BOSTON (AP)—Sandy Alomar Jr. is interviewing for the Boston Red Sox
manager’s job.

Alomar was scheduled to meet with reporters on Wednesday night after a day
of talking with Red Sox officials. He’s the third to interview for the job,
after Pete Mackanin and Dale Sveum. Mike Maddux withdrew his name from
consideration.

The job opened when the team parted ways with Terry Francona after eight
years and two World Series championships. The new manager will work with new
general manager Ben Cherington to rebuild after this season’s unprecedented
September collapse.

Also scheduled to interview are Torey Lovullo and Gene Lamont.

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BOSTON — Jacoby Ellsbury hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the sixth inning, Josh Beckett improved to 4-0 against the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox came from behind for a 9-5 win on Wednesday night.

The Red Sox, who lost the series opener 5-2 on Tuesday night, extended their AL East lead over the Yankees to 1½ games and improved their record to 11-3 this season against their division rivals.

David Ortiz and Jason Varitek also hit two-run homers for Boston.

The Yankees scored four runs in the sixth off Beckett (12-5) — the same amount they managed in his other 32 innings against them this season — and went ahead 5-4.

In the bottom of the inning, Phil Hughes (4-5) retired the first batter. Then he went ahead of Josh Reddick 0-2 before walking him, and Reddick scored the tying run on Varitek’s double. After Marco Scutaro flied out, left-hander Boone Logan came in to face lefty Ellsbury. On a 3-and-1 count, Ellsbury hit his 24th homer into the left-field seats above the Green Monster.

Beckett allowed four earned runs and six hits through seven innings. He struck out eight and walked three.

Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon each pitched a scoreless inning and the Red Sox improved to 62-3 this season when leading after six.

The Yankees had taken a 1-0 lead in the third on Derek Jeter’s RBI single. The Red Sox went ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the inning, scoring on Dustin Pedroia’s groundout with runners at second and third and on Jed Lowrie’s RBI single.

Jeter got his second single in the top of the fifth, moving into 20th place all-time, ahead of Craig Biggio, with 3,061 career hits. He was left stranded.

Boston made it 4-1 in the fifth on Ortiz’s homer deep into the center field bleachers after Adrian Gonzalez singled. It was Ortiz’s 28th homer of the year and extended his hitting streak to 14 games.

The Yankees regained the lead in the sixth, helped by an error by right fielder Reddick.

Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch leading off the inning, took second on a wild pitch by Beckett and scored on a double by Robinson Cano. Nick Swisher then walked and Eric Chavez followed with a liner down the right field line. It got by Reddick and Chavez was credited with a double. The error allowed him to take third and Swisher to score. Eduardo Nunez’s sacrifice fly put the Yankees on top 5-4.

Varitek gave the Red Sox a four-run cushion in the eighth with his 10th homer.

NOTES: Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left thumb. … Red Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis, on the DL since Aug. 18 with a low back strain, played his second straight rehab game for Triple-A Pawtucket and can be activated on Friday. … Boston RF J.D. Drew missed the second game of his scheduled two-day rehab assignment at Pawtucket on Wednesday night with a sprained middle finger. He was hurt Tuesday night when he went 3-for-3. Plans for the Red Sox to activate him today may change. He went on the disabled list on July 26, retroactive to July 20, with a shoulder injury. … Yankees C Russell Martin, with a sore left thumb, missed the game. Manager Joe Girardi said he planned to use him tonight in the finale of the three-game series. … Struggling RHP A.J. Burnett (9-11) faces LHP Jon Lester (14-6) tonight.

BOSTON –

Jacoby Ellsbury never had a game-winning hit before this week.

Now he has two in as many games.

One night after his ninth-inning single drove in the game-winning run, the Red Sox center fielder homered with two outs in the ninth on Wednesday to give the Boston Red Sox a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians.

“The guy’s got us two nights in a row,” said Indians reliever Joe Smith (2-2), who retired the first two batters in the ninth before Ellsbury hit an 0-1 pitch over the wall in straightaway center.

Asked if the pitch was where he wanted it, Smith said: “Four hundred and fifteen away to the middle of center? No.”

Jonathan Papelbon (4-0) pitched a perfect ninth for Boston, which won for the 10th time in 13 games. Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez each had two hits, and Tim Wakefield took a three-hitter into the seventh but could not collect career victory No. 200.

Jason Kipnis homered for the fourth straight day for Cleveland, which lost for the 10th time in 13 games to fall to .500 for the first time since the fourth game of the year. Starter Carlos Carrasco allowed three runs – two earned – and nine hits and three walks while striking out five before leaving with the game tied 3-all in the eighth inning.

Tony Sipp struck out two in a perfect eighth, and then Smith retired pinch-hitter Darnell McDonald and No. 9 hitter Marco Scutaro before Ellsbury, who was 0 for 4 so far in the game, came to the plate. Ellsbury, who hit a one-out single to win it on Tuesday, drove it over the high wall in center.

“I realized it was the ninth inning and I had been 0 for 4 both games. I’m just trying to get on base,” he said. “The last two days have been pretty good.”

Wakefield took a 3-2 lead into the seventh inning with a chance for his 200th win, but he gave up doubles to Lonnie Chisenhall and Ezequiel Carrera to tie it. Red Sox manager Terry Francona headed to the mound, leading Wakefield to pound his fist in frustration and drawing boos from the crowd.

The fans cheered Wakefield as he left the field, but he did not react. He allowed three runs and five hits and two walks in all, striking out six in 6 2-3 innings.

“It’s hard,” Francona said. “I knew what it meant to the fans wanting to see it – and so do I – and to him personally. But you do what you have to do to try and win the game.”

The right-handed knuckleballer, who turned 45 on Tuesday and is the oldest active player in the majors, will have another chance at becoming the 108th pitcher with 200 wins – the 89th since 1900 – is expected to come on Monday or Tuesday night.

Carrasco, who had lost five straight starts, was suspended six games and fined $2,500 for throwing at the head of Kansas City’s Billy Butler on Friday night. He said he would drop his appeal and begin the suspension after Wednesday night’s game.

Notes: The teams are back for game four of the series on Thursday night, when newly acquired starter Erik Bedard will face former Red Sox pitcher Justin Masterson. Masterson is 3-3 with a 1.76 ERA in his past 11 games (10 starts). He was part of the deal that brought Victor Martinez to Boston at the 2009 trading deadline. In three career starts against his former team, he is 2-0 with a 1.25 ERA. … Bedard only went 1 1-3 innings and gave up five runs in his previous start, for Seattle against Tampa Bay – his first start since coming off the DL (sprained left knee). … To make room for Jimenez on the roster, the Indians optioned LHP David Huff to Triple-A Columbus. … Indians OF Michael Brantley was given the night off to rest his sore right wrist. … Kipnis is the first Indians rookie to homer in four straight games since Al Rosen in 1950, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. … Pedroia was the AL player of the month for July, with 46 hits in the month. … Boston SS Marco Scutaro was back in the lineup after sitting out Tuesday’s game with dizziness. … The Red Sox batter with game-ending hits on consecutive days of the regular season was Butch Hobson in 1978, though David Ortiz did it in the 2004 playoffs against the New York Yankees.

(Sports Network) – Andrew Miller has been a pleasant surprise for the Boston
Red Sox. He tries to stay undefeated tonight when the Red Sox open a four-game
series with the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.

Miller has filled in admirably for an injured Clay Buchholz, and could become
a bigger factor now that Jon Lester has been placed on the 15-day disabled
list. A former first round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2006, Miller has gone
2-0 with a 3.06 earned run average and has not allowed more than three runs in
any of his three starts.

He won his second straight outing on Saturday in Houston, as he allowed two
runs and seven hits in six innings.

“I felt good,” said Miller. “I went out there and felt like I normally do for
a start. I tried to treat it like any other one — go out there, throw a lot
of strikes, make them put it in play, and fortunately I was able to do that
today, and we put up more runs on the board than they did.”

Miller has faced the Orioles on just one other occasion and did not get a
decision, but gave up just one run and one hit in seven innings of that one.

The Red Sox enter this series on the heels of taking two of three from the
Toronto Blue Jays and have moved within a half-game of the New York Yankees
for first place in the American League East.

On Wednesday, Jacoby Ellsbury led off the bottom of the first inning with a
homer and his two-run double capped a big fourth, as the Red Sox rolled to a
6-4 win. Kevin Youkilis went 3-for-4 with a solo homer for Boston, which won
for the sixth time in seven games despite playing without American League
batting-leader Adrian Gonzalez. He was given the day off Wednesday after
playing in all 85 previous contests this season.

Tim Wakefield (5-3) had a season-high seven strikeouts over seven frames to
get the win. The 44-year-old knuckleball specialist scattered nine hits and
allowed three runs and a walk for his 198th career victory.

“It was very satisfying. I knew I had to go deep in the game today. The
bullpen has been taxed pretty heavily the past couple of days,” Wakefield
said. “That’s something as a starting pitcher you take a lot of pride in to
get deep in the game and try to preserve those guys for the next series.”

Jonathan Papelbon allowed an RBI single to Yunel Escobar with two outs in the
ninth, but then struck out Eric Thames to secure his 19th save of the season.

Baltimore, meanwhile, was swept in a three-game set by the Texas Rangers,
losing 13-5 in Wednesday’s finale. The defending AL champs outscored the O’s
30-11 in the whitewash.

Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero homered for the Orioles, losers in eight of
their last nine games.

Guthrie (3-11), who was charged with nine hits and six runs over five innings,
fell to 1-7 on the road. He threw 38 pitches in the first inning.

“I would have loved to pitch better,” Guthrie said. “I did not have a good
outing, start to finish really struggled. I worked harder than I should have
had to work. It’s disappointing.”

Hoping for a better effort tonight, Baltimore will turn to young right-hander
Jake Arrieta, who is 9-5 with a 4.74 ERA. Arrieta lost for the second time in
three tries on Saturday in Atlanta, as he allowed five runs – all in the
fourth inning – and six hits in five innings.

“I got two quick outs, had a guy 0-2 and just fell apart,” Arrieta said. “I
don’t know, to be honest with you. I couldn’t get it done. … It’s just a
terrible feeling.”

He has faced the Red Sox one other time and gave up three runs and six hits in
five innings, but did not get a decision.

The Orioles have split their four matchups with the Red Sox this season.

The Sports Network

CBSSports.com wire reports
July 6, 2011

BOSTON — Another Red Sox pitcher goes on the disabled list, and Tim Wakefield just keeps trotting out to the mound.

The oldest active player in the majors — he’ll be 45 in less than a month — Wakefield earned his 198th career victory on Wednesday night, scattering nine hits over seven innings to lead Boston to a 6-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

“He was pitching the best I’ve seen him so far,” said catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who chased three of Wakefield’s knucklers to the backstop for passed balls. “He’s definitely a guy that deserves to be in the rotation.”

Jacoby Ellsbury and Kevin Youkilis had three extra-base hits apiece as the Red Sox won for the sixth time in seven games. Wakefield (5-3) allowed three runs, struck out seven and walked one, providing the team a boost as it tries to cobble together a rotation without Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka.

“He stepped in and pitched professionally,” manager Terry Francona said. “It’s sure nice to have a guy like that.”

The longest-tenured member of the Red Sox, Wakefield started the season without a spot in the rotation but has made 20 appearances, including 11 starts, because of injuries to other Boston starters. The latest was Lester, who went on the DL before Wednesday’s game, a day after leaving after four innings with a strained muscle in his back.

The day before that, John Lackey lasted just 2 1/3 innings.

“I know I had to go deep in the game tonight because the bullpen had been taxed lately,” Wakefield said. “As a starting pitcher, it’s something you take a lot of pride in.”

The Red Sox said after the game that Lester had an MRI that confirmed a strained latissimus muscle; he will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break. Doctors also confirmed Buchholz’s strained lower back can be treated with rehabilitation.

Francona said the news on both was good.

“Yeah,” he said. “Really good.”

Ricky Romero (7-8) gave up six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings for Toronto. He surrendered leadoff homers in the first two innings, to Ellsbury and Youkilis, and allowed five straight hits — three of them doubles — as Boston scored four times in the fourth inning.

The game was delayed by rain with two outs in the top of the eighth inning, Boston leading 6-3 and Aaron Hill coming to bat. After a 40-minute delay, Dan Wheeler struck Hill out, then Jonathan Papelbon gave up one run in the ninth but earned his 19th save.

Yunel Escobar had four hits, including an RBI single in the ninth, for Toronto, which went homerless for the first time in 14 games. Jose Bautista and Travis Snider had two hits apiece.

Romero had allowed just 17 runs in his previous 75 2/3 innings, but he has struggled against the Red Sox. In 11 career starts vs. Boston, he is 2-6 with an 8.08 ERA — his worst numbers against any team.

“This is not the way I wanted to end the first half, like this,” Romero said. “I know I’m good enough to pitch against any team. … I’m looking forward to facing them next time and hopefully I’m successful.”

The solo homers gave Boston a 2-1 lead before the Blue Jays made it 3-2 in the third on a sacrifice fly by Bautista and Adam Lind’s RBI single. But with two out in the fourth, J.D. Drew doubled, then Darnell McDonald and Saltalamacchia singled and Yamaico Navarro and Ellsbury doubled to give Boston a 6-3 lead.

Youkilis left Monday’s game after being hit by a pitch in the fourth inning and rested Tuesday night. He returned to the lineup on Wednesday and started at first base for the first time this season, filling in for Adrian Gonzalez, who got his first day off of the season because of a stiff neck.

Notes

• RHP Scott Atchison was called up to replace Lester on the roster; he’ll work out of the bullpen.
• Bautista’s 28 home runs before the All-Star break is one short of the Blue Jays’ record set by George Bell in 1987.
• Toronto fell to 29-30 on the road this season.
• Papelbon hit J.P. Arencibia with a pitch in the ninth. He was replaced by pinch-runner Mike McCoy.