total defensive efficiency at .693, a measure that many consider a better barometer than fielding percentage in judging how well a team is playing afield. Total defensive efficiency calculates the percentage of balls in play that are converted into outs.

Interestingly, three teams in the AL East rank ahead of the Sox: Baltimore (.709), Tampa Bay (.703) and Toronto (.696).

Dustin Pedroia is on a record-setting streak of his own. The second baseman has started all 61 games, the most of any player in the big leagues, and has yet to make an error. That's the longest streak ever to start a season by a Sox second baseman, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

All you need to do is watch Pedroia nightly to know he is playing great defense. "He makes it look awful easy and it's not. He's got such sure hands and such confidence,” manager John Farrell said after a typical Pedroia game recently. "I don't want to say we take it for granted. But we've come to see him make so many plays like that."

Pedroia has handled 267 chances without a bobble or bad throw. The percentage of balls he has handled that have resulted in an out is 96 percent, which is tied for highest in the majors among second basemen. In Total Zone Total Fielding runs above average, a calculation of runs above average a player is worth, Pedroia ranked first with eight. In plus-minus fielding, another metric that enjoys wide currency among sabermetricians, Pedroia is tied with Brian Dozier of the Twins at eight.

On the other side of the ball? Pedroia comes into the weekend ranked fifth in hitting, third in on-base percentage, fifth in runs, third in hits, fifth in doubles and second in walks.

A couple of weeks ago, when it was mentioned here that Pedroia was playing at an MVP-caliber level, some readers questioned how anyone but Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers could be mentioned in an MVP conversation. Granted, Cabrera is having a phenomenal season, potentially better than his MVP-winning performance last season, but it's probably worth mentioning that in WAR (wins above replacement), a statistical measure adored by some and dreaded by others, Cabrera leads the league at 3.6. But Pedroia is right behind at 3.5, the same number as Orioles third baseman Manny Machado. And defense plays its part in that, for both Machado and Pedroia, who rank 1-2 in defensive WAR.

The most remarkable aspect of Pedroia's performance, of course, is that he has done all of this with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, an injury incurred when he made a headfirst slide into first base in the season's opening game in New York.

It's the same injury that Sox closer Andrew Bailey had last spring to the thumb of his pitching hand, for which he had surgery and was sidelined for the team's first 116 games. Chris Paul of basketball's Los Angeles Clippers had the same injury and underwent offseason surgery last summer, as did catcher Henry Blanco, who was playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks at the time he was hurt last August and missed the rest of the season. Another was tackle Jeremy Bridges of football's Arizona Cardinals, who tore his UCL at the start of last season, had surgery, and was ultimately released.

It's a small ligament that plays a vital role in the hand, serving as the key stabilizer of the thumb and integral to the strength of one's grip. Typically, as in Pedroia's case, the injury occurs when the thumb is bent backward, away from the hand.

When surgery takes place, it involves the reattaching of the ligament using bone anchors, which are sutures with screws attached. When surgery is not required, the player is typically braced for anywhere from a month to three months, and undergoes daily range of motion exercises to keep the thumb from being bent backward again.

Pedroia has not had surgery, nor has he been wearing a brace or cast on the hand. Dr. David Geier, orthopedic director at the Medical University of South Carolina, said it is possible that healing could take place without surgery, although he said Pedroia has probably been fortunate that he has not been involved in another play in which his thumb was bent backward.

Geier has not examined Pedroia, so he does not know the degree to which the ligament is torn. Pedroia said in earlier interviews it was a complete tear, which would seem to suggest he'll need surgery at some point. "The issue is not whether he will tear up the thumb further," Geier said, "but can he do what he does on the field?"

The answer, to this point of the season, is an unequivocal yes, and Pedroia and Farrell both insist the thumb is no longer an issue.

NEW YORK -- A few quick hits prior to the rubber game of this Red Sox-Yankees series:

While Red Sox manager John Farrell said outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is continuing to improve and the club is "shooting” for him to return Tuesday against Texas, the injury news was not as encouraging for Shane Victorino.

The Flying Hawaiian remains the Grounded Hawaiian, as Farrell said that the club is delaying sending him out on a rehab assignment after watching him run here Sunday afternoon.

"He's not running at 100 percent yet," Farrell said. "The one thing we're being cautious with here is that based on experience having him come back and play successive games, he's had a couple of setbacks prior to going on the disabled list. We want to make sure there's a gradual improvement, which he's showing, but to say he's going on a rehab assignment tomorrow or the next day is probably premature at this point. So, we're just being a little overly cautious given what's transpired."

Victorino is eligible to be activated Wednesday, but that has all been ruled out by the Sox. Counting Sunday, he has started just 33 of the team's first 58 games, missing time with a lower back issue (that did not put him on the DL) and a strained hamstring. The Sox suspect the two issues may be related.

Farrell insists Victorino has not reaggravated the hamstring. "It's just when he tries to get to that explosiveness, he doesn't have quite the confidence," Farrell said, "and we're honestly telling him to more gradually get into it. The one thing we don't want to do is turn this thing into an extended period. If it takes a couple more days than the June 5th activation date, we're certainly willing to do whatever it takes to get by that. What we don't want is for that to be a drop-dead date, he comes back, and reaggravates it."

* Ellsbury ranks second in the AL in the percentage of pitches with which he makes contact. He's at 90 percent. Jeff Keppinger of the White Sox is first at 91 percent.

* Dustin Pedroia is baseball's best hitter with two strikes, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Forty-one of Pedroia's 74 hits have come with two strikes, and he is batting .331 after two strikes (41-for-124). His complete slash line after two strikjes is .331/.407/.452/.859.

Incredibly, Pedroia is batting .433 (13-for-30) on 0-and-2 counts.

The league average after two strikes is .186. On 0-and-2 counts, it's .165.

* It has now been more than two full weeks since reliever Daniel Bard appeared in a game for Double-A Portland. He has been limited to side work since May 15, when he walked five in an inning of work. Bard remains on Portland's active roster, Farrell said, but the Sox are clearly focused on making this a long-term reclamation project.

In his last 10 appearances with Portland this season, Bard had walked 16 and given up 10 hits in 9 2/3 innings.

PHILADELPHIA -- The rest of the team is taking the bus to New York.

Jacoby Ellsbury might just sprint alongside.

The Boston Red Sox leadoff man reached base five times and stole a club-record five bases in Thursday night's 9-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, giving the teams a split of their home-and-home, four-game interleague series.

When Ellsbury wasn't running, the Sox were slugging, as Jonny Gomes hit a pinch-hit home run in the sixth, and David Ortiz, playing at first base for the first time this season, hit his ninth of the season to extend the 4-2 lead the Sox held after the first inning.

Left-hander Franklin Morales gave up a two-run home run to Delmon Young in the first but held the Phillies to a single over the next four innings to earn the victory in his first appearance of 2013, having missed the team's first 52 games with a bulging disk in his back, followed by a strained pectoral muscle.

Morales stepped in to start when Clay Buchholz was pushed back from Friday to Sunday and Thursday's scheduled starter, Jon Lester, was slotted into Friday night's start in the Bronx against the New York Yankees. Morales was backed up by a collaborative effort by four Sox relievers -- Craig Breslow, Clayton Mortensen, Junichi Tazawa and Andrew Bailey -- who held the Phillies to two hits the rest of the way.

In each of the four games against the Phillies, Ellsbury led off the first inning with a base hit and came around to score, the purest possible definition of jump-starting a team's offense. Thursday night, he singled off Phillies starter Jonathan Pettibone, took third on a single by Daniel Nava, and scored on an infield out by Dustin Pedroia, who brought home Ellsbury with the team's first run all four nights.

Pedroia did it four different ways, too: home run Monday, single Tuesday, sacrifice fly Wednesday, groundout Thursday.

Ellsbury walked and stole second in the second, singled and stole second in the fourth, was hit by a pitch in the sixth and stole second and third, then singled in the eighth, stole second and took third on a throwing error by Phillies catcher Erik Kratz. Oddly, none of the stolen bases resulted in a run scored but made for a long night for Kratz.

Ellsbury leads the majors with 21 stolen bases; in 2009, when he led the majors with a club-record 70 stolen bases, he stole his 21st base on May 27, in the team's 47th game. The Sox have played 55 games so far in 2013. Ellsbury has been caught just twice in 23 attempts this season for a 91.3 percent success rate. In 2009, he had been caught six times by the time he stole his 21st base.


Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia had been the one exploited on the bases the night before, when the Phillies stole safely four times. Thursday night, Saltalamacchia erased Domonic Brown attempting to steal in the first inning and also hit two RBI doubles.

The Sox tacked on three more runs in the eighth after scoring a total of four runs the past two nights against the Phils.

The Sox head into the Bronx and a three-game series with a two-game lead in the AL East -- their biggest since May 6 -- against the Bombers. The Yankees have lost a season-high five in a row after being swept in four games by their subway rivals, the Mets.

"I think through the first 50-plus games, I think both teams have answered questions. They've met challenges head on, personnel changes to the roster," Sox manager John Farrell said before the game. "I would expect [the series] to be not only a focal point, but one our guys are certainly looking forward to.

"I think we know about ourselves, which is most important to us: where guys slot in, how guys perform. We're going in there again not at full strength because of some injuries, but we haven't used that as a crutch, and the expectation stays the same regardless of who's in the lineup. That is, to win, and that is to hopefully win the division title."

PHILADELPHIA -- Red Sox manager John Farrell said he believes Dustin Pedroia is "100 percent" recovered from the thumb injury he sustained in the first game of the season April 1 in Yankee Stadium.

Pedroia sustained a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb while making a head-first slide into first base in the ninth inning of an 8-2 win over the New York Yankees. Despite the injury, he has started all 53 games played by the Red Sox this season, more than any player in the big leagues, and his performance has not visibly suffered: He came into Wednesday night's game against the Phillies batting .332, raising his average 39 percentage points in the last 23 games.

In hindsight, it is possible to recall a stretch earlier in the season where Pedroia was not driving the ball the way he is now and striking out at a rate much higher than his norm. In an 11-game stretch from April 6 to April 18, he struck out 15 times in 40 at-bats and had one extra-base hit.

But those days are long gone. In his last 22 games, Pedroia has posted a slash line of .384/.459/.581/1.041, with 8 doubles and 3 home runs, while striking out just nine times in 86 at-bats.

Farrell said that even after Pedroia was diagnosed with the tear, he was not concerned that Pedroia would be out for an extended period of time, not after doctors advised that he could not damage the thumb further and Pedroia elected to play through it.

"He's played at an elite level the entire year," Farrell said.

"I would categorize Pedey's situation much like other players dealing with some physical situation. They manage it through treatment," Farrell said. "Whether it's David Ortiz's] Achilles or his heels, or Mike Napoli's] hip, guys have issues they deal with. Pedey's no different in this case.

"He said it best: 'I'm a baseball player, I'm going to go out and play.' It becomes very cut and dry in his mind. To be honest, there's never a doubt coming to the ballpark that he's going to be available in the lineup on a given day."

Farrell said he sees no link between the thumb injury and Pedroia's home run total (3), saying that has been more a consequence of the way pitchers are working him.

"He's got a high pain threshold, there's no question," Farrell said. "His career has shown he's not going to be taken out of the lineup easily. He'll fight you tooth and nail to stay in the lineup. He sets a tone, not only of performance but of grit and determination."

PHILADELPHIA -- Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia had little interest in discussing his thumb injury Wednesday.

“I really don’t have anything for you,’’ he said.

Thumb injuries can be debilitating. Former Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis tore the adductor muscle in his right thumb, an injury that required surgery and caused him to miss the last 56 games of the 2010 season. Did Pedroia believe that he might need surgery as well?

“I didn’t expect this to come out, you know what I mean?’’ Pedroia said, deflecting the question. “As players here, we all want our medical stuff to stay private and all that stuff. Kind of feel uncomfortable talking about it because we’re trying ... If players are playing, we don’t want to talk about injuries and stuff like that.’’

But now that it’s out, can he talk about how much it bothered him?

“No, I’m fine,’’ he said. “I told you that from the beginning.’’

Feel better now than it did?

“It’s fine, everything’s fine,’’ he said. “I appreciate you guys’ (media) concern.’’

Pedroia was asked why he felt it necessary to hide an injury that happened while playing.

“I think if you miss time, yeah, you should be able to reveal it to everybody,’’ he said, “but guys that are playing, I mean there’s no point to talking about anything. I don’t think it’s a big deal or anything like that.’’

Pedroia was asked if he had a decision to make on how to proceed at the time of the injury.

“I talked about some things with the training staff,’’ he said. “Our team doctor, things like that. It wasn’t a very long discussion. Got checked out, made sure that everything’s fine and just went and played.’’

Healed?

“I feel fine. I feel normal,’’ he said.

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia tore a thumb muscle diving into first base on Opening Day, an injury that would shelve some players but one Pedroia decided to play through.

Pedroia was examined the day after the April 1 game in New York, and it was discovered he had a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, the Boston Herald reported. Doctors told him he could play through the injury and not risk long-term damage to the thumb.

“It's clear that when he dove into first base Opening Day in New York, every exam that needed to be done to make it a correct diagnosis was done. It came back as it is,” manager John Farrell said on Boston sports radio station WEEI on Wednesday afternoon. “I think everybody that was involved, Dustin being the most important one in that, felt like there was no further damage could be done, the decision for him to continue on.

“And much like any other guy that’s dealing with not being 100 percent or banged up in certain ways, guys go about their work to manage the situation they find themselves in physically to be ready to play every night and Dustin is no different. He’s having a heck of a year.”

The 29-year-old Pedroia has played in all 53 of the Red Sox's games this season, hitting .332 with 3 homers, 28 RBIs and an .866 OPS. Upon initial glance it might seem like the thumb injury is impacting his power numbers, but a closer look reveals that’s not the case. Through the first 53 games of 2008, his MVP season, he had an identical number of homers, a lower average (.291) and an OPS that was more than 125 points lower (.731).

Farrell hasn’t seen Pedroia favoring the thumb at all this season, but he has noticed pitchers throwing down and away to the second baseman. As a response, Farrell said, the right-handed Pedroia has been taking pitches to the opposite field more often.

“People shouldn’t know if you’re 100 percent or not,” Pedroia told the Herald. “It is what it is, and it’s my responsibility to perform well. My mindset is if I’m nicked up, I have to find other ways to perform. That’s the way I think about it. Maybe I’m crazy.’’

BOSTON -- Little Baby Buchholz may have cost her undefeated daddy a start Monday night, having inconveniently snuggled on his shoulder the other night in a way that evidently left a boo-boo on the pitcher’s collarbone.

But before Red Sox equipment manager Tom McLaughlin could request a shipment of Baby Bjorns be sent to Yawkey Way to ensure that no other uniformed parental units face similar peril, Alfredo Aceves provided a giant pacifier.

Banished to the minors just more than a month ago for seesaw inconsistency, Aceves stepped in for Clay Buchholz on Monday night and delivered just what the pediatrician ordered, six strong innings as an emergency starter in Boston’s 9-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

"Solid work for us,'' manager John Farrell said. "The key was his pace and tempo. After each pitch he got back up on the mound, and our defense felt the flow of the game. We played exceptional defense.''

Helped by three double plays and a Sox offense that ran up a 6-1 advantage in the first three innings, Aceves gave the Phillies a Pesky Pole home run by Erik Kratz in the third and nothing more.

Aceves put on his fair share of baserunners (7 hits, 3 walks). But splendid defense -- most notably by second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who made an exquisite backhand stop to start a double play in the second, and by center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who ran down a bases-loaded drive by Freddy Galvis in the sixth -- kept the Phillies from climbing back into this one.

"The drive to his glove side, he makes it look awfully easy but it's not,'' Farrell said of Pedroia's play. "He's got such sure hands and such confidence in them, he seemingly attacks every ground ball, whether it's short hop, long hop. I don't want to say we take it for granted, but we've seen him make so many plays like that, where he turns a one-hop smash into a double play. That's a testament of who he is.''

Pedroia has started all 52 of the Sox games this season, the most of any player in the big leagues. On Monday night, Farrell sent Pedro Ciriaco in to run for him in the sixth.

"He just got his day off,'' Mike Napoli said. "Three innings. I'm sure that's all Pedey wants.''

The Sox, meanwhile, hit early and often (15 hits) against the Phillies, their first National League opponent this season and one with whom they share a home-and-home arrangement this week, with two games in Fenway, followed by two in Philly.

Pedroia hit a Pesky Pole home run with Ellsbury aboard in the first, a drive that measured 324 feet and was the shortest home run of his career, according to ESPN Stats & Information. It also was the second shortest home run this season, with the 319-foot P-Poler by Cleveland’s Jason Kipnis on Sunday the industry leader.

Two batters later, Napoli hit one over the Sox bullpen, a drive of 416 feet, according to the ESPN Stats crew, or 30 yards farther than Pedroia’s home run. It was the eighth home run of the season for Napoli, the third for Pedroia, who has played in all 52 Red Sox games this season, nearly all of them at an MVP-caliber level.

(Note to the Miguel Cabrera Fan Club: Save the tweets, etc. No one here has taken leave of their senses. There is a difference between “MVP” and “MVP caliber.”)

Phillies starter Tyler Cloyd, one of their top prospects, did not survive the third, when the Sox whacked five hits, including doubles by David Ortiz, Napoli and Ellsbury, who had three hits in all after Sunday afternoon's walk-off double. The lead expanded to 8-1 in the fifth on three more hits and an error by Phillies right fielder John Mayberry Jr. Phillies reliever Mike Adams, fresh off the disabled list, walked in a ninth run in the eighth.

Domonic Brown hit a two-run home run off Andrew Miller in the eighth for the Phillies, who are 24-27 and treading water in the NL East. Manager Charlie Manuel was forced to use five relievers, though he has Cliff Lee lined up to face Ryan Dempster and the Sox Tuesday night. Lee threw a three-hit shutout in his last start and has gone fewer than seven innings only twice in 10 starts.

Miller ended it by striking out Ryan Howard on three pitches, two 97 mph fastballs and a devastating slider.

The one-sided game kept Jonathan Papelbon confined to the Phillies’ bullpen on the closer's return to Boston for the first time since leaving town as a free agent after the 2011 season. The Sox, meanwhile, won their fourth straight and 10th in the last 13 games, and on Memorial Day the Sox took sole possession of first place in the AL East for the first time since May 8. They're a game ahead of the Yankees, 2-1 losers to their cousin Mets in Flushing.

Aceves made a quick exit after the game; a Sox official said his wife was ailing. He may not be here long; Farrell has indicated he may activate Franklin Morales on Tuesday, which could send Aceves back to Pawtucket. Bu no decisions have been made.

And Daddy Clay should return to action soon, manager John Farrell said, so the pitcher and Little Baby Buchholz should be spared the talk-show callers.

BOSTON -- On May 25, Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell ever so gently dropped second baseman Dustin Pedroia's name into the early most valuable player discussions.

A few hours later, Pedroia made his own mark on the argument, if there even is one at this early stage of the season.

Pedroia went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, including one to drive in the go-ahead run in the eighth, as the Sox came back for a 7-4 win over the Cleveland Indians. Pedroia's average rose to .337, including .396 at home.

"He's the guy we want at the plate in a key moment," Farrell said. "He's not afraid to take a borderline pitch if it's a strike. He doesn't panic if he's down in the count, and we've seen many times throughout the course of his career that he's got the ability to fight off good pitchers' pitches to stay alive and see if he gets a mistake on the plate. Today, it was just an 0-2 slider that stayed in the middle of the plate that he doubled off the wall."

In a brief meeting with the media after the game, Pedroia deflected praise in four quick answers, also finding time to compliment the Indians bullpen, which lost a lead. He barely said anything about himself. But players of Pedroia's caliber can let their actions do the talking.

The 2008 American League MVP has hit safely in 16 of his past 17 games overall, batting .406 (that number again) in that span. He is 17-for-33 (.515) in his past eight games at Fenway. And the two-time Gold Glover, who has yet to commit an error, has played some of the best defense of his career.

In addition, Pedroia is also the only player in all of baseball to have played 50 games.

Then again, that means there's 112 to go, much too much time for the MVP debate to begin. For now, heaps of praise for Pedroia will have to do.

"That guy's a stud," catcher David Ross said. "I don't expect anything but great things from him. That guy is one of the best competitors, maybe the best competitor I've ever been around. … Watching him in '08, I knew he was one of the better teammates I've ever been around. Just as far as how he brings it every day. It's hard to get your body up to play this game 162 times and bring your A-game every night, and he does it every single time."

When dropping MVP hints pregame, Farrell also said he does not foresee giving Pedroia a break anytime soon. If he tried to sit Pedroia in the midst of a vintage hot streak, then Farrell might have an argument on his hands.

BOSTON -- Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew is getting a regular day off Saturday, although manager John Farrell indicated that Drew is still sore from a back issue that caused him to miss two games on the recent road trip. Drew got up slowly after a diving stop Friday night but Farrell said there was no major cause for concern.

"He's felt some soreness from [the back injury] but it hasn't been to the point of keeping him out of the lineup once he returned," he said. "Just managing it like everyone else manages what they've been banged up with."

Drew is hitless in 17 at-bats since his return. Has the back strain been an issue?

"I can't say it hasn't," Farrell said. "Whether it's the aggressiveness in which he's swinging the bat. Just in talking with Stephen I can't say it's restricted his swing. All things considered it's a natural down day for him."

The shuffle means that Jose Iglesias will fill in for Drew and move back to his natural position after making his debut at third base Friday. Pedro Ciriaco will make his fourth start of the season at third.

With Drew getting some rest, the topic turned to Dustin Pedroia, who is the only Red Sox player to appear in all 49 games. Expect that to continue for some time.

"I'll probably look [for a time to give him a day off] and he'll probably continue to be in the lineup," Farrell said. "As we know he's not a guy that's looking to come out of the lineup, and whether it's 162, there may be a time along the way where we give him a break, but right now he's still going strong."

Pedroia had two more hits and two RBIs on Friday, lifting his average to .333, seventh in the American League entering Saturday. Even if Farrell was desperate to give Pedroia a break, Saturday would not be a good time for it. Pedroia is 17-for-33 (.515) with eight walks against Indians starter Scott Kazmir, good for a stratospheric 1.398 OPS.

Farrell cited Pedroia's increased willingness to take the ball the other way this year as one cause for his solid start. Pitchers have learned to avoid the inner half of the plate, which Pedroia owns. He also sees a healthier Pedroia than the one who missed significant time in 2010 and nursed plenty of injuries in 2012.

"He was banged up quite a bit last year. He even got banged up Opening Day this year," Farrell said. "But there's no way to measure the will in someone. Whenever he's nicked up he's going to find a way to beat someone."

Sox catcher David Ross, who was activated from the concussion disabled list Friday, gets his first start since May 11.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- White ball, white roof, look out below.

It’s an occupational hazard of playing in Tropicana Field, and it was a topic, David Ortiz said, that came up during the team’s pregame meeting held to go over their scouting report on the Tampa Bay Rays.

Talking about it and experiencing it are two altogether different matters, though, as the Sox learned to their detriment Tuesday night, when their failure to catch Matt Joyce’s infield dome ball in the fourth inning led to a tie-breaking, two-run single in a 5-3 Red Sox loss to the Rays.

"We benefitted from the roof again tonight, how about that?" Rays manager Joe Maddon said, not so much gloating as marveling at the unexpected advantages that can derive from playing here. “And for that ball to hit the ground and stay fair is pretty incredible."

Red Sox pitcher John Lackey already had allowed the Rays to tie the score in the fourth on a checked-swing double by Luke Scott and a two-run single by Jose Molina, his former batterymate in Anaheim who had been 0-for-11 against Lackey until his two singles off the Sox right-hander Tuesday.

There were runners on second and third when Joyce launched his popup, a towering fly that drifted among the catwalks and cables that make The Trop an adventure, especially for visiting teams. The ball was just inside the first-base foul line, about three quarters of the way down the line. First baseman Mike Napoli was the player in best position to make the catch, but second baseman Dustin Pedroia contended later that the play should have been made by him.

“It was up there for awhile," Pedroia said. “I’ve played a lot of games at this field. I ran to it, took my eye off it, tried to find it again. I couldn’t find it. It’s probably an easier play for me than Nap because a left-handed hitter hit it and I had a better angle. I just took my eye off it. I knew better than to do that. I lost it and it just drops.

“He hasn’t played that many games in the field here. I’ve played a lot. It’s my responsibility in those situations to help him out and catch the ball," he said.

Napoli refused to allow Pedroia to take him off the hook. He said he has played first base here before, so he wasn’t using that as an excuse. His excuse basket, in fact, was empty.

“I didn’t make the play," he said. “I saw it up. I saw it, and overran it. My first read was stay back, then I started running in and overran it.

“I played here before? [First base?] Yeah, yeah. It’s a white roof, I saw the ball and I overran it."

The onus was not on Pedroia, Napoli insisted.

“That’s a long way for him to run," Napoli said. “The play should have been made and I didn’t. I kind of feel bad. John is out there, makes a pitch, gets the guy to pop up. He probably would have pitched a little longer."

Even after the ball fell, Pedroia surrounded it rather than pick it up, in hopes that it would roll foul. That never occurred to Joyce, he said. “That was really smart," he said. “I didn’t really think of that. I was just excited that I got a couple of ribbies and we took the lead."

The ball died on the dirt, a half-foot or so from going foul.

“We needed the wind to blow or something," Pedroia said, knowing that breezes are in short supply in a dome.

“It is tough," Napoli said. “We’re trying to turn things around. A big play, I didn’t make it."

NEW YORK -- It was late one night last week when Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who hasn’t exactly rushed to embrace social media, took to Twitter. He’d forgotten about the 140-character limit, he said, but his message showed up anyway, on something called tmi.me.

“Only thing I ask is u believe now! Don’t jump on later. Boston doesn’t have bandwagon fans! It’s going to be special and we want the city to make a huge advantage all year for us. Get loud! Thx everyone let’s go.’’ -- A tweet by @15Lasershow

So what prompted that appeal?

“I was just fired up, man,’’ he said. “They were making fun of Will.’’

He gestured to third baseman Will Middlebrooks, sitting at the locker beside him. “People were harassing, just the [typical] ‘You guys stink,’’’ Pedroia said. “One guy was getting all over me. ‘You stink.’ That was it.

“I try to motivate,’’ he said to his inquisitor. “My job is to motivate. How did I do? Did I motivate you?’’

Well, yes, if a retweet during a middle-of-the-night bathroom run constitutes the desired response.

“I did my job,’’ Pedroia proclaimed.

Well, then, perhaps he could take it one step further, and make his case for why Red Sox fans should believe in this team after the double-barreled disappointment of a late-season collapse in 2011, followed by a wire-to-wire fiasco in 2012.

“We’ve got to go play,’’ he shot back. “I don’t have to make any cases. I’m not running for mayor. We’ve got to go play good, man. Play good. That’s it, man. Win games.’’

And what makes you think this team will win?

“Belief in your teammates and the guys,’’ he said. “That’s it, you know. It’s a long season. A lot of ups and downs, that’s all.’’

So what did you see this spring that makes you believe in your mates?

“Everything,’’ he said. “The way we went about our drills, the attention to detail on little things. That part gets you excited. Guys care.

“We’re excited to get started. We know it’s going to be a long year. Ups and downs. How are we going to hit that losing streak and get out of it? How are you going to respond? We feel like we’re going to respond real well to tough times. That’s what allows teams to take it to another level.’’

OK, but how do you feel about seemingly the entire world being dismissive of the team's chances this season? Of the 43 purported experts making predictions on ESPN.com, for example, only four picked the Sox to play in October, all as a wild-card entrant.

“You can’t read too much into that stuff,’’ he said. “The game’s played on the field, man. It’s not played on what insiders think or all that stuff. It doesn’t work that way. You’ve got to play, perform well and execute, and teams that do that the most are the teams that win.’’

(Note to self: Remember that Red Sox will play the “No one respected us” card this October if they do qualify for the tournament.)

Pause while Pedroia takes a call from his wife, Kelly. (“I've got to make sure Dylan didn’t jump off someplace,’’ Pedroia said, referring to his rambunctious son. “Dylan’s nuts.’’)

During this interlude, a little input from Jonny Gomes, one of eight major acquisitions (seven free agents, closer Joel Hanrahan by trade) the Sox made to recast this team. How is it going so far?

“I think we’re right where we need to be,’’ Gomes said. “I really do. I think we’ve got a little health [issue], you know, bang-ups with two guys, with Papi [David Ortiz] and [Stephen] Drew, but with that being said, it just shows how deep this organization is. It’s kind of rare. You’ve got big free-agent and big-trade organizations whose farm systems aren’t where they need it. They’re staring at the waiver wire, looking for last-minute help. We’ve got people from within. We’re right where we need to be.’’

You don’t suppose Gomes was thinking of the Yankees, who just picked up Lyle Overbay after he was cut by the Sox, do you?

Pedroia is wrapping things up with Kelly. Dad can relax. Dylan is being an angel. Enough time for a comment from the manager, John Farrell, when he is asked about diminished expectations.

"I don't know that guys pay too much attention to what's talked about on the outside,’’ the manager said. “We've got our own standard of expectations of play and what we hope to achieve and what we set out to achieve.

"We've got to concentrate on things we can control. How we play will hopefully change the outward expectation, but that's only a by-product. That's certainly not the driving force by any means."

Looking for a driving force, look no further than No. 15. “Littlest guy in baseball, and he’s the cockiest guy in the game,’’ marvelled Hanrahan, who could tuck Pedroia into the waistband of his XXL baseball pants.

Pedroia played much of last summer with a torn adductor muscle in his thumb before finally being forced to the disabled list in July. From July 19 on, Pedroia went .318/.372/.508/.880. While the team disintegrated, Pedroia may never have stood taller than the last two games of the season, when he played against the Yankees with a fractured finger.

What was the point? The Yanks were battling the Orioles for playoff position; Pedroia felt he owed it to the game to play. Orioles manager Buck Showalter texted him a message. J.J. Hardy, among other Orioles, expressed their gratitude and admiration.

“Pretty cool,’’ Pedroia said of hearing from Showalter. “Obviously I respect those guys so much. Just the way they play the game, do everything. You see the way they played all year. Jim Johnson had 50-something saves, he took the ball all the time. The year before, they were out of it. They still played baseball.

“You owe it to the game to go out and play. Whatever happens, happens.’’

In the past week, two face-of-the-franchise players, Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander and Giants catcher Buster Posey, both signed historic contract extensions. The Sox have already broached the topic of an extension with Pedroia, who turns 30 in August and is signed through 2014 (club option for 2015). The question is not whether they will give Pedroia that extension, but when. Expect it sooner than later.

“If that team had 25 Pedroias,’’ one scout said this spring, “they would win every year.’’

Pedroia wants you to believe the Red Sox will win this year. He will not beg you to do so.

“I think fans in the city want to be proud of the team,’’ he said. “We didn’t play well the last few years. It didn’t go the way we wanted it to go, and obviously not for them, either.

“Hopefully we come out of the gate strong and get everybody behind us because this is the greatest place in the world to play, when you win baseball games in Boston. So we want to make sure they’re proud of this team.’’

It starts Monday afternoon in the Bronx. Pedroia will be the one whose uniform is dirty, by about the time they finish singing the anthem. Jump now ... don’t tweet later.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Takeaways from the Jet, where it was a good night to be Daniel Nava, even if his line in the box score (0-for-1, 1 run, 1 RBI) might not have led you to believe as much.

First, there was what happened before the game, when GM Ben Cherington dropped a pretty big clue that there will be a big league job awaiting the 30-year-old with the independent-league pedigree.

"He's done a good job," Cherington said. "He's had good at-bats, he's done well defensively. He seems more and more comfortable at first base, not that that would be a primary part of his role, but he has the ability to go there if needed."

Then there was the game itself, in which Nava started at DH against Phillies ace left-hander Cole Hamels -- on the face of it, a curious choice, given that Nava's splits were heavily tilted toward success against right-handers (.797 OPS), failure against lefties (.613 OPS, .185 BA).

But it was by design, John Farrell saying he wanted to see Nava have more at-bats against lefties this spring, and Daniel delivered in the second inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Will Middlebrooks, who had doubled and advanced to third on a single by Jonny Gomes.

"I thought it was outstanding," Farrell said of Nava's plate appearance. "He gets down in the count, works back deep into the count, then finally puts up a sac fly, particularly on his right side, when he's been a better performer from the left side of the plate.

"But we've seen him a number of good at-bats from the right side of the plate."

Nava grounded out in his only other at-bat against Hamels, but with two out in the seventh, he received the second of consecutive two-out walks issued by right-handed reliever Michael Stutes. Jose Iglesias then hit what appeared to be an inning-ending grounder to shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, but Nava beat the flip to second on the attempted force, while another independent-league refugee, pinch runner Matty Johnson, scored the tiebreaking run from second.

Shane Victorino followed with a triple over the head of the right fielder (No. 4, Orr, Pete) and the Sox scored five times in the inning en route to a 6-1 win over the Phillies.

Victorino is still batting just .160, but he has now drilled an extra-base hit in three consecutive games.

* Other good nights? How about the Sox infield. The middle guys, Jose Iglesias and Dustin Pedroia, handled 10 ground balls between them, six for the Cuban shortstop, four for the California second baseman. Iglesias also laid down a beautiful bunt single, while Pedroia was on base four times with a double, single and two walks. The corner guys had their moments, too. Converted catcher Mike Napoli made a diving snag of Jimmy Rollins' hot smash in the second, while third baseman Middlebrooks made a nice barehanded pickup of Orr's bunt and threw him out in the third.

* And finally, there was the pitcher, John Lackey, who gave up a run in the first on a ground-ball single, popup double and infield out, then put up four zeroes in his five-inning, 73-pitch stint. Lackey's fastball was sitting at 92 mph in the first inning, but he wasn't impressed.

"There'll be more," Lackey promised. "You put a third deck on a stadium, and things happen."

Lackey did not walk a batter, and his good control this spring, despite a yearlong layoff, Farrell attributed to Lackey's new body beautiful.

"I think a lot of that stems from the reshaping of his body," Farrell said. "It's freed his body up. He's got better body control, more consistent in the outings he's pitched, and he repeats his delivery very well, when you consider that he's thrown pitches to both sides of the plate further emphasizes his body control and delivery being repeated."