Bay homers, Ellsbury runs Red Sox to 6-3 victory over Chisox

[August 26, 2009]  BOSTON (AP) -- Jason Bay hit a solo homer to break an eighth-inning tie, and Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits to go with his franchise-record 55th stolen base on Tuesday night to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 6-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Manny Delcarmen (5-2) got one out to escape a first-and-third jam in the eighth to earn the win. Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 30th save. He is the second pitcher, along with Billy Koch, to reach 30 saves in each of his first four seasons.

Scott Linebrink (3-6) gave up three runs on three hits in one inning. Jayson Nix had two hits, including a solo homer, for Chicago, which lost its third straight and fell to .500 for the first time since July 29.

Bay homered off Linebrink to give Boston the lead, then Nick Green singled and scored from first on Victor Martinez's double. Ellsbury's single scored Martinez to make it 6-3.

Jon Lester, who gave up just two hits in the first six innings, earned his fifth no-decision in six starts after allowing Chicago to tie the game with a wild pitch on what would have been an inning-ending strikeout. He retired 12 consecutive batters after Nix's homer before running into bad luck in the seventh.

Boston led 2-1 when Paul Konerko singled, Jermaine Dye walked and A.J. Pierzynski moved them up with a sacrifice bunt. Alex Rios hit a medium fly ball to right, and J.D. Drew's strong throw scared Konerko away from trying to tag up and score.

Lester got Alexei Ramriez to swing at an 0-2 pitch in the dirt, but it got away from catcher Jason Varitek and rolled to the backstop for a wild pitch that allowed Konerko to trot home easily while Ramirez reached on a dropped third strike. Nix hit a line drive off Mike Lowell's glove for an RBI single that made it 3-2 and chased Lester.

But Boston tied it 3-all in the bottom half when Martinez singled to score Green, who was pinch running for Jason Varitek.

Lester gave up just three runs on four hits in 6 2-3 innings. He has allowed more than three earned runs just once in his last 16 starts; in nine of those starts, he has allowed one earned run or none.

Freddy Garcia, who was signed as a minor league free agent in June and was looking for his first win since last September allowed three earned runs on five hits, striking out five in 6 1-3 innings. In his only other start this season he allowed five runs in 4 1-3 innings last Tuesday.

Ellsbury led off the bottom of the first inning with a ground-rule double and then stole third to break Tommy Harper's franchise record of 54, set in 1973.

Ellsbury stole 50 bases last year, and has has 114 stolen bases in major-league 296 games. That's not counting the base he stole in the 2007 World Series that earned everyone in the United States a free taco.

NOTES: Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is expected to be activated from the disabled list to start on Wednesday night. Martinez is expected to catch him for the first time. ... Chicago has lost seven of its last eight in Fenway Park, giving up eight runs or more in each of the first six before Tuesday. ... Hideki Okajima muffed a popup behind the mound with his back to the plate in the eighth. ... The Red Sox acquired LHP Billy Wagner from the New York Mets for two players to be named.

[Associated Press; By JIMMY GOLEN]

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