BOSTON -- As one slugger was a last-minute scratch from the Red Sox lineup, another returned from a six-week DL stint, and factored into Boston's 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on a wild Friday night at Fenway Park.
Adrian Gonzalez was pulled from the lineup just moments before the first pitch, as he is rumored to be involved in a blockbuster trade that will send him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Meanwhile, David Ortiz returned from an achilles strain that sidelined him for nearly six weeks, and he drove in two runs on the first pitch he saw, ripping a single up the middle off Bruce Chen to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
But Ortiz wasn't the hero on Friday night. Pedro Ciriaco was.
Ciriaco's one-out chip shot over the head of Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas' head, scored two runs and gave the Red Sox a 4-3 lead, and the eventual win.
Jon Lester picked up his eighth win of the season, going seven-plus innings while allowing three runs on six hits and four walks. He came out to pitch the eighth inning after Ciriaco put the Red Sox ahead, but only lasted three pitches.
On the third pitch he threw -- which was a ball way outside -- Lester grabbed his left hamstring and was immediately replaced by Vicente Padilla. Him, Andrew Miller, and Andrew Bailey each recorded an out in the eighth inning, and Bailey picked up the four-out save.