Red Sox shoot for sweep of slumping Padres

The Boston Red Sox try to complete a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres on Thursday when they close out the interleague set from Fenway Park.

Boston won its third straight game on Wednesday, but needed some dramatics, as Jonny Gomes' pinch-hit, leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth propelled the Red Sox to a 2-1 victory.

Gomes greeted Luke Gregerson (4-4) with a deep drive which barely landed in the seats over the Green Monster off a hanging breaking ball to end the contest.

"He stays prepared," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "That's one thing, in the role that he's in, he's got a lot of experience in it and I guess a flair for the dramatic."

Koji Uehara (2-0) tossed a scoreless top of the ninth for the win.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia knocked in Mike Carp with a double for the Red Sox, who recorded their eighth walk-off victory this season with their seventh win in their last eight games overall.

Kyle Blanks drove in the lone run for the Padres, who dropped their fifth in a row and their seventh contest in the last nine.

Hoping to add to San Diego's recent woes will be righty Allen Webster, who is 0-2 with a 9.50 ERA. Webster did not get a decision on Friday against Toronto, as he allowed four runs and six hits in six innings of a 7-5 win.

"It felt really good the first four innings. I was locating my fastball, being able to get quick outs and stay in there," Webster said after the game against the Jays.

San Diego, meanwhile, will counter with lefty Eric Stults,. who is winless in his alt three starts. Stults absorbed the loss in Miami on Saturday, as he was hit hard for six runs (5 earned) in just 3 2/3 innings to fall to 6-6 on the year to go along with a 3.51 ERA.

"I just didn't feel like I could command my pitches tonight like I had been feeling," Stults said. "I had a pretty good stretch of starts here where I felt really good just with my delivery. Something was a little bit off."

However, over his last 11 starts, Stults is 4-4 with a 2.80 ERA while holding opponents to a .229 average. He has 44 strikeouts in that span.

This is just the fifth series between these teams, but the first since San Diego took two of three in Beantown in 2011.