Rare Ortiz Homer Helps Red Sox Down D-backs 6-3 At Fenway

Boston, MA (Sports Network) – David Ortiz finished 2-for-4 with a two-run homer as Boston doubled up Arizona, 6-3, in the opener of a three-game interleague set from Fenway Park.

Dustin Pedroia collected two hits, knocked in a run and scored three times for the Red Sox, who have won three of four. Kevin Youkilis and Victor Martinez also drove in a run each for the victors.

Clay Buchholz (9-4) allowed seven hits and three runs with eight strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings for his sixth win in seven starts. Jonathan Papelbon hurled a scoreless ninth to earn his 14th save.

Justin Upton hit a two-run double for the D-Backs, who had taken the final two games of their weekend set against St. Louis.

Ian Kennedy (3-4) was tagged in defeat for six runs and nine hits over six full frames for Arizona, which suffered its 11th straight loss on the road.

The Sox put up three runs in the third to go ahead by a 5-1 count. Mike Cameron singled and advanced on a wild pitch, and after Daniel Nava walked, Pedroia smacked a double to plate Cameron. Two batters later, Nava scored on a another wild pitch and Pedroia moved up to third. After Kevin Youkilis fanned, Martinez hit a dribbler to short to score Pedroia.

Upton’s two-run double in the fourth got the D-Backs within 5-3, but Youkilis added another run to the BoSox ledger with an RBI two-bagger in the fifth. Pedroia got the frame started with a leadoff single and moved to second on a groundout.

Hideki Okajima spelled Buchholz in the sixth with a man on and kept Arizona off the board. Manny Delcarmen came on with one down in the seventh and got the next two batters.

Daniel Bard retired the side in order in the eighth and Papelbon did the same in the ninth to end the contest.

Both teams scored in the first, with Arizona striking on an RBI single by Adam LaRoche and Boston countering on a two-run blast from Ortiz.

Game Notes

This is the first meeting between the team since 2008, when the Sox took two of three from the D-Backs in Boston…The D-Backs haven’t won away from Phoenix since May 17 at Florida…Prior to the contest, Arizona dealt outfielder Conor Jackson to Oakland in exchange for pitcher Sam Demel.

Heilman To Replace Qualls As Closer, Universe Is Shocked ... Or Not

The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro is reporting that reliever Aaron Heilman will now get the bulk of the save opportunities in lieu of Chad Qualls, who has been struggling mightily.

Qualls has been in the cross-hairs all season long, posting an ERA of 8.46.

D-backs manager A.J. Hinch had this to say:

“I’m going to try a few different things. I let Qualls know today that he won’t close tonight and probably won’t close tomorrow night and we’ll go from there. I’m going to mix things up a little bit."

Immigration Rights Groups To Protest Today's Game At Fenway

The boycotts continue.

The Boston Globe is reporting that immigration rights groups will gather at Fenway Park today as the D-backs take on the Red Sox to protest Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070.

Peter Lowber, one of the rally organizers, had this to say:

“We think the Arizona law’s a travesty. It’s ridiculous. Our response by our politicians here in Massachusetts to the Arizona law is, ‘Oh we need some of that here in Massachusetts.’ "

Meanwhile, experts around the United States are still trying to figure out what SB1070 has to do with baseball and how boycotting MLB games changes anything in the discussion over who can and cannot be in this country.

On The Road Again, Diamondbacks Run Smack Into Fenway, Red Sox, 4:10 p.m. AZT

(Sports Network) - A big reason for Boston's recent success has been its play at Fenway Park. That's not good news for the Diamondbacks, who will be vying to halt a 10-game road losing streak tonight in the opener of a three-game interleague series against the Red Sox.

The Red Sox have won 11 of their last 16 games in Beantown and are 19-9 as the host since late April. They were in line for a three-game home sweep of the two-time defending National League champion Philadelphia Phillies, but dropped a 5-3 decision in Sunday's series finale.

Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield wasn't able to stymie the Phillies, as he was stuck with the loss for surrendering four runs and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings. Adrian Beltre homered and Dustin Pedroia collected three hits for Boston, which is four games off the pace in the American League East and 10-5 over the previous 15 contests.

"I had a bad fourth inning and just tried to keep us in the game as long as possible," Wakefield said. "We had a lot of chances to score runs and I felt our offense was going to score a lot of runs today. Unfortunately, we came out on the short end of the stick."

Taking the ball for the Red Sox tonight in the continuation of a 10-day, nine- game interleague homestand will beClay Buchholz, who hopes to get back on track in his 13th start. Buchholz was 5-0 with a 0.99 earned run average in five starts before losing in Cleveland last Wednesday. In the 11-0 loss to the Indians, Buchholz tossed seven innings of three-run ball.

The right-hander fell to 8-4 and raised his ERA to 2.52. He will try to push his home record over the .500 mark tonight, as he is 3-3 in six Fenway Park outings this season. Buchholz has never faced the Diamondbacks.

Arizona completed a successful 10-game homestand with a 6-4 mark and won the last two portions of a three-game set versus the St. Louis Cardinals. In Sunday's 7-5 win at Chase Field, Chris Young clubbed a two-out two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning off of Kyle McClellan.

"He gave me a good pitch to hit. I knew it had a chance," Young said.

Young homered twice and finished with three RBI, while Adam LaRoche drove in three runs for Arizona, which hasn't won on the road since May 17 at Florida and will also make a stop in Detroit on the trek.

Ian Kennedy will try to reverse Arizona's road fortunes when he toes the rubber at Fenway Park tonight. Kennedy is coming off a no-decision last Wednesday in a 2-1 win over Atlanta, as he held the Braves in check with seven shutout innings of three-hit ball. Kennedy struck out six and walked five.

The right-hander hasn't recorded a decision in three straight starts and is 3-3 with a 3.17 earned run average in 13 starts this season. Kennedy was acquired in the offseason as part of a three-team trade with the Yankees andTigers. He is 2-2 in seven road starts this season.

Boston has won four of the last six meetings with Arizona since losing all three matchups at Fenway Park back in 2002. The Red Sox are 131-104 against the National League, while Arizona is 86-104 all-time in interleague action.