Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis each blasted a two-run home run as the Red Sox cruised past the Diamondbacks 6-2 for the second straight night. Jon Lester threw seven innings and struck out seven batters in picking up his eighth win of the season. Rodrigo Lopez took the loss for Arizona.
Pedroia started Boston off with a bang in the first inning, following up a leadoff single by Marco Scutaro with his ninth homer of the season into the Green Monster seats. The D-Backs got back in it thanks to a two-run shot from Justin Upton in the third. However, the Sox took control right back with a couple of two-out RBI by J.D Drew and Adrian Beltre in the bottom half.
Lester then danced his way out of a couple of jams, including one with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the fifth inning. Youkilis put the runs on the board in the seventh inning with a two-run bomb off Lopez. It was Youk's 13th shot of the season.
Ramon Ramirez recorded two outs in the ninth, but gave way to closer Jonathan Papelbon when Arizona put runners on first and second. Papelbon recorded the final out to earn his 15th save.
The Sox will look to sweep the Diamondbacks out of Fenway tomorrow. John Lackey goes for Boston against Arizona's Dan Haren. The Red Sox also announced today that prospect Felix Doubront will come up from Triple-A Pawtucket to fill in for an injured Daisuke Matsuzaka Friday night against the Dodgers. Doubront is 2-1 with a 1.08 ERA in four starts for the PawSox this season.
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