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BALTIMORE -- Takeaways on a night when the Red Sox could safely turn their attention to the postseason after Oakland's loss late Saturday afternoon assured them of the league's best record and home-field advantage throughout the postseason:

* John Farrell, on finishing ahead of the Athletics, and the Fenway Factor in October:

"It's a tribute to the guys in uniform, the way they've come in and competed every day to put ourselves in position to secure home-field advantage. We'd have liked this game to finish up differently, but to know going into the postseason that every series we go into we'll have home-field advantage and playing in front of Fenway fans and how comfortable and successful we've been at home, this is a good thing."

* Jon Lester stiffs media after final regular-season start:

Not what you think. The Sox left-hander had the best of reasons, flying back home to Boston after coming out of the game to be with his wife, Farrah, who's about to give birth to the couple's second child. Who says life can't take a turn for the better after what was easily the worst season of Lester's career in 2012, when he went 9-14 with a 4.82 ERA. The final line on his 2013 regular season: 33 starts, a career-high 213 1/3 innings, 15-8 record, 3.75 ERA, 177 strikeouts and 67 walks. Every significant statistical category was better than the year before: K's per 9 (7.47), walks per 9 (2.8), hits per nine (8.8), home runs per nine (0.8).

Saturday, he was not at his best -- nine hits, including a home run by Brian Roberts, and four runs in five innings -- but he threw 97 pitches and will be well-rested when he goes into next weekend.

"Not as sharp," Farrell said. "Given the way he's righted the ship from a year ago to this year, a very strong season overall."

Farrell continues to hold off on naming his rotation for the postseason. When Alex Speier of WEEI.com asked whether the Lesters planned to name their baby, "Game One Starter," Farrell cracked: "If they do, someone needs to be slapped."

* You can't be a Sox fan without something to worry about:

And the bridge between the starters and closer Koji Uehara remains the obvious choice. Lefty Matt Thornton, on the bubble for an October roster spot, went three up and three down in the sixth, striking out one. Junichi Tazawa then needed just eight pitches to breeze through the heart of the Orioles' order, retiring J.J. Hardy on a fly ball, slugger Chris Davis on a ground ball, and striking out cleanup man Adam Jones.

But then Tazawa came out for the eighth and yielded back-to-back singles to Matt Wieters and Danny Valencia. Maybe, Farrell said afterward, Tazawa is better in one-inning stints at this stage, but because he'd made such fast work of the Orioles in the seventh, the Sox sent him back out to start the eighth.

Franklin Morales came in and overpowered left-handed hitting Nick Markakis, just as he had Colorado's Todd Helton on Wednesday night, with the same result each time: The hitter went down swinging. But then the right-handed hitting DH, Steve Pearce, hit a ball into the corner, where Gomes had a little trouble picking it up, and the Orioles had the lead.

This was only the fifth time in 83 games that the Sox lost after leading through seven innings. That's not a habit you want to develop headed into October.

In the season's second half, setup man Craig Breslow has made 29 appearances, allowing just two earned runs in 26 2/3 innings for an 0.68 ERA.

The rest of the relievers expected to be in the mix for the playoff roster -- Tazawa, Morales, Thornton, Ryan Dempster, Brandon Workman, and Drake Britton -- have a 3.84 ERA in the second half. That's pretty good, but leaves some room to fret.

* Compared to what he did for Chico, he's in a slump:

Daniel Nava went 4-for-4 Saturday night, his sixth career four-hit game and fourth this season, to raise his average to .303 with a game to play, assuring himself of his first .300 season in the big leagues. Nava could go 0-for-5 Sunday and still finish at .300.

The safety zone to finish above .300 is almost as big for Dustin Pedroia, who went 3-for-5 Saturday, his second straight three-hit game, to raise his average to .301. He'd have to go 0-for-4 to drop below .300, to .299. It would be his third season of hitting .300 or better.

Nava, signed out of the independent Golden Baseball League, batted .371 in his last season (2007) for the Chico Outlaws, before his rights were sold for a buck.

What made Saturday's performance stand out was that all four hits came against lefties. Nava is hitting .322 versus right-handers, and his four hits Saturday raised his average against lefties 26 percentage points, from .226 to .252.

"I'm sure he's going to take from this some increased confidence when he faces left-handers," Farrell said. "He's done an outstanding job for us all year, and he's finishing on a high note."

* Overlook Stephen Drew at your own peril:

He doubled and singled and scored two runs Saturday. He tripled and singled and drove in three runs Friday. He is hitting .333 over his past 13 games with eight extra-base hits. He is batting .276 in the season's second half, after batting .233 in the first half, when he was coming back from a concussion and a hamstring issue. He's made eight errors at shortstop all season. He's been underappreciated.

BOSTON -- Six things to like about the 13-2 thrashing the Red Sox gave to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night:

* Of all of Ben Cherington’s signings in the offseason, the one that drew the most industry snickers was the three-year, $39 million deal he gave to Shane Victorino, who last summer had been cast off by the Phillies and then rendered irrelevant by the Dodgers, the team that had traded for him, when they acquired Carl Crawford from the Red Sox.

Well, lookee here. After his two-homer, seven-RBI performance Tuesday night, Victorino has a WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 4.8, which is the second best of his career and ranks him third on the Red Sox this season, behind Dustin Pedroia (5.1) and Jacoby Ellsbury (5.0).

Here is the list of major-league outfielders with a higher WAR than Ellsbury and Victorino:

1. Mike Trout, 7.6.

End of list

Carl Crawford? He’s at 1.3. At $21 million per season.

* The Sox's blowout win came on a night when the Tampa Bay Rays coughed up a 5-1 lead to the Los Angeles Angels, closer Fernando Rodney blowing the save in the ninth inning of a 6-5 Rays defeat. Tampa Bay has fallen 2 1/2 games behind the Sox, who now have one fewer loss than the Rays, with Tampa Bay having three games in hand.

It was Rodney’s eighth blown save of the season. Sox closer Koji Uehara has not allowed
a run in 20 2/3 innings over 18 outings since July 9. Who would you trust?

* For all the drumbeats for Clay Buchholz, Sox left-hander Felix Doubront keeps rolling along. He did a great job keeping his composure in the third inning, when a ground-ball base hit, a broken-bat single, a hit batsman and an invisible strike zone created a heck of a mess: bases loaded, one run in, no outs, and an Orioles team sending its best three hitters to the plate: Manny Machado, Chris Davis and Adam Jones. Doubront went sac fly, popout and whiff, limiting the damage to two runs, and allowing nothing thereafter. Since May 16, he has given up three earned runs or fewer in 18 of 19 starts.

* Have the Sox figured out how to pitch to Chris Davis? Need to be careful here, the man leads the majors with 46 home runs. But after hitting four home runs in Balimore’s first seven games against the Sox, the Orioles slugger has gone 2-for-14, with two singles, striking out eight times.

* Pedroia alert: In his first at-bat since a certain ESPN Boston scribbler noted that he has yet to homer this month, the Sox second baseman scorched a ball off the Monster that would have been a home run anywhere else, including Yellowstone. He had three hits and is on a 14-for-33 (.424) tear with six doubles and a triple in that span.

* Lefties, anyone? He threw only three pitches Tuesday night, but Matt Thornton hit 95 on the radar gun in his first appearance since coming off the disabled list. A healthy Thornton gives John Farrell the choice of four lefties out of the pen, the others being Craig Breslow, Drake Britton and Franklin Morales. The mix-and-match possibilities are endless, especially in an AL East loaded with lefty hitters.

The Red Sox activated left-handed pitcher Matt Thornton from the 15-day disabled list for Sunday night's game against the Dodgers, optioning right-handed reliever Brayan Villarreal to open a roster spot.

Thornton, acquired by the Red Sox from the White Sox on July 12, has been on the disabled list since Aug. 7 with a right oblique strain.

Villarreal made only one appearance for the Red Sox after being recalled on Monday, walking the only batter he faced, Marco Scutaro, to force in the winning run of a 3-2 loss to the Giants.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Clay Buchholz threw three innings in a simulated game on Tuesday. He used all of his pitches and said his recovering shoulder felt very good.

Buchholz is set to throw off the mound again on Friday, and Farrell said Buchholz could pitch in a minor league rehab game Sunday if he continues to feel good.

Right now, Farrell figures Buchholz will need three rehab starts before returning to the major league rotation.

Buchholz has not pitched since June 8 because of shoulder soreness.

* First baseman Mike Napoli’s injured left foot is doing better. Farrell considered him available for defensive or pinch-hitting purposes Tuesday night.

Napoli hasn’t played since Friday.

* Reliever Matt Thornton (oblique) will throw a simulated game Friday, and Farrell said it’s possible he gets activated from the disabled list without going on a rehab assignment.

BOSTON -- Some quick hits before the series finale between the Red Sox and Yankees at Fenway Park:

* Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli remains day-to-day with a left foot injury.

“He needs today, obviously,” Farrell said. “We’ll reassess things when we begin the next series.”

Napoli was a last-minute scratch from the lineup Friday night against the Yankees due to his foot, which Farrell described as a lingering injury for the veteran first baseman.

* Red Sox DH David Ortiz will play two games at first base during the upcoming interleague series with the San Francisco Giants. How much he’ll play the field the following series against the Los Angeles Dodgers will depend on matchups. A lot also depends on Napoli’s availability moving forward.

* While the Red Sox will remain in Boston after tonight’s game in order to get a decent night's sleep before traveling to the West Coast at 10 a.m. Monday, pitchers Jon Lester, Jake Peavy and catcher David Ross are already en route to San Francisco.

* Red Sox left-hander Matt Thornton (right oblique strain) tossed a bullpen session Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park. Afterward, he said he felt good and he’s scheduled for another session on Tuesday.

“It put me in a good mood for the first time in about 10 days,” Thornton said.

If he continues to progress, he’ll likely throw a simulated game next Saturday while the team is in Los Angeles.

Farrell called Thornton’s Sunday session “a strong bullpen.”

* Even though MLB rosters expand on Sept. 1, Farrell said he’s only had preliminary discussions with GM Ben Cherington about possible call-ups. The organization has not decided on the number of promotions or the direction it will go, according to Farrell.

“We’re still a ways away from that,” Farrell said.

HOUSTON -- Red Sox manager John Farrell continued to juggle his bullpen on Wednesday to counter the piling injuries and fatigue.

Farrell said placing left-handed reliever Matt Thornton on the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique strain was not something the team wanted to do, but had to out of necessity.

“When you get into the oblique injury, even though he feels improved from the time on Sunday when he first suffered the injury, this is something that we don’t feel like we want to rush with the potential of any kind of setback,” Farrell said. “The fact is, we also needed another arm in here after last night’s bullpen use.”

Steven Wright, who struggled to control his knuckleball in the indoor Minute Maid Park and lasted only one inning on Tuesday in his first career start, will move back to the bullpen, primarily as a long reliever, Farrell said.

The Sox also recalled right-hander Pedro Beato to replace Thornton on the roster.

Farrell was optimistic about what he saw from reliever Rubby De La Rosa in his Red Sox debut on Tuesday night. De La Rosa retired the side in the ninth inning, striking out two, in the 15-10 victory.

“In shorter stints, he does a great job of channeling the adrenaline,” Farrell said. “With that kind of power, it was very encouraging.”

Farrell didn’t rule out De La Rosa’s availability for Wednesday night’s game. He also mentioned the possibility of De La Rosa’s role expanding in the near future.

“Staying consistent with what we’ve done with other guys, as they pitch and gain confidence, their responsibility will grow,” Farrell said.

The Red Sox placed left-hander Matt Thornton on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 5) with a right oblique strain.

To fill Thornton's roster spot, right-hander Pedro Beato was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket and will be active for tonight’s game in Houston.

Thornton suffered the injury Aug. 4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, when he threw just six pitches before being taken out. Since joining Boston on July 13, he has gone 0-1 with a 2.16 ERA in 8 1/3 innings over 10 appearances.

“I don’t want to go to the disabled list -- it’s something I despise,” Thornton said on Tuesday. “But at the same time, the team comes first, and they have to make a decision.”

Beato will rejoin the Red Sox for his fourth major league stint of the year. In his nine games for Boston in 2013, he has gone 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA and four strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings.

HOUSTON -- Manager John Farrell said on Monday the team is hopeful that Clay Buchholz will incorporate mound work into a workout on Tuesday, which would be a significant step in his rehab from a right shoulder injury.

Buchholz has not thrown from a mound since prior to the All-Star break. Buchholz has not made a start since June 8.

“The fact is that he’s entering the next phase, which is a positive,” Farrell said.

In other pregame news, Farrell said reliever Matt Thornton is day-to-day with a “right oblique issue,” which is the same term he used to describe the injury on Sunday.

Farrell said that tests from the training staff were positive, but that there is still soreness in his right side. Thornton left Sunday’s game after throwing just six pitches in the eighth inning.

“He’s still sore,” Farrell said. “If there’s any potential roster movement, that’s going to come to a head here in the next couple of days.”

Reliever Franklin Morales is scheduled for a two-inning outing on Tuesday as he continues his rehab assignment in Pawtucket. Morales hasn’t allowed a hit and has struck out six in three rehab appearances, and Farrell hinted that his return might be imminent.

“What we find out about Matt on his exam tomorrow will have a direct impact on [Morales'] next outing, as far as how long it is and where it will be,” Farrell said.

Catcher David Ross, who accompanied the team to Houston to serve as a bullpen catcher, will see MLB concussion specialist Dr. Micky Collins on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

Ross has missed 52 games after sustaining two concussions. If cleared by Dr. Collins, the veteran catcher, 36, will begin his rehab assignment immediately.

BOSTON -- In 2012, August was the month when the Red Sox's season went into the toilet. In a hurry.

Few will remember that Bobby's Bashers won the final four games of July to get above .500 and were just a few games out of a wild-card spot when the calendar turned. Sure, the team was springing leaks and at each other's throats, but on the surface it looked like a unit with a pulse.

Then came a 9-20 August, which was followed up by a 7-19 September that was about as painful, for very different reasons, as the previous September.

There is absolutely nothing to indicate this current version is headed toward any kind of late-season swoon. The character the 2013 Red Sox have shown, as in Wednesday's 15-inning victory over the Seattle Mariners, simply won't allow for it.

"I've played on teams when [the other team] ties it up late and it's just like the air [goes] out of your sails right away," said left fielder Jonny Gomes, who factored heavily in the 5-4 outcome. "Not on this team."

Here are 10 takeaways from the game that put Boston in first place on Aug. 1:

* Gomes did not enter the game until he pinch hit for Daniel Nava in the 13th. Gomes was the third left fielder of the game for the Sox, and he made the defensive play of the contest in the 15th to stifle a Mariners' scoring chance, nabbing a sinking liner to left with two runners on and then carrying the ball all the way in to second base to double off Raul Ibanez, who had already rounded third and never even tried to retreat.

It was the old 7-unassisted double play, and Gomes was pretty proud of himself for accomplishing a first.

"With [Michael] Saunders up and [Drake] Britton [pitching], he has some velocity and that good slider. ... I was pretty sure a ball would come my way," Gomes said of his mindset after Seattle got runners to first and second with one out. "When he got to two strikes, thought he was kind of, just try to bloop one in. He got a fastball and it stayed up long enough and like I said, do or die."

Gomes could have thrown the ball in to double off Ibanez immediately. Instead, he glanced at the Mariners' runner, tucked the ball away and jogged to second base to end the inning.

"As a fan of the game, history of the game, a numbers guy, it definitely was on purpose," he joked about recording the play unassisted. "I've been waiting years to do that.

"Never had one, never seen one, that's why I was happy to get one on my resume."

* Without Gomes' play, Stephen Drew's heroics might not have come to fruition. Drew stepped up with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 15th and worked the count to 2-1 before lining a shot that found dirt just inside the right-field foul line to win the game.

Within seconds, teammates had ripped the jersey off Drew's back in a scene that has become all-too-familiar at Fenway Park this year.

"It's huge. It's just huge to get a win out of this type of a game," said Drew, who added that he knew the ball was going to land fair the moment he hit it.

* Boston leads the majors in walk-off wins with 10, which is the club's most in a season since 1996 (also 10) and is tied for the organization's most before August, matching the 1918 and 1930 clubs. It was the team's longest game since a 17-inning contest against Baltimore on May 6, 2012.

* In a game that featured 89 outs, 28 hits, 10 walks, 26 strikeouts and 448 pitches thrown by 12 pitchers, many plays can be forgotten. It's important to remember one from the top of the 11th, also executed by Drew.

With a man on first and one out, Michael Morse hit a chopper behind the mound. Drew charged and fielded and had momentum and loads of opportunity to get the second out at first base. To the surprise of many on hand, he flipped the ball almost behind him to Dustin Pedroia at second base to get a close out there. Jerry Meals, the umpire at the center of Monday night's controversy, made the call, much to the chagrin of Seattle's bench.

It was a calculated risk that Drew was willing to take.

"Right when I grabbed it, my thought is, 'go ahead and get him out [because] even with two outs a single scores him,'" Drew said. "I think Saunders was coming up and believe it or not, he got a hit after that, so it worked out. Close play but he was still out."

* Prior to Drew's walk-off hit, Boston's best chance to score the game-winner came in the 14th, when Brandon Snyder snapped seven innings of hitless ball for the Sox with a leadoff double. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and tried to dash home on Shane Victorino's fly to center, but was cut down easily at the plate on a great throw by Saunders.

Unlike the controversial play at the plate involving Nava on Monday, this one was cut-and-dry.

"In that situation he didn't give me a choice," Snyder said, referencing whether he should have slid or tried to run over catcher Humberto Quintero. "The ball beat me."

By a lot.

* Somewhat forgotten was another solid outing by John Lackey, who allowed three runs in seven innings. It was Lackey's team-leading 13th quality start and the 15th time in 19 starts that he has surrendered three earned runs or less.

Lackey got his fair share of boos in 2011 as he contributed to the team-wide collapse, but he has turned Fenway Park into a comfort zone, posting a 2.15 ERA in eight home starts in 2013.

* Junichi Tazawa's recent struggles continued when he served up a game-tying solo homer to Kyle Seager in the eighth, but the bullpen was marvelous from that point on. Koji Uehara threw 17 of his 19 pitches for strikes in two perfect innings, and both Matt Thornton and Craig Breslow wiggled out of some jams before Drake Britton threw two scoreless frames to pick up his first career win.

Britton has thrown eight scoreless innings since joining the Red Sox.

"What Koji, Bres, Drake Britton and certainly Matt Thornton did, just an outstanding job on their part," manager John Farrell said.

* On the heels of a slump that qualified as a pretty severe one by his standards, Pedroia has now recorded three RBIs in consecutive games for the first time in his career. His leadoff walk in the 15th ignited the game-winning rally, and the moment he took ball four the energy level in Fenway increased greatly.

"We somehow find some energy late in the game," Farrell said. "It's been many different guys that have been the reason for the walk-off. I can tell you, the conversation each time we're at the plate in extra innings, we're looking for something to draw energy from to make one last push and we were able to do that here again tonight."

Pedroia was eventually able to stroll home with the winning run.

* With Jake Peavy arriving Thursday and the bullpen pretty worn out, moves are forthcoming. Brandon Workman is in the bullpen now but not available until Saturday. Britton threw 35 pitches, Breslow 30 and Uehara two innings.

"We've got some moves to make," Farrell said. "The need for multi-innings [in the bullpen]. Peavy's arrival. We've got a couple of decisions we've got to make here tonight."

Those will all be announced Thursday afternoon when the Sox and Mariners prepare for their season and series finale. It'll be the first game in August, which has the look of a much more pleasant one for the Red Sox than 2012.

OAKLAND -- Among the other clubs interested in reliever Matt Thornton, who joined the Red Sox here Saturday night, were the Oakland Athletics, who had good reports on the veteran left-handed setup man but could not come to agreement on the financial terms necessary to get a deal done, according to a major-league source.

Interestingly, the player the Sox gave up for Thornton, outfielder Brandon Jacobs, also showed up on Oakland’s radar a couple of years ago when they were negotiating the trade that sent Andrew Bailey to Boston. At the time, Jacobs was coming off a terrific season in Class A Greenville (.303, 17 HRs, 30 stolen bases) and the former football player (Auburn commitment) was viewed as a toolsy prospect with a high ceiling.

Jacobs did not fare as well last season in Class A Salem (.252, 13 HRs, 17 steals) and began this season repeating in Salem before being promoted to Portland on Thursday. And while the White Sox still were drawn by the tools, they see Jacobs less as a sure thing than as worth taking a flier on.

From Boston’s standpoint, the Sox succeeded in not surrendering any of their core of top prospects for the 36-year-old Thornton, who among other things upon his arrival here showed off an uncanny recall.

When someone mentioned to Thornton that he had allowed just one home run to a left-handed hitter in the AL East since 2010, he quickly said: “Hafner, hanging slider."

That would be Travis Hafner of the Yankees, who on May 2, 2012, while playing for Cleveland, hit a two-run home run off Thornton in the ninth inning of a game the White Sox were leading, 4-3.

If Thornton had given his answer in the form of a question, Alex Trebek would have given him the money.

He doesn’t watch much video, he said, but he has a great memory, an asset he puts to use when facing hitters. Thornton performed similar mental gymnastics when asked what he remembered about pitching in Boston.

“Let’s see, single to Crawford, ground ball to Pedroia, single to Gonzalez," he said. “That was last year. A save in 2010, coming right off the DL."

Aside from that impressive performance, Thornton expressed delight at joining a first-place team that is looking to him to fill some of the void left by Andrew Miller, who is out for the season with a torn ligament in his foot, abruptly ending what had been a career year. Manager John Farrell said he plans to use Thornton primarily in matchup situations.

“They’re a first-place team," Thornton said. “It’s all about winning. Unfortunately in Chicago, we weren’t playing real well all year long, so I’m really excited to come over here and help out."

Miller had tremendous success against right-handed hitters this season, holding them to a .155 (9 for 58) average. Thornton has not fared well against righties this season; they’re hitting .320 against him, though he has shown the traditional advantage lefties have against lefties (.173), while lefties were hitting Miller at a .281 clip.

Thornton’s career numbers are almost as good against righties (.238) as against lefties (.229).

“I’m just going to be myself," he said. “Sixth-, seventh-, eighth-inning guy, whatever they want from me."

Thornton has been reunited with Sox pitching coach Juan Nieves, his bullpen coach for five seasons in Chicago.

“Juan and I have known each other for a long time," he said. “He’s a good friend of mine. I love the guy to death. He’s going to see things immediately. Little things, he’ll nip in the bud."

Thornton said he got off to a slow start this season, and has pitched better in the last six weeks, though the overall numbers aren’t measurably better. Red Sox GM Ben Cherington, however, said the Sox clocked Thornton at 97 miles an hour on the radar gun Thursday in Detroit.

“I am 36 going on 37," he said. “It’s about adjustments. That’s what this game is all about. I take care of myself in different ways, have made adjustments to my throwing program, and my velocity has jumped up."

OAKLAND -- A few notes from the O.co Coliseum (just can’t write that enough) where several thousand fans were lined up outside the ballpark hours before game time in order to be among the first 10,000 to receive a free replica Josh Reddick jersey. Love them some Reddick.

* Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew is eligible to come off the disabled list Sunday, but will not be activated. Manager John Farrell said the club intends to send Drew out on a “very, very brief rehab” assignment during the All-Star break, with plans to activate him next weekend against the Yankees. Pawtucket will be off until next Thursday, then resume on the road after the break, so it appears likely Drew will play in Portland, which will be home Thursday. Farrell said that decision is pending.

* Newly acquired Matt Thornton arrived here a couple of hours before game time after flying from Philadelphia (via Minneapolis). Farrell said he hoped the left-handed reliever would be available to pitch; with lefty Jon Lester starting for the Sox on Saturday night, the Athletics have four left-handed pinch hitters on the bench. They have two switch-hitters, Coco Crisp and Jed Lowrie, at the top of the lineup and the left-handed hitting Reddick batting seventh.

* Farrell said he expects to announce his rotation for next weekend’s series against the Yankees on Sunday, but revealed that both left-handers, Lester and Felix Doubront, will pitch in the series. Common sense suggests that Doubront will pitch Friday’s opener, followed by John Lackey on Saturday and Lester on Sunday.

Doubront's last start came last Wednesday in Seattle. He has a 2-0 record and 1.91 ERA over his last five starts, and is 2-1 with a 2.52 ERA in nine career starts against the Yankees. Lackey has been the team’s most consistent pitcher this season, while Lester would benefit from a couple of extra days’ rest by starting Sunday.

* To make room for Thornton on the 25-man roster, the Sox optioned knuckleballer Steven Wright to Pawtucket. By doing so now, Farrell said, it allows Wright to remain a candidate to pitch the second game of the Tampa Bay series, when the Sox will need a fifth starter. Ryan Dempster is slotted to open the Rays series.

* Left-hander Franklin Morales, whose second stint on the DL began June 25 (retroactive to June 23), still is limited to flat-ground throwing, as he continues to feel discomfort in his strained left pectoral muscle whenever he attempts to throw with more intensity. So the Sox can’t expect him to be of any help before August at the earliest, since he’ll likely need an extended rehab assignment.

* Jacoby Ellsbury’s 19-game hitting streak ended Friday night, one in which he batted .413 (33 for 80) with 7 doubles and 2 home runs, scoring 16 runs. It is the longest streak in the AL this season. Ellsbury struck out on three pitches to begin each of the first two games here. He has struck out on three pitches a dozen times this season.

“Hell of a leadoff hitter," Farrell said. “The last five, six weeks -- it goes back to the final two games in Chicago, when he got on base four times in the final two nights -- we’re seeing the dynamic player he is, getting on base. Extra-base hits aside, his stolen-base efficiency (36 of 39) is as good as we’ll probably ever see. He gives us a whole different look when he’s getting on base as much as he is.’’

* Right-fielder Shane Victorino was back in the starting lineup, a night after being hit by a pitch by Oakland left-hander Sean Doolittle in the eighth inning. It appeared on initial viewing that the ball had struck Victorino in the area of the right wrist, but Farrell said it missed bone.

“It got him in the muscle at the base of the thumb," Farrell said. “As we get through this first half, we’re getting to know more about our guys, and clearly his pain threshold is high. This guy is a little beat up physically, but this is a guy who wants to be on the field every single day."

OAKLAND -- The Red Sox, acting swiftly after losing Andrew Miller to a season-ending foot injury, announced in the second inning here Friday night that they had acquired left-handed reliever Matt Thornton and cash for minor-league outfielder Brandon Jacobs.

Thornton, 36, is a fastball-slider pitcher whose velocity still averages a tick over 94 miles an hour, though his strikeout ratio has dropped each year from 12.02 per 9 innings to 6.75 this season. He has made 40 appearances (28 innings) this season for the White Sox and has held left-handed hitters to a .173 average this season (9 for 52), though three of the four home runs he has given up this season have been to left-handed hitters.

Right-handed hitters have knocked him around, with a slash line of .320/.414/.420.

But the veteran Thornton, who has an 0-3 record and 3.86 ERA, his highest ERA since 2007, gives Boston a veteran arm to pair with Craig Breslow in the absence of Miller, who was enjoying the best season of his career until he tore a ligament in his left foot while backing up home plate last Saturday night in Anaheim.

Thornton is in the last year of a two-year, $12 million contract extension the White Sox gave him after the 2011 season. There is also a club option for 2014 for $6 million, with a $1 million buyout, and it is fair to speculate the cash coming Boston’s way would at least cover the the cost of the buyout.

The trade of Jacobs comes one day after the 22-year-old outfielder was promoted from Class A Salem, where he was in his second season, to Double-A Portland. Jacobs, a 10th-round draft pick in 2009 who was given a big bonus ($750,000) to induce him to break a football commitment to Auburn, was hitting a modest .244/.334/.440 overall at Salem, but had turned it on in the 11 games before his promotion, batting .410/.510/.718 with 2 home runs and 6 doubles.

Jacobs had two hits, including a triple, in his Double-A debut on Thursday, and had a hit in two trips before being pulled in mid-game Friday.