Philadelphia, PA – Jacoby Ellsbury set a team record with five stolen bases and finished the game 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored as the Boston Red Sox pounded the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-2.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a pair of doubles, drove in three runs and scored once, while David Ortiz hit a solo home run and scored twice for the Red Sox, who took a split of this four-game series that saw each team play two at home.
Ellsbury stole a base in the second inning, fourth inning, two in the sixth and one in the eighth to break the former mark and he now leads the majors with 21 on the season.
"When I get to three or four, the game is usually out of hand, but I was able to get an opportunity and it worked out in my favor," said Ellsbury. "To be able to have the single-game record is really special and something that doesn't happen very often."
Franklin Morales (1-0) got the win in his first start of the season after he gave up just four hits, including a two-run homer to Delmon Young, with a pair of walks and strikeouts over five innings. He began the season on the disabled list with a lower-back strain before being activated on Tuesday.
Young's homer in the first inning accounted for all the offense for the Phillies, who had won the previous two games in this set after dropping the opener in Boston on Monday.
Jonathan Pettibone (3-1) suffered the first loss of his career in his eighth start after giving up four runs on six hits over five innings of work. He struck out five while walking four.
"Part of the plan was to pound some of the leftys in and I was just trying to fine-tune it too much," said Pettibone. "Some of the pitches wound up being balls and I fell behind in the count too often."
Pettibone came into the game having given up three runs or less in each of his first seven starts, but that streak didn't last long as the Red Sox put four on the board in the first inning.
Ellsbury led off with a single and moved to third as Daniel Nava followed with a single. Dustin Pedroia then plated the first run with a groundout to second. After Ortiz walked, Mike Carp ripped a base hit to right for another run. Two batters later, Saltalamacchia roped a double to right that just stayed fair for a 4-0 lead.
The Phils cut into the deficit in their first turn at-bat as Cesar Hernandez got his first career hit on a single to left with one out, and two batters later Young clubbed a pitch over the right field wall for his fourth home run and a 4-2 game.
Pettibone left runners at the corners in the second, while Erik Kratz hit into a bases-loaded double play in the Phillies' fourth inning.
In the sixth, the Red Sox padded their lead as Gomes smacked a pinch-hit home run over the wall in left-center for a 5-2 advantage.
Craig Breslow worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning for the Red Sox and the team added another run in the seventh on Ortiz's leadoff blast to right, his ninth of the year.
The Phils left runners on base in the seventh and eight innings before Boston put the game away in the ninth.
With Chad Durbin on the mound, Stephen Drew hit into a run-scoring groundout and consecutive RBI doubles from Saltalamacchia and Jose Iglesias made it a 9-2 game.
Game Notes
It was the first time in team history the Phillies had given up five stolen bases in a single game ... Morales improved to 2-0 in six meetings (two starts) against the Phillies ... Boston is 15-8 all-time at Citizens Bank Park ... The Phillies host Milwaukee for three games starting on Friday ... Boston travels to the Bronx to face the Yankees for a three-game set.