ST. PETERSBURG — Bobby Valentine said he could sense his guys wanted Thursday night’s game, and the Boston Red Sox played like it. A night after having their five-game winning streak stopped, the Red Sox regained their mid-May momentum, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 at Tropicana Field on Thursday. “I just think these guys were ready to get back to the winning ways,” Boston’s manager said. Cody Ross hit his seventh home run and drove in four runs, and Marlon Byrd hit his first home run for Boston, helping the Sox gain a split in the two-game series. “Cody was big tonight,” Valentine said after Ross drew a bases-loaded walk in the first, hit a two-out solo home run in the third and broke the game open with a two-run single in the eighth. “He busted the third changeup he saw over the center field fence, and he busted the (defensive) shift for two RBIs that turned out to be the two we needed. “Cody will give you eveything he has and, it’s enough for me. Good player.” Felix Doubront (4-1) won his third consecutive start after allowing two runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings. Alfredo Aceves picked up his eighth save after getting the final four outs. The Rays lost for the first time in five games and for only the fourth this year at home. They made it interesting in the eighth, though, pulling to 5-3 on B.J. Upton’s RBI single and getting two runners in scoring position before Aceves got Luke Scott to ground out to end the threat. Matt Moore (1-4), the Rays’ touted 22-year-old rookie, struggled in the early innings before settling in. He retired the side in his final three frames before leaving after six innings with his team trailing 3-2. “If you consider how I dug a hole for us early in the game, it was OK,” Moore said. “I feel like some adjustments were made (in which) I just started attacking more, especially (with) two guys we were maybe nibbling at earlier.” Balls-and-strikes calls were an issue for the Red Sox for a second consecutive night. Adrian Gonzalez complained after Boston’s 2-1 loss Wednesday that it was hard to have “a professional at-bat” with the umpiring, and on Thursday, shortstop and leadoff man Mike Aviles received his first career ejection in the seventh inning for arguing a two-out, third-strike call by Dan Bellino. Valentine didn’t back off after the game. “We can’t fight the umpire and the other team, but we’re a highly competitive team, and you like to be given a chance,” he said. “Other guys had complaints tonight, and I was with them.” Righty reliever Burke Badenhop struck out the side in that seventh inning, also getting Byrd and Kelly Shoppach. The Rays scored single runs in the third and fourth against Doubront after Boston took a 3-0 lead and threatened again in the sixth, when Ben Zobrist singled with two out and Upton doubled to put runners at first and third. Lefty Rich Hill came on and got Scott to fly out to left. The Red Sox loaded the bases and scored one run in the first against Moore, who has struggled with his location and high pitch counts. Aviles and David Ortiz singled, and Gonzalez, who had predicted to the Boston media he would hit a home run Thursday night, took a first-pitch fastball to the hip area. Valentine didn’t think the pitch was intentional. “If it was, it was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen in baseball,” he said. “But it might have been. I doubt it. If it was (that kind of ) stupidity, maybe the game has passed me by.” After Moore struck out Will Middlebrooks for the second out, Ross took a close 2-2 pitch off the outside corner for a ball, fouled off a couple of pitches, and drew an RBI walk. By the time Moore struck out Daniel Nava for the third out, he’d thrown 33 pitches. Byrd led off with a home run in the second, and Ross’ two-out solo home run in the third put Boston ahead 3-0. Byrd, acquired from the Chicago Cubs last month, homered for the first time for his new team. The Rays punched back with one run each in the third and the fourth innings. Jeff Keppinger’s line-drive single to left scored Upton after a two-out rally began with a catcher’s interference call against Shoppach. Then, in the fourth, Rich Thompson’s two-out single up the middle scored Sean Rodriguez to pull the Rays to 3-2. Thompson was making his first major league start, at age 33 and a day after the Rays acquired him from the Phillies. His only previous major league at-bat had come in 2004 for Kansas City, when he hit into a double play against catcher Tim Laker, who was pitching in a mop-up role. Thompson wasn’t done, either. He followed his RBI single by stealing second and third base before the Rays left the bases loaded when Scott hit a hard line drive to first baseman Gonzalez. NOTES: Rays infielder Will Rhymes (bruised right forearm) was not in the starting lineup after getting hit by a pitch and passing out at first base Wednesday night, but he said he could take the field as soon as Friday. He said watching a replay of the incident was “kind of tough” and that he hadn’t realized “I was out like that.” … Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis (lower back strain), who began a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket on Wednesday, will play his second game Friday (and first in the field). Right-handed pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka (right elbow surgery) made his fifth minor league rehab start for Pawtucket. … The Rays are intrigued by newly acquired Thompson’s 442 minor league stolen bases, including an International League-leading 48 last year. “He’s been able to maintain his speed over time, and that’s a big part of why he’s still attractive,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. … Ortiz will likely play at least one game at first base in the weekend interleague series at Philadelphia, Valentine said. Gonzalez would move to right field. … Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (partial hamstring tear) worked on his hand-eye coordination before the game by taking grounders from his knees. … The Rays still haven’t announced who’ll pitch for injured Jeff Niemann on Saturday against Atlanta, but it will likely be Alex Cobb or Chris Archer from Triple-A Durham.

ST. PETERSBURG — A night after their five-game winning streak was stopped, the Boston Red Sox regained their mid-May momentum, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 at Tropicana Field on Thursday. Cody Ross had a bases-loaded walk, solo home run and two-run single, and Marlon Byrd hit his first home run for Boston, helping the Red Sox gain a split in the two-game series. Felix Doubront (4-1) won his third consecutive start, allowing two runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings. The Rays lost for the first time in five games and only the fourth this year at home. They made it interesting in the eighth, pulling to 5-3 on B.J. Upton’s RBI single and getting two runners in scoring position before Alfredo Aceves got Luke Scott to ground out to end the threat. Matt Moore (1-4), the Rays‘ touted 22-year-old rookie, struggled in the early innings before settling in. He retired the side in his final three frames before leaving after six innings with his team trailing 3-2. Balls-and-strikes calls were an issue for the Red Sox for a second consecutive night. Adrian Gonzalez complained after Boston’s 2-1 loss Wednesday that it was hard to have “a professional at-bat” with the umpiring, and Thursday, shortstop and leadoff man Mike Aviles received his first career ejection in the seventh inning for arguing a two-out, third strike call by Dan Bellino. Righty reliever Burke Badenhop struck out the side in that frame, also getting Byrd and Kelly Shoppach. The Rays scored single runs in the third and fourth against Doubront after Boston took a 3-0 lead and threatened again in the sixth, when Ben Zobrist singled with two out and Upton doubled to put runners at first and third. Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine took the ball from Doubront, and lefty Rich Hill came on and got Scott to fly out to left. Ross’s two-run single off Wade Davis in the eighth broke the game open. The Red Sox loaded the bases and scored one run in the first against Moore, the touted rookie who has struggled with his location and high pitch counts. Aviles and David Ortiz singled, and Gonzalez, who had predicted to the Boston media he would hit a home run Thursday night, took a first-pitch fastball to the hip area. After Moore struck out Will Middlebrooks for the second out, Ross took a close 2-2 pitch off the outside corner for a ball, fouled off a couple of pitches, and drew an RBI walk. By the time Moore struck out Daniel Nave for the third out, he’d thrown 33 pitches. Byrd’s led off with a home run in the second and Ross’ two-out solo home run in the third put Boston ahead 3-0. Byrd, acquired from the Chicago Cubs last month, homered for the first time for his new team. Ross, who had homers in back-to-back games against Tampa Bay in April, hit his seventh of the year. The Rays punched back with one run each in the third and the fourth innings. Jeff Keppinger’s line-drive single to left scored B.J. Upton after a two-out rally began with a catcher’s interference call against Shoppach. Then, in the fourth, Rich Thompson’s two-out single up the middle scored Sean Rodriguez to pull the Rays to 3-2. Thompson was making his first major league start, at age 33 and a day after the Rays acquired him from the Phillies. His only previous major league at-bat had come in 2004 for Kansas City, when he hit into a double play against catcher Tim Laker, who was pitching in a mop-up role. Thompson wasn’t done, either. He followed his RBI single by stealing second and third base before the Rays left the bases loaded when Scott hit a hard line drive to first baseman Gonzalez. NOTES: Rays infielder Will Rhymes (bruised right forearm) was not in the starting lineup after getting hit by a pitch and passing out at first base Wednesday night, but he said he could take the field as soon as Friday. He said watching a replay of the incident was “kind of tough” and that he hadn’t realized “I was out like that.” … Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis (lower back strain), who began a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket on Wednesday, will play his second game Friday (and first in the field). Right-handed pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka (right elbow surgery) made his fifth minor league rehab start for Pawtucket. … The Rays are intrigued by newly acquired Thompson’s 442 minor league stolen bases, including an International League-leading 48 last year. “He’s been able to maintain his speed over time, and that’s a big part of why he’s still attractive,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. … Ortiz will likely play at least one game at first base in the weekend interleague series at Philadelphia, manager Bobby Valentine said. Gonzalez would move to right field. … Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (partial hamstring tear) worked on his hand-eye coordination before the game by taking grounders from his knees. … The Rays still haven’t announced who’ll pitch for injured Jeff Niemann on Saturday against Atlanta, but it will likely be Alex Cobb or Chris Archer from Triple-A Durham.

The government has official terms for everything, and what most people describe as “business stinks” is officially called a recession. And a recession is often defined as two consecutive quarters of going backward.

By almost any definition, the Red Sox are in a recession. If their business doesn’t necessarily stink, the baseball they are playing does. They are very close to putting together three straight months of going backward, starting with last September.

Since then, and not including last night, Boston is 20-39. That’s a deep recession, deep enough to make Sox management wonder — or at least it should — how to get things going again.

Since 1966 — the end of the franchise’s long, dreary descent into irrelevancy — only two other Sox teams have experienced this kind of three-month skid. The 1992 Red Sox had four straight losing months, from June through September, and the 1969 Sox had three straight losing months, from June through August.

The ’69 team, though, was barely in the red, going 41-45 during its little recession. The dip that the current Sox are in is more like the one in 1992, when Boston went 47-67 from June 1 to Sept. 1.

That should be a sobering thought for the Red Sox’ front office because the ’92 team was Boston’s worst — and remains so — since 1966. That skid signaled the beginning of the worst period of baseball the Red Sox have experienced since the Impossible Dream of 1967.

From 1992 through ’97, Boston had just one contending team — the 1995 AL East champs, who are the exception to most rules since that season got a late start due to a players strike. Only two teams, 1995 and ’96, had winning records in that six-year stretch.

What happened?

The reasons for the Red Sox’ fall from prominence were similar to the current ones. They had invested far too much money in bad free-agent signings, like Matt Young, Danny Darwin, Frank Viola and Jack Clark. Their farm system had dried up and too many good players spent too much time on the disabled list, that group including Mike Greenwell, Ellis Burks and Tim Naehring.

While the Young, Clark, Viola and Darwin signings were not for as much money or for as long as the current crop of Sox free-agent flops — Carl Crawford, John Lackey, Bobby Jenks and Daisuke Matsuzaka — they hamstrung the organization until they could be purged.

Which is why not just this season, but the next few, could be very difficult along Yawkey Way. The Red Sox are committed to paying six players through 2014 or beyond, and while not all of them have contracts they’d like to get rid of — Dustin Pedroia is signed through 2014 — there’s a lot to be said for the risk-versus-reward math of short-term deals.

David Ortiz is signed only through this season, for instance, and isn’t it amazing how quickly Matsuzaka is coming back from Tommy John surgery now that his deal is ending?

Science tells us that mammals came to dominate the earth because they were small, smart and adaptable. The Red Sox have a big payroll, have made some stupid moves, and have no room to adapt.

Call it recession if you’d like. One thing is certain, though: The baseball side of the business stinks for the Red Sox, it has for a while, and probably will for a while longer.

Baseball Jeopardy

Answers:

1. The last season in which the Red Sox scheduled a doubleheader for Fenway Park.

2. The only Red Sox pitcher to have 100 or more wins and 100 or more saves in his Boston career.

3. The oldest Red Sox batter to hit a grand slam.

Questions below.

Catching up with…

A pair of Red Sox pitchers from the past are toiling in the Mexican League — Hector Carrasco and Bryan Corey. Corey is with the Mexico City Red Devils while Carrasco, at 42, pitches for the Minatitlan Oilers. Tim Naehring, who holds the franchise record for most times on the disabled list, is a pro scout for the Yankees; two-time backup catcher Kevin Cash is an advance scout for the Blue Jays; Phil Plantier is the Padres’ hitting coach; and lefty Billy Rohr, who almost no-hit the Yankees in his first big-league appearance, is a lawyer in Palm Springs, Calif.

Beane was on short list

The various baseball encyclopedias don’t keep track of public-address announcers, but the history of those at Fenway Park — which came to mind after Carl Beane’s untimely death last week — is pretty brief.

During the 1950s, anyway, the Sox rotated announcers who worked at radio station WMEX, mainly because its studios were adjacent to Fenway. In 1958, the rotation ended and WMEX’s afternoon drive DJ, Jay McMaster, took over as full-time PA announcer.

However, the position didn’t reach “star” status until Sherm Feller took over in 1967. Some of that was Feller’s personality, but some of it was that before him, the PA announcer rarely spoke. He just announced the starting lineups and, during games, pinch hitters and pitching changes. It wasn’t until Feller that each batter was introduced each time he came to the plate.

Trouble with pickoffs

In the last couple of seasons, Red Sox pitchers — Daniel Bard in K.C. last week being one — have had trouble with that silly pickoff move where they fake to third, then turn toward first, something Roger Clemens loved to do. That problem could soon be a thing of the past because baseball is moving toward banning it altogether as soon as next year. … Fans interested in joining Jon Lester’s new charity drive to combat pediatric cancer — called NVRQT, for Never Quit — can do it by logging onto facebook.com/NVRQT. … Happy 82nd birthday (a day late) to center fielder Tom Umphlett, who came in second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 1953 but had just a three-year career in the majors. And catcher Les Moss (1951) turns 87 tomorrow. … It’s nice to have Johnny Damon here this weekend as he chases 3,000 hits. As for the Hall of Fame, the answer here is no. … You know, Matt Albers’ ERA can stay below 2.00 for as long as you want, but he’s not a trustworthy reliever. Nobody in baseball protects a six-run deficit as well as Albers, but bring him into a one-run game like last week in Kansas City and it’s trouble. … If Bobby Valentine is indeed going to change the way things are done by the Sox, he can start with getting his pitchers to work more quickly and stop staring at the umps when they disagree with a call. What a contrast on Thursday night between the agony of watching Josh Beckett work and the quick rhythm of Derek Lowe. Who won that game, by the way? … The Pawtucket Red Sox play Columbus this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon, then hit the road until May 24. Through Friday, Mark Melancon had not given up a run in 10 innings since being sent down from Boston and he’s ready to come back up, except that Boston needs starting pitchers, not relievers. Two pitchers who have been up and down as bullpen help, Junichi Tazawa and Clayton Mortensen, both can be converted into starting pitchers should the big-league rotation continue to struggle … Carl Beane and I talked more about hockey than baseball and eventually discovered that we both had the same all-time favorite hockey player — AHL Hall of Fame goalie Marcel Paille. That’s just one of the reasons I’ll miss Carl.

Jeopardy questions

1. What is 1978? The Sox scheduled a doubleheader against the Blue Jays for Aug. 30 and split it, with Dennis Eckersley getting the win for Boston in the first game. While the Red Sox have played doubleheaders since then, they all have been to make up postponed games.

2. Who is Bob Stanley? He registered 115 wins and 132 saves during his Red Sox career, which lasted from 1977 to 1989.

3. Who is Ted Williams? The Red Sox’ all-time home-run hitter was 39 years, 11 months old when he hit a grand slam off Detroit’s Jim Bunning on July 29, 1958.

Bill Ballou can be contacted at wballou@telegram.com.

The Boston Red Sox are finally in the win column at Fenway Park in May.

Posting consecutive victories could be another matter.

The Red Sox go for their first back-to-back wins this month and their first consecutive triumphs at home since mid-April when they play the third of four games against the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night.

Boston (13-19) had dropped three straight overall and all six of its home games in May before breaking through to beat AL Central-leading Cleveland (18-14) 7-5 on Friday night. Dustin Pedroia had three hits and three RBIs, and Will Middlebrooks hit a two-run double to back 6 1-3 innings of work from Clay Buchholz, who allowed four runs but earned the win by giving the Red Sox only their third quality start of the month.

“It’s obviously been tough for us, but it’s good to get back in the win column and get something going,” outfielder Cody Ross said. “There is a sense of urgency to play like we’re capable of.”

Boston’s last win and last quality start prior to Friday both came from Felix Doubront (2-1, 5.01 ERA), who will get the ball Saturday attempting to lead the Red Sox to their first back-to-back victories since a six-game streak April 23-28. All of that streak occurred away from Fenway, where they haven’t posted consecutive wins since taking their first three home games of the season against Tampa Bay from April 13-15.

Despite having the least major league experience of the pitchers in Boston’s rotation, Doubront has been possibly the most consistent of the bunch, allowing three earned runs or fewer in four of his six outings. The 24-year-old left-hander, who has never faced the Indians, gave up five runs – three earned – in 6 1-3 innings of Monday’s 11-5 victory at Kansas City.

Doubront will be opposed by Josh Tomlin (1-2, 4.67), who has limited opponents to five runs in 13 1-3 innings over his last two outings. The right-hander gave up two runs and five hits in 7 1-3 innings Monday while striking out a career-high eight, but failed to get a decision in Cleveland’s 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Tomlin is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts versus the Red Sox.

Boston designated hitter David Ortiz, who left Friday’s game with a sore left heel, may not be in any hurry to get back into the lineup Saturday. He’s 0 for 8 with a strikeout against Tomlin. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, meanwhile, is 3 for 4 with a homer and a double.

Cleveland has dropped three of four following a 6-1 stretch and is trying to avoid its first back-to-back losses of the season on the road, where it is a major league-best 10-4.

The Indians are 4-7 when facing a left-handed starter, compared with a 14-7 mark against righties.

After a particularly bitter end to a dismal homestand, the Boston Red Sox may welcome a trip to Kansas City as they search for answers.

The biggest question may be how Boston handles an overworked bullpen.

The Red Sox will try to avoid a season-high sixth straight loss Monday night when they open a three-game set against the Kansas City Royals.

Boston has had a miserable time at home recently, losing 10 of 11. The Red Sox (11-16) finished a 1-5 homestand with a 9-6, 17-inning loss to Baltimore on Sunday, getting swept at Fenway Park by the Orioles in a three-game series for the first time since 1994.

Outfielder Darnell McDonald, who entered in the eighth as a pinch runner, gave up a tiebreaking three-run homer in the 17th. With Clay Buchholz failing to make it out of the fourth inning, the Red Sox had already used seven relievers before McDonald came in.

”I don’t like any losses. I’ve never found a loss that I thought was easy,” manager Bobby Valentine said. ”They’re all difficult.”

It was the second extra-inning game of the series, with Friday’s opener going to the 13th. Boston’s bullpen was already taxed after Aaron Cook failed to make it out of the third in Saturday’s loss. The team doesn’t have a scheduled day off until May 24.

Even before Sunday, the Red Sox were looking at options for the bullpen. Cook was placed on the disabled list after receiving stitches in his knee and Boston called up Andrew Miller, who struck out three in 1 1-3 innings Sunday.

The Red Sox’s five-game skid matches their longest of the season, set April 16-21 – losses that were all at home. After that slide, they won their next six straight – all on the road.

Boston hasn’t dropped six in a row since opening the 2011 season 0-6.

With no day off this week, it will be important for Felix Doubront (1-1, 5.19 ERA) to give the Red Sox some innings Monday.

However, Doubront gave up five runs in four innings of a 5-3 loss to Oakland on Tuesday. He struck out eight, but threw 30 pitches in the first inning and 94 overall.

The left-hander, who has yet to pitch past the sixth inning in any of his eight career starts, will try to keep the Royals struggling at home.

Kansas City (9-18) settled for a split of a four-game series against the Yankees, losing 10-4 Sunday to fall to 2-12 at home.

Luke Hochevar was hit hard again, allowing seven runs in 2 1-3 innings as his ERA soared to 9.00.

Royals starters are 2-8 with a 6.59 ERA at home.

Jonathan Sanchez (1-1, 5.24) will try to reverse that trend and build off his best start since his season debut. The left-hander gave up one hit in five scoreless innings of a 3-2 victory at Detroit on Wednesday but left without a decision.

“Sanchez used his fastball well,” manager Ned Yost said. ”After battling strep throat the past three days, so he started to lose some energy in the fifth.”

Sanchez won his only start against the Red Sox while with San Francisco on June 25, 2010. He gave up three runs, three hits and four walks in 5 1-3 innings.

Boston slugger Adrian Gonzalez, who went 0 for 8 in Sunday’s loss, is 9 for 36 (.231) with one homer and 12 strikeouts lifetime against Sanchez.

The Red Sox have won seven of nine in Kansas City.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mike Aviles homered and the Boston Red Sox bullpen just barely avoided another big collapse in a 7-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.

Alfredo Aceves struck out Denard Span with the bases loaded in the ninth inning for his fourth save in six chances as the Red Sox completed the sweep.

Dustin Pedroia tripled, doubled and singled for the Red Sox. The Twins have dropped five in a row.

Clay Buchholz (2-1) had another shaky outing for the Red Sox, giving up five runs on 10 hits with three walks in 5 1-3 innings.

The Red Sox led 7-1 after five innings, but their beleaguered bullpen was able to hang on with 3 2-3 scoreless innings of relief.

Aceves walked Trevor Plouffe, gave up a hit to Ryan Doumit and hit Alexi Casilla in a tense ninth inning. But he got Span to chase a pitch up and out of the zone to escape the jam.

Joe Mauer had two hits and two RBIs and Anthony Swarzak pitched three innings of scoreless relief to keep the Twins in the game after another terrible outing from their starting pitcher.

Liam Hendriks (0-1) gave up seven runs on nine hits and two walks in four innings.

Aviles hit a three-run homer in the second inning and the Red Sox were cruising with a six-run lead heading into the sixth. But after the Sox blew a 9-0 lead against the Yankees on Saturday, no one was taking anything for granted.

Buchholz needed all the cushion he could get, and so did the Boston bullpen, which entered the night with the worst ERA in the American League. Buchholz carried a 9.00 ERA into the game, with his confidence in his changeup shaken and still smarting from giving up five home runs in a 6-2 loss to the Yankees last week.

Buchholz danced in and out of trouble for the first five innings, stranding eight runners on base before getting knocked out in the sixth. The right-hander gave up an RBI double to Span and left after walking Jamey Carroll to load the bases with one out in the sixth. Bobby Valentine went with righty Scott Atchison to face the lefty Mauer, who ripped a single back up the middle to score Casilla.

Valentine then went to the rookie lefty Justin Thomas against the lefty Justin Morneau, who hit the first pitch off the wall in right-center field for a double to make it 7-5.

Thomas then hit Chris Parmelee in the helmet with a pitch. The crowd grew hushed after the ball slammed off the bill of Parmelee’s helmet and bounced all the way over to the Red Sox dugout. Parmelee left the game for precautionary reasons, and the team said he would be reevaluated on Thursday.

Matt Albers then gave up a single to Plouffe to make it 7-6, but got Sean Burroughs to ground into a double play to end the inning with Boston still in front.

Vicente Padilla, Franklin Morales and Aceves each pitched an inning of scoreless relief and the runs surrendered by Atchison, Thomas and Albers were charged to Buchholz.

Cody Ross went 1 for 3 with an RBI for the Red Sox but left the game early with soreness in his left knee.

NOTES: Twins slugger Josh Willingham missed the game to attend the birth of his son, Rogan. Willingham is on three-day paternity leave. … The Red Sox open a four-game series in Chicago against the White Sox on Thursday. They send Felix Doubront (0-0, 3.94) to the mound to face Phil Humber (1-0, 0.63), who is coming off of a perfect game in his last outing. It’s been a big week for Humber, who flew home from Oakland to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. “I hope he’s tired,” Valentine said. … The Twins have a day off on Thursday before hosting the Kansas City Royals this weekend. RHP Carl Pavano (1-2, 4.73) will start the opener on Friday against Royals LHP Danny Duffy (1-2, 3.63).

Alfredo Aceves struck out Denard Span with the bases loaded in the ninth inning for his fourth save in six chances as the Red Sox completed the sweep.

Dustin Pedroia tripled, doubled and singled for the Red Sox. The Twins have dropped five in a row.

Clay Buchholz (2-1) had another shaky outing for the Red Sox, giving up five runs on 10 hits with three walks in 5 1-3 innings.

The Red Sox led 7-1 after five innings, but their beleaguered bullpen was able to hang on with 3 2-3 scoreless innings of relief.

Aceves walked Trevor Plouffe, gave up a hit to Ryan Doumit and hit Alexi Casilla in a tense ninth inning. But he got Span to chase a pitch up and out of the zone to escape the jam.

Joe Mauer had two hits and two RBIs and Anthony Swarzak pitched three innings of scoreless relief to keep the Twins in the game after another terrible outing from their starting pitcher.

Liam Hendriks (0-1) gave up seven runs on nine hits and two walks in four innings.

Aviles hit a three-run homer in the second inning and the Red Sox were cruising with a six-run lead heading into the sixth. But after the Sox blew a 9-0 lead against the Yankees on Saturday, no one was taking anything for granted.

Buchholz needed all the cushion he could get, and so did the Boston bullpen, which entered the night with the worst ERA in the American League. Buchholz carried a 9.00 ERA into the game, with his confidence in his changeup shaken and still smarting from giving up five home runs in a 6-2 loss to the Yankees last week.

Buchholz danced in and out of trouble for the first five innings, stranding eight runners on base before getting knocked out in the sixth. The right-hander gave up an RBI double to Span and left after walking Jamey Carroll to load the bases with one out in the sixth. Bobby Valentine went with righty Scott Atchison to face the lefty Mauer, who ripped a single back up the middle to score Casilla.

Valentine then went to the rookie lefty Justin Thomas against the lefty Justin Morneau, who hit the first pitch off the wall in right-center field for a double to make it 7-5.

Thomas then hit Chris Parmelee in the helmet with a pitch. The crowd grew hushed after the ball slammed off the bill of Parmelee’s helmet and bounced all the way over to the Red Sox dugout. Parmelee left the game for precautionary reasons, and the team said he would be reevaluated on Thursday.

Matt Albers then gave up a single to Plouffe to make it 7-6, but got Sean Burroughs to ground into a double play to end the inning with Boston still in front.

Vicente Padilla, Franklin Morales and Aceves each pitched an inning of scoreless relief and the runs surrendered by Atchison, Thomas and Albers were charged to Buchholz.

Cody Ross went 1 for 3 with an RBI for the Red Sox but left the game early with soreness in his left knee.

NOTES: Twins slugger Josh Willingham missed the game to attend the birth of his son, Rogan. Willingham is on three-day paternity leave. … The Red Sox open a four-game series in Chicago against the White Sox on Thursday. They send Felix Doubront (0-0, 3.94) to the mound to face Phil Humber (1-0, 0.63), who is coming off of a perfect game in his last outing. It’s been a big week for Humber, who flew home from Oakland to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. “I hope he’s tired,” Valentine said. … The Twins have a day off on Thursday before hosting the Kansas City Royals this weekend. RHP Carl Pavano (1-2, 4.73) will start the opener on Friday against Royals LHP Danny Duffy (1-2, 3.63).

Spring training is winding down and rosters are beginning to take shape. In less than two weeks, teams will return to their respective cities and begin the grueling process to October baseball.

The highlight of the March 26, 2012 schedule features two of the top teams in baseball. The Boston Red Sox will visit the spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies in a meeting of two of the traditionally stronger teams in their respective leagues. Potentially these two teams could meet again in the World Series if the season unfolds in their favor.

Another exciting exhibition game taking place will feature the Seattle Mariners and the Yomiuri Giants in the early morning here in the United States. Both the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics are in Japan getting ready to open the regular season with a two-game series in Tokyo on March 28-29.

Check your local listings for game times and channel listings in your area. With MLB.TV select games are also available nationwide.

Note: All start times Eastern

Monday, March 26, 2012

Seattle Mariners at Yomiuri Giants, 6:04 a.m. (Tokyo, Japan)

Boston Red Sox at Philadelphia Phillies 1:05 p.m. (Clearwater, Fla.)

Houston Astros at Washington Nationals, 1:05 p.m. (Viera, Fla.)

Miami Marlins at Detroit Tigers, 1:05 p.m. (Lakeland, Fla.)

New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals, 1:05 p.m. (Jupiter, Fla.)

Tampa Bay Rays at Minnesota Twins, 1:05 p.m. (Lee County, Fla.)

Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers, 4:05 p.m. (Glendale, Ariz.)

Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Angels, 4:05 p.m. (Tempe, Ariz.)

Kansas City Royals at San Francisco Giants, 4:05 p.m. (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Milwaukee Brewers at Cleveland Indians, 4:05 p.m. (Goodyear, Ariz.)

San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs (SS), 4:05 p.m. (Mesa, Ariz.)

Chicago Cubs (SS) at Arizona Diamondbacks, 4:10 p.m. (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Baltimore Orioles at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 p.m. (Bradenton, Fla.)

Cincinnati Reds at Texas Rangers, 9:05 p.m. (Surprise, Ariz.)

Sources:

All data provided by MLB.com

Paul Rados is a Cleveland based freelance sportswriter and Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook.

With the official start of Red Sox’s regular season less than two weeks away, the question remains who will – or should – be Boston’s starting shortstop.

The team has essentially two choices – Mike Aviles or Jose Iglesias. If you ask fans – at least for today – they seem to think Iglesias should be the starter. That’s who fans gave a slight edge to on a recent on-line poll asking who they thought should be Boston’s starting shortstop.

Baseball writers throughout the country have been weighing in on Boston’s shortstop question as well. Most seem to be leaning towards the Sox starting Aviles, including reportedly Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine.

The big question is whether Boston will go with youth or experience. Iglesias, 22, played most of last year for the Red Sox’s AAA farm club in Pawtucket. Aviles, 31, is a big league veteran who last played for Kansas City before being traded to the Red Sox last season.

Whatever the Red Sox decide to do, you can be sure there will be a lot of hand wringing and second guessing the rest of the year if the start of this season is anything like the beginning – or the end – of last year.