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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.

BALTIMORE -- Beyond determining if the Red Sox will hold on to claim the league's best record and home-field advantage, here are a few things to watch for in Boston's final series of the regular season, a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles:

* Koji Uehara needs one strikeout to reach 100 for the season and become the eighth reliever in Sox history to strike out 100 or more.

Greg Harris is the last Sox reliever to record 100 strikeouts in a season, in 1993, and Dick Radatz did it four times, including a club record for relievers of 181 in 1964. But in all seven previous instances, the relievers with 100-plus K's threw more than 100 innings; Uehara has pitched 72 1/3 innings.

* More Koji: Uehara is averaging 12.32 strikeouts per nine innings, second in club history among Sox relievers to Jonathan Papelbon's 12.96 K's per 9 in 2007. Only three Sox relievers ever have averaged better than 12 K's per 9. Lee Smith was at 12.23 in 1989 and Papelbon was at 12.17 in 2011.

* David Ortiz, who drove in two runs Wednesday for his seventh 100-RBI season, needs one more home run to finish with his seventh 30-homer season. Mike Napoli, who hasn't played since last Friday, needs one more home run to match his season total of 24 last season.

Ortiz and Napoli are the only Sox players with 20 or more home runs this season, the fewest since 1997, when Mo Vaughn hit 35 and Nomar Garciaparra hit 30. In 2003, the Sox had six players who hit 20 or more.

* With a .307 batting average, Ortiz is the only .300 hitter in the Sox lineup at the moment. But there are five other Sox players within five percentage points of hitting .300 entering the final weekend: Jacoby Ellsbury is at .299, Shane Victorino .297, Daniel Nava and Dustin Pedroia .296, and Mike Carp is at .295. Only Carp among that group does not have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title.

Ortiz would have to go hitless in his final 13 at-bats to fall below .300. Only three times since 2000 have the Sox had just one .300 hitter: Adrian Gonzalez (2012), Manny Ramirez (2006) and Ramirez (2001). Gonzalez, of course, was traded before the end of the season.

* With his next double, Jarrod Saltalamacchia will set a club record for catchers with 40. The Sox have five players with 30 or more doubles, and three players could join that number: Nava (29), Stephen Drew (28) and Victorino (26).

* Take a look at Saltalamacchia's slash line entering the weekend compared to 2012:

2012 -- .222/.288/.454/.742

2013 -- .272/.338/.465/.804

Saltalamacchia's batting average jump from .222 to .272 (50 percentage points) is the biggest improvement among catchers with at least 400 plate appearances over each of the past two seasons, and the sixth-biggest jump among any MLB players with the same qualifications. His OPS jump of .062 is the second-highest improvement among catchers with the same qualifiers from last season.

* Victorino, by the way, is the only player in Sox history with 15-plus home runs, 20-plus stolen bases and 10-plus sacrifice hits. It has been done 17 times by 15 different players since division play began in 1969, but Victorino had far fewer plate appearances (527) than most of the players on the list.

* And the Sox have been successful in their past 37 stolen base attempts, dating to Aug. 9. Orioles catcher Matt Wieters ranks fourth in the AL with a caught stealing percentage of 35.3 percent, throwing out 24 of 68 attempted base stealers.

BOSTON -- One day after clinching the American League East division title, Red Sox manager John Farrell's lineup for Saturday's game against Toronto featured several significant changes.

Most notable was usual third baseman Will Middlebrooks penciled in to play first base, his first professional game at the position.

"Will has worked out at first base in early work at periodic times during the year," Farrell said. "He's a good athlete and we feel like he shouldn't be a fish out of water in this."

Farrell alluded to several other factors going into the decision, including Middlebrooks' strong career numbers (6-for-13) against Mark Buehrle, Toronto's Saturday starter. The move also gives Farrell a chance to see how Middlebrooks handles the position, something that could give the manager another option if a pinch running situation arises for primary first baseman Mike Napoli in the postseason.

"Anytime you move to a different position, it's going to take some repetition. Still, you're on a corner so there's similar reaction time that's going to be required there," Farrell explained. "But again, he's an infielder. That's required to do some things reactionary and that's going to be the same at first base."

Before taking batting practice, Middlebrooks spoke excitedly about the opportunity.

"I'll have fun with it. It's the best way to learn," he said before being surprised by his parents, Tom and Julie Middlebrooks, on the field (mom sporting a new hair style that Middlebrooks said led him to not recognize her initially).

In addition to Middlebrooks at first, shortstop Stephen Drew will bat leadoff for the first time this season. Outfielder Shane Victorino returned to the starting lineup batting second after appearing in Friday's division-clinching win as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning. Victorino missed two starts after exiting Wednesday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles with a jammed right thumb.

Dustin Pedroia, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Napoli were given the day off, while infielder John McDonald will make his first start for the Red Sox.

Here's the complete lineup for Saturday night's contest:

1. Stephen Drew, SS
2. Shane Victorino, CF
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Jonny Gomes, LF
5. Daniel Nava, RF
6. Will Middlebrooks 1B
7. Xander Bogaerts, 3B
8. David Ross, C
9. John McDonald, 2B
RHP -- Clay Buchholz

* Farrell said that right-hander John Lackey is expected to pitch out of the bullpen for an inning in Tuesday's game against the Colorado Rockies in order to get some work in.

"He won't start a game until we get to Baltimore, so rather than going 10 days between starts he'll probably get an inning of work just to stay sharp."

* Farrell also offered an update on the status of outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who resumed baseball activities Friday.

"He ran today, he hit more off the tee, he threw. We're hopeful to get some BP in the cage tomorrow. He's making steady progress so we're hopeful that he'll be back in our lineup sometime this coming trip."

BOSTON -- Some teams have all the fun. Like the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won the National League West on Thursday afternoon in Arizona and celebrated by jumping into the Diamondbacks’ pool, which hardly endeared them to the locals.

“I could call it disrespectful and classless,” Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall, a former Dodgers employee, said via email, “but they don't have a beautiful pool at their old park and must have really wanted to see what one was like.”

On Thursday night, the Red Sox clinched a spot in the playoffs, too, beating the Baltimore Orioles 3-1, and did it at home, so they weren’t at risk of offending anyone had they also elected to make a splash. Remember the Sox running down to various local watering holes and commandeering the taps when they made the playoffs in 2003?

The challenge for the Sox, had they been interested in a communal dip after John Lackey’s complete-game two-hitter, would have been finding a suitable place for a dunking. The local Howard Johnson’s, behind the first-base grandstand, used to have a pool, but the clerk working the front desk said the chain got rid of it a couple of years ago. They could have had a private splash party -- there’s a lap pool in the exercise area above the clubhouse at Fenway -- but then no one would have been able to share in the hilarity, which is the point, isn’t it?

There are other ways to get soaked during a celebration -- champagne spraying comes to mind -- but these Sox remain intent on loftier goals than merely qualifying for the postseason tournament. There is still a division title to be won, and Thursday night's victory potentially put the Sox a night away from a bona fide, no-holds-barred, hide-the-women-and-children celebration Friday night.

“I mean, it’s not over," said Stephen Drew, the Sox shortstop who hit a two-run home run in the second, when the Sox scored all of their runs against Chris Tillman, a Boston nemesis. “We’ve still got games to play, and it’s huge to clinch a spot -- we’re not saying that [it isn’t]. It’s always huge to get in there, but hopefully in the next three days or so, whatever it takes to finally clinch the division, that’s what we want."

The Tampa Bay Rays lost at home 8-2 to the Texas Rangers on Thursday night, reducing the Sox's magic number to 1 to clinch their first AL East title since 2007. A Sox win or Rays loss settles the matter. The Sox's opponent Friday night? The Toronto Blue Jays, the team that employed John Farrell as manager the previous two years.

“We know where we’re at," Farrell said. “We know what was pending. We still feel like the next step is a more important one than this. We said a few times winning the East, that’s been a stated goal since spring training, that’s getting closer, and I think that will be a little more realization of where we’ve come from and where we are, at that moment."

But Farrell acknowledged there was some symmetry in Lackey, scorned from the outside as an overpaid acquisition through his first three years in Boston (which included the lost year of 2012 while he recovered from Tommy John surgery), being the one to send the Sox into the postseason.

“The remake of John Lackey, both physically and getting back on the mound and performing as he’s done all year, mirrors that of this team," Farrell said. “It’s been a remake, and it’s somewhat fitting that to clinch a spot to get into the playoffs with him on the mound, and to go nine innings the way he did -- like I said, was very fitting."

The Sox had lost the past two nights against the Orioles, who are fighting to stay alive in the wild-card race, but Lackey didn’t give them a chance Thursday. Pumping fastballs and sliders almost exclusively, Lackey took a no-hitter into the seventh, when Adam Jones crushed a hanging cutter onto Landsdowne Street for a home run with one out.

The Sox right-hander allowed just one more hit, a one-out single to right by J.J. Hardy in the eighth, and retired Jones on a fly ball to right for the game’s final out as a crowd of 36,436 chanted his name.

Lackey fell back on an old pitcher’s deceit, claiming the no-hitter occupied no place in the space beneath his cap. He’s never had one in the big leagues; he took one into the ninth inning against the Red Sox in Fenway Park on July 29, 2008, until Dustin Pedroia singled with one out and Kevin Youkilis followed with a home run.

“I just wanted to win the game," Lackey, then with the Angels, said that day. “The no-hitter would have been nice. Whatever. But we’re about winning games."

Fast-forward to Thursday night, and you heard an echo.

“Just trying to win a game," said Lackey, dismissing thoughts of a no-no while commending his catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia for calling “a great game, as usual."

“Can’t get too far ahead of yourself."

The Sox had only one hit -- Drew’s triple in the sixth -- over the final 5 1/3 innings, but Drew’s two-run homer, a double by rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. and an RBI single by Pedroia accounted for three runs in the Sox second.

“We were able to bunch some hits together," Farrell said in explaining the team’s relative success against Tillman, who still hasn’t allowed them more than three earned runs in a start since June 4, 2010, and lost for the first time in five starts at Fenway Park.

“He left his curveball up in the zone a couple of times. Bradley with the double the opposite way in the corner. Stephen, opposite-field home run. We didn’t miss pitches when they were up in the strike zone."

The Red Sox won 69 games and lost 93 last season. They hadn’t lost 90 or more games since 1966, which they followed a year later with “The Impossible Dream" pennant run.

Thursday night’s victory gave the Red Sox 93 wins, a one-year reversal that is the biggest since Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky and Bobby Doerr came back from war and the Sox won 104 games in 1946 after winning just 71 the year before.

Impossible? The season began as a white canvas. A blank page, full of possibilities, as a great composer once wrote. For these Red Sox, on the cusp of October, the possibilities are still without end.

Kyle Brasseur of ESPNBoston.com contributed to this report.

BOSTON -- The way Red Sox starter John Lackey pitched in Thursday night’s 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, there wasn’t much need for the run support that’s typically been absent for him all season long. In fact, shortstop Stephen Drew provided all the runs Lackey needed with one swing of the bat in the second inning.

With a man on second and one out, Drew launched a first-pitch, opposite-field home run off Orioles starter Chris Tillman to give the Red Sox an early two-run lead. The home run was Drew’s 13th of the season and first since Sept. 4 against the Detroit Tigers.

“Just trying to be aggressive,” Drew said of the at-bat. “Wanted to get a pitch I could drive and I was able to do that and put a good swing on it.”

The home run, which just snuck over the Monster, was only the second the Red Sox have hit off Tillman in his career, a span of 57 1/3 innings. Entering Thursday’s game, the 25-year-old right-hander was 3-0 in four starts against Boston this season with a 1.42 ERA.

“He’s been so good against us for the first [four] times that he’s started, so there was some familiarity,” manager John Farrell said. “When we got pitches up in the strike zone, we were able to not miss them.”

“He’s a sneaky guy; he’s thrown the ball well all year,” said Drew, who added a triple off Tillman in the sixth to go 2-for-3 on the night. “If we could get a run right there to get things going, it’s huge. It worked out for us tonight.”

The win earned the Red Sox a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2009, and Drew didn’t hesitate to speak fondly when asked about how far the team has come this season.

“I know what this team, the last two years, has done -- and to be a part of coming over here first year and the guys that we had and coming into spring training, it’s fun,” he said. “It’s great to come to the clubhouse every day; it’s fun to come to work.”

BOSTON -- An unpleasant flashback ... or was it?

During John Farrell's pregame media session, which is conducted in a room just above the Sox clubhouse, David Ortiz opened the door and barged into the session.

"The scorekeeper here is full of [expletive]," Ortiz said.

Before jaws could drop too far, Ortiz followed up.

"Just [messing] with you," he said.

Ortiz, you may recall, once interrupted a similar session of Terry Francona's to complain about an RBI denied him by a scorer's decision in 2011.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Globe reporter Pete Abraham asked Farrell, with 10 being most worried, how concerned was Farrell that Ortiz was on the level?

"A '1,'" Farrell said.

A few other tidbits from Farrell's session:

* Shane Victorino, who was lifted for pinch-hitter Jackie Bradley Jr. on Wednesday night, is being given the night off Thursday to rest his jammed right thumb.

* No baseball activity yet for Jacoby Ellsbury, but no surprise there.

* Rotation for the weekend series against the Blue Jays: Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Felix Doubront. Jake Peavy will start Tuesday. Farrell said Wednesday's starter is to be determined.

* Farrell said "we'll see" when asked if Koji Uehara, who has pitched in each of the last two games, could pitch Thursday night. Farrell noted that the Sox have used Uehara only once this season in three straight games.

That was June 26-28, when Uehara pitched a scoreless inning apiece against the Rockies, then back-to-back games against the Jays, registering saves in all three games and striking out two in each game. He threw a total of 44 pitches in the three games. He has thrown a dozen pitches in each of the last two nights against the Orioles.

* Farrell said that it's possible he would hit for Stephen Drew in the postseason against left-handers. He'll have that discussion beforehand with Drew, Farrell said, if he elects to go in that direction. Farrell allowed Drew to face lefty T.J. McFarland in the 11th inning Wednesday and he hit into an inning-ending double play. He's batting .183 against lefties, and after hitting .304 overall in August, he's cooled off this month (.226, 12 for 53).

BOSTON -- It wasn’t pretty, but the Red Sox continued their winning ways with a 7-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.

With the win, the Red Sox completed a three-game sweep. Boston has won seven of its last eight games, and nine of its last 12. Also, the Red Sox lead the majors with 28 series wins and have won four straight sets to widen their lead atop the AL East. Their advantage sits at five games, pending this evening's Rays-Athletics game.

Red Sox starters have been locked in of late, entering Sunday having allowed three or fewer runs in each of the last 11 games. But that streak ended as left-hander Felix Doubront worked 3 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

Doubront hasn’t had many subpar outings this season. He entered his 25th start of the season Sunday with a 6-3 record in his previous 10 starts since July 5. He cruised through the first three innings, allowing only two hits.

His teammates gave him a 5-0 cushion, but in the top of the fourth, Doubront struggled. He allowed four runs on five hits and was given the hook with two outs and runners on the corners. It was his shortest outing since he worked 3 2/3 against the Texas Rangers on May 3.

Fortunately for Doubront on Sunday, the Red Sox added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth with another two runs for 7-4 advantage.

Chicago pushed a run across in the fifth and cut its deficit to one run in the eighth on a solo home run by Tyler Flowers. Red Sox reliever Craig Breslow started the eighth and quickly recorded two outs before Flowers crushed a 1-1 offering from the lefty and deposited it over the Monster.

Holding on to a one-run lead, Red Sox closer Koji Uehara continued his dominance, retiring the side in order in the ninth to increase his scoreless streak to 24 innings in his last 21 games.

INCHING CLOSER: With a pair of hits on Sunday, Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz is two hits shy of 2,000 for his career. He provided a two-run double in the second inning and added an RBI single in the fourth. Ortiz broke out of an 0-for-23 slump on Friday.

SOLO JOB: Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew has been locked in at the plate for nearly a month and he continued his surge with a solo home run in bottom of the third inning. In his last 32 games, Drew is 35-for-116 with 8 doubles, 6 home runs, 22 RBIs, 19 runs and 16 walks.

BATTLING: Red Sox right fielder Shane Victorino was removed after the sixth inning with a left-hip contusion. He’s listed as day-to-day. Victorino suffered the injury in the fourth inning when he slid into first on a comebacker to the pitcher.

Victorino stayed in the game and appeared to be in some discomfort in the top of the fifth after making a nice running catch on the White Sox’s Avisail Garcia, as he kept flexing his left leg after the play. John Farrell decided to remove him from the game after Victorino struggled to run out a grounder to third to end the sixth.

UP NEXT: The Red Sox begin a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers. Boston sends right-hander John Lackey (8-11, 3.19 ERA) to the mound against Detroit righty Doug Fister (10-7, 3.81).

BOSTON -- The calendar claims it's too early for such accoutrements, but in case the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox needed any reminders of what was at stake, the weather obliged Wednesday with a bit of a September nip in the air and, as the evening wore on, a heavy mist. Pennant race conditions.

And the Orioles and Red Sox responded to the setting, a crowd of 31,962 in the Fens treated to a riveting drama. With one bold countermove, Red Sox manager John Farrell trumped the bullpen machinations of Baltimore master strategist Buck Showalter in a 4-3, come-from-behind win for the Soggy Bottom Boys.

Farrell sparked gasps and a few grumbles when he sent Mike Carp to hit for Xander Bogaerts, the Promised Child, with two on and two out in the bottom of the eighth of a tie game. Carp, who had just four at-bats on last week's trip and did not play Tuesday night, had just three pinch hits in 15 at-bats this season.

Tommy Hunter, Baltimore's fifth pitcher of the night, tried to get a pitch in on Carp's hands, but the left-handed hitter was able to inside-out the ball just beyond the infield and just over the head of a lunging Orioles third baseman Manny Machado. The ball found open grass, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia scored easily from second with the winning run.

The prettiest 130-foot hit of Carp's career?

"Oh, definitely," Carp said. "Any time you come up with a game-winner, especially this late in the season, postseason on the line, it means a lot. I'll definitely remember this one.

"It got drowned out by the crowd. I knew it had dropped in once the crowd cheered. It's amazing when that sound hits you."

Koji Uehara then slammed the door on his former team, setting the side down in order to preserve Boston's fourth straight win, keeping them 2½ games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-1 winners over the Los Angeles Angels, in the AL East. The Sox have 28 games left, the Rays 31.

The Orioles, meanwhile, lost despite home runs by Chris Davis (No. 47) and Manny Machado (No. 12) to lose more ground in the wild-card race. They are 4½ games behind both Tampa Bay and Oakland; the O's have 31 games left.

"I thought I had it," Machado said of Carp's flare. "Just a little bit short. Jumped too early.

"I couldn't do anything different. If we would've done it all over again, we'd do the same thing, same pitch. The luck was on their side. With [Dustin] Pedroia's hit when he tied up the game. Perfect placement, he got it right between me and JJ [Hardy]. You can't have done it any better. Just luck on their side."

The Red Sox trailed 3-1, and John Lackey, who had already lost quality starts five times this season, looked headed toward a similar fate Wednesday until the seventh, when Pedroia punched a two-run single through the left side. Orioles reliever Francisco Rodriguez, who had thrown one pitch to induce an inning-ending double play from Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the seventh, gave up a double to Stephen Drew to open the seventh, and Jacoby Ellsbury beat out an infield hit.

Showalter, knowing Shane Victorino is limited to batting right-handed these days, brought in submariner Darren O'Day, and Victorino lined out to second. During the at-bat, Ellsbury, despite being hobbled after fouling a ball off his foot, stole his second base of the night and 49th of the season, and Pedroia then delivered his ground-ball single through the left side, two runners scoring.

There were two out and nobody on in the eighth when Saltalamacchia's fly ball hit high off the left-field wall for his 35th double of the season. Drew was walked intentionally before Farrell sent Carp to bat for Bogaerts, who had lined out twice and grounded into a force play in his first Fenway start.

"He gave me a handshake and said, 'Go get 'em," Carp said. "That's the way we work as a team. He wasn't upset about it. I've been in situations a few times this year where you're having a great game, you have a couple of hits, where they still hit for you. That's the way the dynamic of our team works. We have so many guys on our bench we can use in certain situations."

Lackey had thrown only 92 pitches when he was lifted with one out in the eighth, Farrell opting for left-hander Craig Breslow to face the left-handed hitting Davis, who had doubled home a run in the first, then homered into the small section of seats in the center-field triangle, just beyond the Sox's pen.

That move worked splendidly as well, Breslow striking out Davis, then retiring Adam Jones on a liner to short to end the inning.

"The one thing that he's unique with," Farrell said of Breslow, "is the ability to sink the ball in on some left-handed hitters. To keep Davis from getting extended out over the plate where his power is, he ran a couple of sinkers in there, one for the foul ball, one for the final swing and miss.

"He's always composed and he's got two or three pitches that he can go to, depending on the reactions of a previous swing. He's been a very dependable reliever for us."

Uehara is composed, too, until he has completed his executioner's song, and then the celebration begins. The Orioles can't say they regret trading away Uehara to Texas; they got slugger Davis in return, and have a 40-save closer in Jim Johnson. But for Boston, the 38-year-old Uehara is the gift that keeps on giving. A career-high 14 saves. And 21 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, 70 batters faced in that span, only seven reaching.

Still, September lies ahead. There's a saying in Uehara's native Japan, displayed on one website, that the Soggy Bottom Boys would be wise to heed. Especially with the Orioles, the team that knocked the Sox out of the postseason on the last day of 2011, hosting the Sox for the last three games in 2013.

katte kabuto no o o shimeyo.

The translation: After victory, tighten your helmet strap.

The message: Keep your guard up until the very end.

BOSTON -- Despite the Boston Red Sox facing Baltimore Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen on Tuesday night at Fenway Park, manager John Farrell decided to start left-handed hitting Stephen Drew and not prospect Xander Bogaerts.

“I’m not going to turn away from Stephen Drew,” Farrell said. “He’s been a very good player for us. Probably game 7 after he came back from the DL until now, he’s been one of our most consistent hitters. He’s been a very good shortstop defensively for us, and I just don’t want to let the splits of a given starter determine, and cause to turn away from a guy who has been very good for us.”

Bogaerts said after batting practice that he's not disappointed he's not in the lineup.

“Oh no, definitely not. Like I said before, these guys played 130 games without me so I’m just here to contribute. I don’t have to help anybody, I’m just here to contribute and do the best I can to hopefully win some games when I’m in there," he said.

Overall, Drew is hitting .198 against left-handers this season, but he’s been swinging the bat well of late. Entering Tuesday’s game, Drew is hitting .307 in the last 27 games with seven doubles, five homers and 20 RBIs.

Against lefties, "he’s not pulling off pitches that are on the outside of the plate, whether it's from a lefty who’s got a little bit more of an angle versus one that’s a little bit more over the top,” Farrell said. “To sit here and say he [hasn't] earned the right to start against lefties would be short-sighting an awful lot that he’s done over a long period of time.”

With the glove, Drew has been steady.

“He’s technically sound," said Farrell. "He might not show you the flash that some other shortstops do, but as far as turning a double play and making every play at critical points of the game, he’s very dependable.”

Bogaerts spent the early afternoon taking ground balls at both shortstop and third base along with Drew, third baseman Will Middlebrooks and second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

Since his promotion to Boston on Aug. 20, the past week has been busy and enjoyable, he said. He went 3-for-9 with a double and RBI on the team’s recent road trip.

“It’s definitely a lot different compared to the minors,” he said. “I’m really enjoying every moment of it. Thankful that we won a few games, that made the week a lot better. I’m just thankful to be here.”

Despite being the most-talked-about prospect in the Red Sox organization, Bogaerts is not putting any undue pressure on himself, especially now that he’s reached the big leagues.

“My expectation -- I just go out and play baseball,” he said. “Try to have fun every morning of it, and once I don’t have fun that’s when things start going bad. So just go back and enjoy the game.”

Even though the Red Sox wanted him to get accustomed to playing third base at the minor-league level, Bogaerts’ future will be as a shortstop, and that’s what he wants.

“Oh definitely a shortstop. That’s where I feel more comfortable,” he said. “To get to the big leagues this year I had to play some third base. I liked it, in the WBC I played with some guys that made it a lot more easier for me, but shortstop is definitely my more natural [position].”

Prior to his call up, Bogaerts hit a combined .297 between Triple-A Pawtucket and Double-A Portland this season with 23 doubles, six triples, 15 homers and 67 RBIs.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A day after making his much-anticipated major league debut, top Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts was on the bench to begin Wednesday’s matinee against the Giants, as Stephen Drew started at shortstop and batted seventh.

Bogaerts went 0-for-3 on Tuesday, while manager John Farrell cited Drew’s good career numbers (11-for-33) against Giants left-handed starter Barry Zito.

Before the game, Farrell said he had no reservations about using Bogaerts as a pinch-hitter, specifically mentioning potential late-inning situations against a southpaw.

“If it’s Xander or a pitcher? I don’t give a damn if he’s got three at-bats in his big-league career,” Farrell said.

Wednesday’s lineup also featured David Ortiz batting cleanup and making his second start in three days at first base.
Even though Zito is a lefty, Farrell wanted to keep Ortiz’s bat in the lineup as opposed to right-hander Mike Napoli.

“David’s been our most productive hitter,” Farrell said. “Right-handed, left-handed -- to me, doesn’t matter.”

Napoli has been battling a nagging left foot injury recently and was used as a pinch-hitter on Tuesday without incident.

“Came out of last night feeling fine,” Farrell said of Napoli. “We felt like in this National League stretch it provides some time for him to get over this and give some rest period more than if we’re in the American League.”

* Suspended right-hander Ryan Dempster will be skipped in the rotation once he returns from his five-game ban, according to Farrell. The plan is to have Dempster make his next start on Aug. 30 at home against the White Sox, 12 days after he plunked Alex Rodriguez at Fenway.

Farrell pointed to Monday’s upcoming off-day as a contributing factor, while adding that Dempster is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Friday before going back to regular side sessions.

“Because of his status or experience, I don’t think the additional days at this point of the year will cause him to get out of a routine or affect the overall command,” Farrell said of the 16-year vet. “When we’ve seen added rest at this point of the year, he’s been more sharp.”

* Farrell said Clay Buchholz will make his rehab start on Sunday for short-season single-A affiliate Lowell, as he tries to return from shoulder inflammation. Earlier this week, Farrell said the organization plans on giving Buchholz three minor league starts before adding him to Boston’s rotation, putting him on track for a September return.

Even though triple-A Pawtucket will be home this weekend, Farrell said the Sox want to be gradual with Buchholz’s return.

“Just a progressive step,” Farrell said.

Buchholz threw about 45 pitches during a bullpen on Tuesday and didn’t report any setbacks on Wednesday. Farrell said Buchholz, who has a 9-0 record with a 1.72 ERA in 12 starts this year, will have a 45-50 pitch count on Sunday as well.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Whatever zone that Jon Lester finds himself in right now, he’s not interested in dissecting how he got there.

Things are rolling along nicely for the Red Sox left-hander, and he continued a strong second-half stretch by silencing the San Francisco Giants in Monday’s 7-0 victory at AT&T Park.

Lester didn’t allow a runner as far as third base over 8⅓ innings. He scattered six hits, walked two and struck out three. And that was a welcome effort for a group of bleary-eyed players who woke up Monday morning in Boston, flew six hours to the West Coast, then took the field in one of the nuttiest travel days any major leaguer will experience.

Lester (11-7) had the benefit of flying ahead to San Francisco on Sunday, and he certainly looked refreshed when he took the hill.

“Jon was exactly what we needed,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “We needed a strong pitching performance. On a night when we could use a guy to go deep in the game, he gave us just that.”

It’s something Lester’s teammates have grown accustomed to. Since the start of July, the lefty has fashioned a 3.12 ERA over nine starts, walking just 14 over 57⅔ innings. Compare that to his eight starts before that stretch, when he walked 24 over 47⅔ innings and ran up a 6.99 ERA.

Left fielder Daniel Nava, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI as part of Boston’s 12-hit night, pointed to Lester’s pitching as the key for the Sox taking the opener of their six-game interleague trip.

“It’s easy to feel comfortable when you get a performance like we got from Jonny,” Nava said.

What accounts for Lester’s turnaround? He didn’t get specific, other than to say the four-day All-Star break in mid-July rejuvenated him.

“I think anytime you go through some struggles, having a break helps,” Lester said. “Pitch selection or mechanics or whatever it may be at that particular time, it felt like a good mental break for me, and I felt good when I came back.”

Lester was lights-out early in the season, winning his first six decisions and posting a 2.72 ERA over his first nine starts. Then, turbulence hit.

But over the past six weeks, with Boston’s rotation still dealing with the absence of injured All-Star Clay Buchholz, Lester is doing his part to keep the Red Sox on top of the American League East.

They maintained their one-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Lester, while allowing that he feels close to his early-season form, isn’t reading too much into his recent results.

“Some balls got squared up tonight and were hit right at guys,” he said. “When you’re not going so well, those balls find holes. Game plan, mindset -- nothing’s changed. I feel like some mistakes I’ve made have been hit at guys or whathever. When you go through those down periods, you feel like every time you make a mistake, it’s hit hard.”

It was a well-rounded night for the Red Sox, who jumped on two-time NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum (6-13) early. They scored three in the second, added single runs in the fifth and sixth, then built on their cushion with two more in the ninth.

Nava and Shane Victorino, the No. 2 hitter, each had three hits. Stephen Drew ripped a run-scoring double off the center-field wall. Leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury singled and scored in the sixth.

“When the top of our order gets on, we have the ability to create some havoc,” Farrell said.

There wasn’t much havoc required Monday in the batter’s box, thanks to what Lester had going on the pitcher’s mound.

HOUSTON -- Right before “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” began playing in the middle of the seventh inning on Wednesday night, a different tune rang out over the Minute Maid Park speakers.

It was Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust,” and it was playing because another Boston Red Sox hitter had struck out to end an inning.

To that point, the Red Sox had ended six of seven innings with runners in scoring position.

Missed opportunity stacked upon missed opportunity as the Houston Astros -- the same Astros who have the worst record in baseball -- appeared to be headed for a shocking upending of the Red Sox in the rubber game of the series.

Stephen Drew had other things in mind.

Just two outs shy of a 5-4 loss, Drew crushed an 0-1 curveball deep to right for a go-ahead three-run homer, giving the previously choking Red Sox a wild 7-5 win in Clutch City.

“This team has done it all year,” Drew said. “Everybody has fun, but everybody knows their role. Everybody has been clutch in late innings. This is what good teams do.”

The Red Sox came from behind for the sixth time in their past seven wins, improving to 18-7 in games decided in the last at-bat. With their 70th win in 116 games this year, the Sox eclipsed 2012's season total of 69.

Despite the fact that they were playing the Astros (37-76), the stakes felt high on Wednesday night. For the third straight night, the Red Sox trailed against the Astros; for the second consecutive night, they found a way to win.

“Credit to Houston -- they pushed us to the hilt in this three-game series,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “I’m just proud of the way we continued to fight back and show a lot of character and a lot of grit.”

With a fatigued and injured bullpen and a skimpy bench, Farrell pulled out all the stops in this one.

The dugout made a seventh-inning phone call to the bullpen to inquire about a pitcher, except it had nothing to do with needing a mound replacement.

“They called down to the bullpen and said, ‘Hey, do you think Drake [Britton] is faster than David [Ortiz]?” Britton said. “And they said, ‘We think so.’ They asked me, ‘Hey, how fast are you?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know.’”

Knowing Britton was unavailable for work after pitching 2 1/3 innings on Tuesday night, Farrell was looking for the speediest baserunner within arm’s reach. After Brandon Snyder and Mike Napoli had already been used as pinch-hitters in the game, catcher Ryan Lavarnway was the only bench player left.

“It was a big surprise when they called down and told me to get my legs loose,” Britton said. “They said, ‘If David gets on, you need to be ready to pinch-run for him.’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry -- what?’”

The wide-eyed 24-year-old did as instructed, but he was nervous. He hadn’t run the bases in more than six years. The last time he did it was during a high school baseball tournament, which happened to be played at Minute Maid Park.

Britton went to Tomball High School, which is about a half-hour from the stadium.

When Ortiz led off the ninth inning with a single to right, Britton’s name was called. He hurriedly tried to find a helmet, struggled to find one that fit and finally found a match -- one that belonged to Daniel Nava, who was on his last day of paternity leave.

After Matt Carp lined out, Jonny Gomes walked, moving Britton in scoring position.

He said his heart was pounding at the thought of trying to beat out a play at the plate, but he remembered the advice his coaches gave him before he ran onto the field.

“They told me to be smart and don’t do anything stupid,” Britton said.

Britton didn't have to use his instincts or beat out a throw, as Drew made things easy with his towering home run.

Britton didn’t seem to mind.

“It was awesome, especially because he hit a home run, and I got to trot around the bases,” Britton said.

For the Red Sox, it was a happy ending to a game loaded with frustration.

Shane Victorino’s ejection in the top of the seventh inning was the tipping point before the Red Sox decided to climb out of the 5-2 deficit and work their magic.

Victorino declined to comment on the ejection.

“Shane obviously had a little bit of a different opinion,” Farrell said. “We had many opportunities and seemingly couldn’t get that two-out hit.”

Farrell said starter Ryan Dempster was “crisp,” as he went six innings, allowing five runs and seven hits, while striking out seven. Reliever Junichi Tazawa earned the victory after pitching two hitless innings, while striking out two.

Koji Uehara picked up his 11th save by striking out three in the ninth, while allowing one hit.

Ortiz reached base safely in 10 straight plate appearances, from his third plate appearance on Friday through his third on Wednesday night. Over that span, Ortiz went 8-for-8 with eight singles and two walks. He lined out to first in the seventh and finished 4-for-5 with his ninth-inning single.

“Hey, that ain’t bad, huh?” Ortiz said with a wide grin.

HOUSTON -- Houston Astros right fielder L.J. Hoes stood at the wall and jumped as high as he could, with his glove extending as far as possible.

It was a desperate leap of faith, but he was chasing the inevitable. Stephen Drew's three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning sailed far above Hoes’ head, landing about a half-dozen rows deep into the right-field seats. With a swing of the bat, the Boston Red Sox went from a one-run deficit to a 7-5 lead that held up as the final after Koji Uehara closed out the Astros in the bottom half of the ninth.

The Red Sox improved to 18-7 in games decided in the last at-bat. They have now come from behind in an astonishing six of their last seven wins.

David Ortiz walked out of the dugout to welcome Drew, Drake Britton and Jonny Gomes after they scored the game-winning runs. Ortiz was shouting, high-fiving, laughing and hugging, all in ecstatic celebration of what he had just witnessed -- another wild and dramatic victory earned in come-from-behind fashion.

Ortiz himself led off the ninth with a single to right, setting up the last-stand rally. Ortiz stayed fiery hot, going 4-for-5 in the game.

Gomes homered for the second straight night, with a two-run shot in the seventh that made the score 5-4.

But before the late heroics, the Red Sox let one opportunity after another slip through their fingertips. They stranded 11 baserunners in the game and ended six of the first seven innings with runners in scoring position.

Aside from leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury, who had a rough 0-for-5, two-strikeout night, Red Sox hitters were 12-for-32 and drew eight walks.

They were patient and poised against Astros rookie starter Jarred Cosart, who went five innings and gave up just two runs despite allowing seven hits and five walks.

At times, the Red Sox seemed anxious about the possibility of losing a series to the Houston Astros, who still own the worst record in baseball after dropping two of three to Boston.

Red Sox right fielder Shane Victorino was ejected by third-base umpire Brian Knight in the top of the seventh inning. Victorino was called out by Knight on a check-swing strikeout to end the top of the sixth inning with the bases loaded and the game tied 2-2. The Astros took a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth, and then Victorino appeared to have had continued words with Knight from the Red Sox dugout as Ortiz batted in the seventh inning.

The reigning American League Player of the Week was subsequently ejected, and he slowly gathered his cap, glove and bats before heading into the dugout.

Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster went six innings, allowing seven hits and five runs, while striking out seven -- his highest strikeout total since May 7.

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.

BALTIMORE -- How much did it mean to the Red Sox to have left-hander Jon Lester throw seven shutout innings against the Orioles, limiting them to four singles in a 5-0 win?

"A Jon Lester pitching to his capabilities is going to be one of the better pitchers in the league," manager John Farrell said. "He's shown it the last couple of times out. Again, I think he's getting a better understanding of the overall pitch mix, how to be most effective. His changeup continues to be a very good weapon for him, and he was efficient once again today."

Lester relied almost exclusively on his fastball, either the elevated four-seamer or two-seamer, and his changeup with great effectiveness, once again putting his cutter in his back pocket. He threw five cutters in his last start Tuesday against Tampa Bay, and threw fewer than that Sunday. According to ESPN Stats & Info, he threw none on Sunday.

The win was the 10th of the season for Lester, eclipsing the nine wins he had in a disappointing 2012. He shaved his ERA from 4.50 to 4.27, and has a 3.13 ERA for his five July starts, a strong suggestion that his extended funk is nearing an end.

Lester had won his first 14 career decisions against the Orioles before losing two straight. He is now 15-2 against the O’s, with his finest work Sunday coming in the sixth, after the Orioles put the first two runners on base on a rare throwing error by Dustin Pedroia and a pop fly that fell just inside the right-field foul line for a single by Adam Jones. Lester struck out Matt Wieters after Wieters had yanked a changeup just foul on a bid for a home run, then induced J.J. Hardy to ground into a double play.

“It’s huge," Lester said of taking two of three from the Orioles, after Baltimore won the opener and had won the previous six series between the teams. “The biggest part is they’ve given us a lot of trouble this year, so to come down here, especially after that series against the Rays, is big for us. It puts us in good position to go back home."

* The Sox did a great job of shutting down Orioles slugger Chris Davis, who had two harmless singles in 11 at-bats while whiffing seven times. Davis, who leads the majors with 37 home runs, has not hit a home run in his last 10 games, and has struck out at least once in each of his last 22 games. That’s the longest active streak in the majors and ties Detroit’s Austin Jackson for longest this season.

* The Sox scored first in both games this weekend, and are now 44-9 when scoring first, their .830 winning percentage the best in the majors. They’re also 20-11 (.645) in day games, which also is the best in the bigs.

* Dustin Pedroia was robbed of extra bases by center fielder Adam Jones in the first inning and later lined out, but despite squaring up a couple of balls and drawing a walk, he went 0-for- 4, his slump now at 3-for-35 (.086). Jose Iglesias also went 0-for-4, was 1-for-11 this weekend, and is now batting .330, his average having dropped 73 percentage points since he was last over .400 (.403) on July 6.

In his last 17 games, Iglesias is 10-for-63 (.159), with all 10 hits singles, and has not drawn a walk in that span.

Pedroia and Iglesias both made terrific defensive plays Sunday. Pedroia withstood a hard takeout slide by Adam Jones to turn a double play in the sixth, and Iglesias made a startlingly quick release of Manny Machado’s ground ball to start another double play in the eighth.

Machado, meanwhile, raised the name of Orioles all-timer Brooks Robinson (and not in vain) with his sensational play all weekend. Machado, like Iglesias, is a converted shortstop, though Iglesias may return to that position.

* Jarrod Saltalamacchia played in all three games of this series, even though it meant catching a day game after a night game in the heat and humidity of Baltimore. You would never have known it by the way Saltalamacchia ran hard on a routine ground ball to first base. He later doubled and hit a two-run single.

* Mike Carp walked in three trips as he started back-to-back games, Daniel Nava sitting for the second straight game. Carp came into the game batting .387 in July. Nava has reached base in 21 straight starts, but has cooled off a bit since the All-Star break, going 2-for-12 while making just three starts in the last nine games.

* With his two home runs and five RBIs Saturday, Stephen Drew became the first Sox shortstop since Nomar Garciaparra to hit at least two homers and drive in at least five runs in a game. Garciaparra hit three home runs and drove in eight runs on July 23, 2002, in a 22-4 win over Tampa Bay, the first game of a double-header in Fenway Park. Garciaparra also hit three home runs and drove in 10 runs on May 10, 1999, against Seattle, also at Fenway.