The Red Sox are aiming for .500 tonight as they face off against the Chicago White Sox and Jake Peavy. Jon Lester will get the start on the mound, hoping for an improvement over his recent outings against the Twins and Rangers.
We'll keep you up-to-date with all the action as it goes down in U.S. Cellular Field.
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, Final -- It takes plenty of pitches, but Alfredo Aceves sits them down 1-2-3 and the Red Sox win!
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, Mid 9th -- No more runs. Three outs to go. Alfredo Aceves in.
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, End 8th -- Franklin Morales gets the first two outs, gives up a baserunner, and is pulled for Vicente Padilla, who walks Paul Konerko before getting the crucial out off of an Alex Rios ground ball. The Sox are into the ninth now, and would very much like an insurance run.
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, Mid 8th -- If the Red Sox are going to win this game, they're going to need their bullpen to be perfect. Not an ideal scenario by any means, but with Peavy still dealing through a 1-2-3 8th, it's hard to see any other way for this one to go in the win column.
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, End 7th -- Jon Lester keeps the Red Sox on top with the tensest of seventh innings. After getting Alex Rios on strikes for the first out, Lester saw a very weak dribbler go for a single as Kevin Youkilis waited in hopes that it would go foul past third. The runner would move to second when Mike Aviles, making a great ranging play just to keep the ball in the infield, had his flip to second go up and over Dustin Pedroia's head, leaving runners on first and second. A ground ball looked like it could be the end of the inning, but the double play was broken up successfully by Tyler Flowers, who forced a late throw to first. With Lester's pitch count growing over 120, Gordon Beckham put on a very impressive at bat, but grounded out on the tenth pitch to end the inning
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, Mid 7th -- Jake Peavy is matching Lester pitch-for-pitch right about now, ending the seventh--another 1-2-3 inning--with under 100 pitches.
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, End 6th -- Talk about a turnaround. After the first inning promised more bad news for Jon Lester, the Sox' lefty ace has been just tearing through the White Sox' lineup. A pop-up, ground out, and his sixth strike out of the night have Jon Lester through the sixth with a shutout intact.
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, Mid 6th -- A promising start to the inning, as Ryan Sweeney singles, but three straight outs from the 3-4-5 leave the Red Sox still stuck at just the one run.
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, End 5th -- A single off the bat of Brent Morel gives the White Sox another baserunner, but three weak outs--two on the ground and one on a pop-up--leaves them still scoreless through five against Lester.
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, Mid 5th -- Once again Marlon Byrd manages to reach base against Jake Peavy, but once again it comes with two outs, and Mike Aviles can't keep the inning going.
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, End 4th -- Paul Konerko gets to Lester for a double, as Marlon Byrd's diving attempt in center goes for naught, but strikeouts to Adam Dunn and Dayan Viciedo keeps Lester rolling through another scoreless inning.
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0, Mid 4th -- The Red Sox scored! The Red Sox scored! Despite getting underneath a 2-2 fastball, Ryan Sweeney's pop fly managed to find grass in right field for a double. Dustin Pedroia for some reason set up to bunt, but ended up working a long at bat before unfortunately lining out directly to third. Adrian Gonzalez, however, would prove up to the task, hitting a ground ball into right field for the RBI single.
Red Sox 0, White Sox 0, End 3rd -- Another 1-2-3 frame for Jon Lester, with all three outs coming on the ground
Red Sox 0, White Sox 0, Mid 3rd -- The Red Sox get their first baserunner of the day in Marlon Byrd, but it comes with two outs, and a strikeout of Mike Aviles is enough to make it an even three. It's going to be hard to get to Peavy the way he's throwing tonight.
Red Sox 0, White Sox 0, End 2nd -- Jon Lester settles down nicely, striking out two batters in the process of a 1-2-3 inning.
Red Sox 0, White Sox 0, Mid 2nd -- Jake Peavy looks very much on his game to night, sitting down the Red Sox in order with a first-pitch fly out for Adrian Gonzalez, a strike out of David Ortiz, and a pop-up from Kevin Youkilis, who at least managed to work the count full.
Red Sox 0, White Sox 0, End 1st -- A very difficult first for Jon Lester leaves the Red Sox' starter with over 30 pitches on his arm, but thankfully no runs on the board. After sitting down Alejandro De Aza and Alexei Ramirez with a fly out and strike out respectively, Lester fell apart a bit. Walking Adam Dunn on six pitches, Lester was perhaps spared a run when the sluggish DH chose not to round third despite Cody Ross bobbling a double hit by Paul Konerko. Luckily, Dunn would not get a second shot to cross home, as Alex Rios flew out to end the threat.
Red Sox 0, White Sox 0, Mid 1st -- Jake Peavy gets out of the first inning 1-2-3, though the Sox at least made him work for it some. Mike Aviles got behind 0-2, but fought off a few pitches before grounding out on the sixth. Ryan Sweeney would strike out on five pitches, moving Peavy up to 11 total, and while Dustin Pedroia got some good contact on the fourth pitch of his at bat, he ended up hitting it right at the right fielder for the out.