Depth Chart

Pedroia's 60 overall base hits are tied for third in all of the majors. Pedroia has gone 22 for 49 (.449) over the 12-game streak with five doubles, a homer and eight RBI. He's only struck out three times over that span. 

Dempster flew to Boston to get a full night of sleep in advance of his start Thursday against the Indians. He skipped his normal bullpen session Tuesday and made throws from flat ground. 

"Talking with him as far as how his arm felt coming out of his last start, he didn't feel like there was any changes or lingering effect from the pitches he did throw," Sox manager John Farrell said.

Gomes admitted it's easier to "evaluate" himself in a full-time role, but he's OK with being a part-time player as long as it helps the team. "To me, it’s valuable to just win. I know everybody wants to win. If I play and we win, I don’t really care what else happens," Gomes said. He said you have to "grind and fight" as a platoon player, and be willing to "get hit in the neck if you have to."

Gomes is hitting .190/.347/.316 in 79 at-bats. He's seen an equal amount of at-bats against both righties and lefties, but is starting to be used primarily against left-handers.

Middlebrooks strikes out a lot, but he balances it with nice power (eight home runs in 160 at-bats this year) and a shot at a decent average (he hit .288 last year). With plenty of owners having been frustrated at Middlebrooks' lack of production this year, now is the time to hope his recent production has gone unnoticed and sneak in a seemingly-minor deal for the 24-year-old. The upside could be 20-plus home runs the rest of the way, with a .275-ish average. 

Saltalamacchia took a fastball out to center in the top of the third inning. He later singled, finishing the game 2 for 3. Saltalamacchia is hitting .270/.347/.495 in 111 at-bats. He'll face White Sox starter Jose Quintana Tuesday.

Doubront opened the season with a 5.67 ERA and .302 opponents' batting average in his first five starts.

"He’s onto something with the adjustments he’s made," Red Sox manager John Farrell said, per The Boston Globe. "I thought (Tuesday against the White Sox) was another positive step for him."

Doubront is also pleased with the turnaround.

"Working every day. I’m seeing the results," Doubront said. "Everything is going in the right direction right now. Just looking forward to my next outing."

Morales has allowed six runs over 12 innings through four minor league rehab appearances. Boston is stretching him out to start but doesn't have an opening in the rotation. 

"The fact is, he’s getting up and down multiple times with the innings pitched and coming out of each start with no issues," manager John Farrell said. "Everything is moving according to what our initial thoughts were with him. Once we get through tomorrow, we’ll re-evaluate that and see what the needs are here and certainly where he fits in."

“David Ross, we’re hopeful he will be in Portland (Thursday) to get some at-bats," Farrell said. "We’ll just have to go through the normal protocol with MLB when it comes to concussions. So there’s some lengthy paperwork as you might expect to get that taken care of. But we’re hopeful that he’ll be back for us during the Cleveland series (May 23-26)."

Bailey, who was making his first appearance since returning from the disabled list, gave up a run on Paul Konerko's solo homer. He threw 11 pitches and struck out one.

The Red Sox do not want to use Bailey, who has a 2.03 ERA, on back-to-back nights this early in his return from a biceps injury. 

The Red Sox ace gave up a three-run homer to Adam Dunn in the first inning and allowed two more runs in the second. He gave up six runs -- five earned -- on seven hits and three walks over six innings. Lester struck out two and his ERA is 3.15. 

The 29-year-old Lester had a 2.72 ERA coming into Monday's start and has struck out 52 over 65 2/3 innings with a 1.07 WHIP and .211 batting average against. Lester is scheduled to make his next start Saturday against Cleveland. 

Drew went 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. He also struck out once and is batting .231 on the year. He's been on a hot streak recently as he entered the game hitting .333 over his previous 11 games. 

"Shane is not in the lineup again tonight, but he’s gaining mobility," Farrell said. "The soreness that he felt the other night after he came out of the game continues to subside, so he’s moving in the right direction, and hopefully, he’s back in our lineup soon. My view is it’s always going to be a game or two, and hopefully, that will be the case."

The win ended a streak of three-straight no-decisions. Buchholz's next start is Monday against Philadelphia. 

"It’s just, in this case, we agreed before the season that we would defer (contract negotiations) until the end of the season," Cherington said. "That’s our expectation right now. You never say never. Things can change. But our expectation is we pick up the conversation after the season.”

"Just felt like it was a chance to gain 90 feet if we have a hard-hit basehit," manager John Farrell said, per the Boston Herald. "We felt like it was an opportunity to move up. I don't know if we'll make a habit of it."

It was still an encouraging sign about Ortiz's health. The slugger began the season on the disabled list because of lingering problems with his Achilles.

"I've been running well lately. I've been feeling better," Ortiz said. "If I feel well I'm going to run. I mean not steal bases, but try to take advantage of whatever's happening, whenever a guy hits the ball or whatever. ... Momentum in the game, it happens. And I don’t have a zero in that category anymore."