Boston Red Sox baseball team

Terry Francona’s memorable run as manager of the Red Sox, during which he guided the club to its first two World Series championships since 1918, has come to an end.

The most stunning part about the departure was the abrupt nature of it, and the fact that Francona said multiple times it was his decision not to return.

The Red Sox held option years for Francona for the next two seasons, and had until Oct. 8 to decide whether to pick up the 2012 pact, which would have paid him $4.25 million.

Francona met with general manager Theo Epstein on Thursday, a day after the Red Sox completed their epic collapse and became the first team in history to have a nine-game lead in the standings in September and not make the postseason. He met again with Epstein, assistant general manager Ben Cherington and the ownership trio of John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino on Friday.

Thinking he was no longer the voice the Red Sox needed, Francona took the decision of whether to pick up his option years — a decision, which by the way hadn’t been made yet — out of the hands of ownership and Epstein.

“That’s something that Tito and I talked about [Thursday] when we met,” Epstein said on Friday. “I think we were pretty open about it in our press conference yesterday as well, that Tito and I had. It was a topic of conversation again today when John, Tom, Larry, Ben, Tito and I met. We talked about the need for a little bit of an improvement in the clubhouse culture.

“A little bit more leadership, maybe a little bit more engagement. Holding the organization and players to higher standards in some areas. I asked Tito and then in the group we did as well, whether he could be that guy. Whether he could take a couple of weeks off and go think about the things that didn’t go right this year, what we weren’t able to get out of this team and to look himself in the mirror.

“As I talked about yesterday, it wasn’t my best year, it wasn’t his best year. As an organization, it wasn’t our best year. [I asked him], ‘Look yourself in the mirror and think if there’s things you could do differently, if you could come back next Spring Training with a new voice and provide some of the leadership that’s needed to improve the culture in our clubhouse and to meet those high standards that we have. He thought about it and he said that he thought it was time to move on.”

Did the Red Sox directly ask Francona to return as manager, something they could have done verbally or by exercising his option either during the season or before the deadline?

“No,” Francona said. “We talked about a lot of different things. I think they wanted to know about how I felt about coming back. I think that’s a fair way to put it. And I told them a lot of things that were on my mind — obviously a lot of things about the organization, then the team, what went right, what didn’t go right and then I told them I thought it was time for a new voice. And it’s not an easy thing to say. But I thought it was the right thing to do.”

The parting of ways with the man many consider to be the best manager in Red Sox history was announced by the club shortly after 5 p.m. ET on Friday. Francona had a press conference two hours later, and Epstein held a separate one flanked by Werner and Lucchino a little later.

“I’ve been talking to Theo probably more than people realize,” Francona said. “Theo and I had talked a bunch. We had agreed to talk this morning with ownership. And, I just felt like, like what it said in the press release, I think it’s time for a new voice here. I was frustrated with some of my inabilities to get some things done here. After talking to ownership and Theo at length, multiple times, I think it’s the right thing to do for the organization and myself.”

While the Red Sox were quick to point out that Francona was not a scapegoat for the team’s nose-dive out of the postseason, the manager showed plenty of accountability and remorse for the way the last month panned out.

“I actually feel like I let a lot of people down,” Francona said. “Walking out of the clubhouse in Baltimore the other night, that’s the one thing I told Theo, was I felt like I let them down. It’s my responsibility to get this done and it didn’t happen, and I take responsibility for that.”

The one thing all the decision-makers and Francona all seemed to agree on is that the clubhouse culture had needed an upgrade. This team didn’t have the same unity as in the years that ended with the Red Sox either going all the way or advancing deep into the postseason.

Epstein wanted Francona to take some time to decide whether he could be the voice to help improve the team’s culture. Ownership similarly told Francona to take some time to decide for sure he didn’t want to return.

“We went into this meeting today really wanting to hear Terry’s point of view about what went right this year, what went wrong this year,” said Werner, the team’s chairman. “And he expressed the feeling when we asked him, he felt that we did need a new voice. After that, we tried to slow the train down a little bit and ask Terry to think about it over the weekend. As he said in his press conference, I think he made up his mind and, so, that’s how this was resolved.”

Perhaps the Red Sox would have ultimately decided not to bring Francona back after doing an exhaustive evaluation. But the manager didn’t feel that waiting would have served a purpose.

“Theo actually asked me about that,” Francona said. “No. Once I make up my mind, I think I’m ready. We could have waited through the weekend, but it would have just prolonged getting done what’s needed to be done.”

Francona was asked if he considered improving or changing some of his techniques, rather than stepping down. He indicated that one reason he didn’t do that is because he didn’t know if ownership was as much behind him as in years past.

“Well, some of it may be personal, but I just thought it was time to go,” Francona said. “Again, to be honest with you, I didn’t know or I’m not sure how much support there was from ownership, and I don’t know that I felt real comfortable. You’ve got to be all-in in this job, and I voiced that today. There were some things that maybe, going through things here to make it work, it’s got to be everybody together, and I was questioning some of that a little bit.”

Lucchino, the president/CEO of the Red Sox, said he was puzzled by Francona’s statement.

“We have done nothing differently this year than we have done in previous years and I think it’s a question you probably have to ask him,” Lucchino said. “I thought he did an exceptional job in conveying the strength of his feelings and his frustrations, and his fatigue with the situation here in Boston. I must confess to being a little puzzled as to what was different this year than previous years.”

Known for his even keel and keeping the team loose during the toughest of times, Francona had a 744-552 record with the Red Sox.

“We’re going to miss him,” said Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz. “Tito is a good dude. He might have had his problems with ownership and front office, but I really don’t know anything about that. Tito was someone that I played eight years for. We’re going to miss him. In my situation, I never got in Tito’s way and he never got in mine. He would remind me about some things sometimes when I really needed it. But life has to continue. I know he’ll be somewhere else at some point.”

Francona went 8-0 in the World Series, becoming the first manager in history to win his first six World Series games.

Francona came to Boston in December 2003, at which point the franchise was stung by coming within five outs of advancing to the World Series, losing to the Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

“Tito and I didn’t know each other when he was hired eight years ago, but over time we developed not only a great working relationship but also a personal friendship that will always be important to both of us,” Epstein said. “He proved to be an unflappable leader for our Major League club, displaying consistency, calmness, hard work, thoughtfulness, a sense of humor, and faith in the players even at the most difficult of times. Without Tito’s commitment over eight years, we would not be the organization we are today.

“Nobody at the Red Sox blames Tito for what happened at the end of this season; we own that as an organization. This year was certainly a difficult and draining one for him and for us. Ultimately, he decided that there were certain things that needed to be done that he couldn’t do after eight years here, and that this team would benefit from hearing a new voice. While this may be true, his next team will benefit more than it knows from hearing Tito’s voice. I will miss seeing Tito every day in the manager’s office, and I wish him and his family nothing but the best in their next chapter.”

In Francona’s first season with Boston, the Sox won it all, breaking the so-called “Curse of the Bambino” after 86 years. Down 3-0 in the 2004 ALCS, the Red Sox became the first team in Major League history to come all the way back and win a postseason series after facing such a deficit.

“I would like to make one preliminary comment and that is simply to express our thanks, our gratitude, our respect and appreciation to Tito Francona for the job he has done for this franchise over this last eight years,” Lucchino said. “There’s plenty of documentation of his accomplishments in these statements but we owe him a debt of gratitude for the work he has done here with this franchise. He was a central component in the historic success the franchise achieved over these last eight years and he leaves with our respect and our deep appreciation for his accomplishments.”

Boston faced similar adversity in 2007 as in ’04, trailing the Indians, 3-1, before the Red Sox rallied to win that ALCS and then sweep the Rockies in the World Series.

The championships are something Francona will never forget.

“I haven’t had a lot of time to reflect yet because as you can imagine it’s been kind of an up and down couple of days, an emotional couple of days for me,” Francona said. “I think the biggest thing I’ll always remember is watching guys jump on the pile. That’s my favorite memories, because you have guys from all over different parts of the world that have fought through frustration and you can see the pure joy on their face, that means we accomplished what we set out to do.”

The Sox nearly got to another World Series under Francona in 2008, coming back again from 3-1 against the Rays in the ALCS to force Game 7, only to lose a tight game.

The Red Sox didn’t make it to the postseason the past two years. Injuries were a major reason in 2010, as Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Kevin Youkilis were all lost for the stretch run with season-ending ailments. This time, the Red Sox simply collapsed, and nobody could seem to fix it.

Players didn’t seem to have any sense that Francona was on the way out until rumors started surfacing once the season came to a crashing halt.

“I never even took it into consideration to even think about it,” said pitcher Clay Buchholz. “Whenever all the stuff started swirling around on the Internet and everything and on the TV, that’s when everything clicked and I was like, I might not have the same manager next year if this keeps going the way it’s going.”

Before coming to Boston, Francona managed the Phillies during a rebuilding period from 1997-2000, going 285-363.

What exactly happened in the clubhouse in 2011 that made Francona — and perhaps his bosses — come to the conclusion that he wasn’t as effective a leader as in the past?

“This team, and don’t everyone forget, a month ago, we were on pace to win about 100 games,” Francona said. “When things start to go, I wanted desperately for our guys to care about each other on the field. I think I referenced that a few times. I wasn’t seeing that as much as I wanted to. When I thought I tried to help make that better, and the coaches also, I just wasn’t ever comfortable. You’ve heard me say all the time about going in one direction, and getting through challenges and meeting them together. I just didn’t think we were doing that. That’s my responsibility to get them to do that. It just wasn’t happening to my satisfaction.”

The Red Sox will go on an exhaustive search to find Francona’s replacement.

“Obviously, we’ll do a thorough job,” Epstein said. “We want to get the right guy. That’s more important than doing it quickly. With respect to what qualities we’re looking for, this is a tough job. I’ll use the same process we used eight years ago when we identified and hired Tito. Looking back at that process eight years ago, we found the right guy and hired the right guy. He did a remarkable job, and this organization is forever changed because of the job he did here.”

Ryan Lavarnway hit a game-winning three-run home run for Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday night, clinching the PawSox International League North title, and more good news only followed.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said the catcher/designated hitter will be added to the big league club on Monday. Since he was on the roster prior to Aug. 31, he is eligible for the postseason roster, though it would seem a stretch to include him along with Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Francona said Lavarnway will be the only Pawtucket player called up on Monday, since the skipper wants to make sure he’s not taking away from the PawSox roster unless the big league team really needs the extra man.

“We can let them finish their season out,” he said. “If we need somebody, we can always go get them. We could call up seven guys and have them sit here, or you could let them play there and get regular innings and regular at-bats — and if we need them, we’ll call them up.”

Count outfielder Ryan Kalish as one who will not be added to the Red Sox at any point this year, as the 23-year-old was set to undergo season-ending surgery on his neck on Thursday. Even Josh Reddick, who has been competing with Kalish for outfield supremacy in the organizational depth chart, can feel for the poor luck Kalish has suffered. In addition to the lingering neck pain, Kalish has also dealt with a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder this season.

“Once I found out the news [of neck surgery] it kind of just sent me to the floor,” Reddick said. “Any teammate that happens to like that, you’re never going to be happy about it, despite me and him both in the outfield.

“It’s great to have buddies like that, despite the competition with each other. It makes it that much more fun, being that me and him are kind of the same player.”

The Red Sox completed the month by making it the best July in team history, running off a 20-6 mark. They did so by winning a franchise-record seventh consecutive series on the road. But after Sunday’s 5-3 victory over the White Sox, there was a lack of giddiness by Boston over the recent accomplishments.

This is a team that expects to be good. And aside from a 2-10 start to the season, they’ve been just that.

“We’ve been playing good ball,” said Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. “We just have to keep it rolling. We don’t have that big of a lead in the division, so we’ve got to play good baseball.”

The Red Sox lead the Yankees by two games in the American League East. They have that slight margin thanks to players like Pedroia, who had a 25-game hitting streak snapped Friday, but continues to get big hits.

The latest came on Sunday afternoon, when Pedroia lined a two-run single up the middle in the top of the seventh against White Sox reliever Jesse Crain to overturn a one-run deficit and lead the Red Sox to a 5-3 victory.

“I’m excited to hit with guys on base,” said Pedroia. “I’m just trying to drive the ball to the outfield and get one run in. It was lucky for us that we got two.”

Lefty Andrew Miller gave up 10 hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out a season-high eight. With the Red Sox acquiring southpaw Erik Bedard during Sunday’s game, Miller’s rotation spot could eventually be in jeopardy, though he is expected to make his next start.

“I’m concerned with how I pitch,” said Miller, who has a 5.36 ERA. “I think that’s out of my control. I can’t worry about that. It is what it is.”

Alfredo Aceves earned the win for Boston, turning in a scoreless inning. If the Sox hadn’t been able to acquire Bedard, Aceves might have moved to the rotation. Now, he can stay right where he helps Boston the most.

“We toyed with the fact of maybe putting him in the rotation if need be, but I think we really view him as such a huge help in that bullpen, we’d rather not,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona.

Daniel Bard kept his sizzling stretch of pitching going by recording four outs. The righty has gone a career-high 26 1/3 innings without allowing a run.

Jonathan Papelbon came on in the ninth for the save, his 24th.

The go-ahead rally in the seventh was started on one-out singles by Marco Scutaro and Jacoby Ellsbury.

And once Pedroia was in position to come through in the clutch, he did so yet again.

“Pedey, as normal, comes up with a huge, clutch hit, and we hung on with some good pitching,” Francona said.

The Red Sox, facing lefty Mark Buehrle, broke out first. In the top of the second, Darnell McDonald worked an eight-pitch walk. Jason Varitek followed by belting a two-run homer to left-center, No. 7 on the season and his second right-handed.

Miller ran into trouble in the bottom of the second. Tyler Flowers reached on a one-out single and Brent Morel drilled an RBI double to center, on which Ellsbury mistimed his leap.

Alex Rios tied it up in the bottom of the third, lining an RBI single to right. And after giving up back-to-back singles to open the fourth, Miller allowed an RBI single up the middle to Alexei Ramirez, and the White Sox had their first lead of the day at 3-2.

From there, Chicago’s offense went silent.

“When you don’t score runs in the American League, it’s going to be hard to win games,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. “The pitchers can take you so far. Every game is game is a battle. Every game, know that one mistake can cost you the game, they can take the lead.”

Adrian Gonzalez upped his Major League-leading RBI total to 90 with a one-out double in the ninth. It marked Gonzalez’s seventh consecutive multihit game. The star first baseman is hitting .357.

“He’s a good hitter. He’s just a good hitter,” Francona said. “It’s nice to see that neck loosen up a little bit, because he’s starting to pull the ball and hit the ball to left field.”

Minds and bodies were getting tired as the stalemate between the Red Sox and Rays went all night Sunday and into the early hours of Monday morning.

It was the type of occasion that called for Dustin Pedroia — who will never be accused of lacking energy — to be a hero.

And that’s exactly what the little second baseman was for the Red Sox, raking a two-out, RBI single into right, bringing home the only run of an epic, 1-0 16-inning victory against the Rays.

By the time the madness had ended, Pedroia had even earned a new nickname within the confines of his clubhouse that seemed as if it was about to go viral.

“The Muddy Chicken is definitely the player of the game,” Red Sox ace Josh Beckett said of Pedroia. “He got it done when we absolutely needed it.”

The Muddy Chicken?

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about, man. It sounds awesome, though, doesn’t it?” said Pedroia.

New monikers aside, Pedroia was just happy to give his team a big hit when they needed it most.

“I just wanted to go home,” Pedroia said after a game that ended at 1:54 a.m. ET. “I think everyone did. We were trying our best pretty much the whole night to score some runs. But they threw the ball outstanding all night. We did, too. It was a great game — we’re just happy we won.”

At last, the first substantial rally of the night by either side was set up by a leadoff walk to Josh Reddick, a sacrifice bunt by Jason Varitek and then a chopper for an infield hit by Marco Scutaro.

With Reddick on third and just one out, righty Adam Russell, the ninth pitcher of the night for the Rays, got a temporary reprieve when he got Jacoby Ellsbury on a shallow flyout to left.

But up stepped Pedroia, who banged Russell’s 0-1 offering into right, allowing Reddick to trot home.

“It was a fastball away,” Russell said. “It was where I wanted it. He made a good hit on it, put some good wood on it. Fell in there.”

Without question, Pedroia was the man the Red Sox wanted at the plate at that critical moment.

“Because by that time, it’s not just physical but it’s mentally draining,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “That’s probably the one guy you know that’s going to figure out a way.”

Reddick was one of many players who helped the game go that long, making a spectacular leaping catch against the wall to end the bottom of the 10th.

And back when it was an electric starting pitching duel between Beckett and Jeff Niemann, Pedroia made a couple of tremendous diving stops to rob the Rays of hits.

There were several frustrating squanders for the Red Sox, before Pedroia made the marathon contest a worthwhile endeavor.

“It was a nice win — it was a long one. Nobody holds us down for 16 innings,” quipped Francona.

Alfredo Aceves fired three scoreless innings to earn the win for Boston, again serving as an invaluable weapon.

“It’s not easy for pitchers, but the game today was a long game,” Aceves said. “Sixteen innings. Everybody was enjoying it and having fun out there. There wasn’t much we could do. Just play.”

Jonathan Papelbon came on for the save, sending the Red Sox off to Baltimore on a winning note. Adrian Gonzalez ended it on a diving stop of a Reid Brignac grounder.

It seemed to end just in time.

“I was beat up,” Pedroia said. “I’m sure everyone else was, too. It’s a great win for us. We had one earlier in the year when we lost one like this. It takes a lot out of you. It gives us a boost, so now we head to Baltimore. We’ll get there probably round 7:30 a.m. or something and play soon.”

One man who won’t play is the captain. Varitek, who is 39, caught all 16 innings.

“I’m just not going to sit down,” Varitek said. “I’m scared to sit down. It was tough, but it’s a nice one to win. You lose that one, and it probably hurts a little more.”

It was the longest game the Red Sox had been scoreless in since a 17-inning tie against the St. Louis Browns on July 14, 1916.

It was also the longest game by time in Rays history.

“It was actually two games,” said Beckett. “It felt like two games for everybody that was on the bench. We had rally caps going and everything. It was pretty good for us to be out there for that. This was a pretty wild one. It was fun to be a part of though.”

If ever the Red Sox were going to break the scoreless tie, the top of the 11th seemed like the time. The Rays all but tried to gift-wrap a run to Boston, as they walked Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and pinch-hitter Darnell McDonald to load the bases with nobody out. But Jake McGee struck out Reddick, and Juan Cruz came in and struck out Varitek and induced Scutaro into a foul popup to the catcher.

Both starting pitchers were nothing short of magnificent. Beckett went eight innings, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out six for Boston. Tampa Bay’s Niemann allowed two hits over eight innings, walking two and registering 10 strikeouts.

The Rays made a bid to start a rally in the bottom of the 10th when Justin Ruggiano skied one to deep left that looked like it might even have enough legs to be a walk-off homer. But Reddick made a tremendous leaping catch against the wall for the third out, saving what would have been an extra-base hit. B.J. Upton had climbed out of the Rays dugout to start a walk-off celebration. Instead, Upton had to grab his glove and go back to center field for the top of the 11th.

“I saw it off the bat real well and got a good jump and figured I had it all the way with Ellsbury being where he was,” Reddick said. “Luckily we communicated well. The good thing with me is I’ve been able to scale the wall pretty good. I played basketball in my day. I have a little bit of ups.”

It didn’t seem that Reddick’s catch — or anything else — could deflate the Rays. By the end of the night, Pedroia — who had three of Boston’s five hits — had one too many chances.

“Just put it down in the newspaper, I wouldn’t trade Pedey for nobody in this league right now,” said Ortiz.

Jose Iglesias got his first shot in the Major Leagues last month, spending a couple weeks with the Red Sox while shortstop Marco Scutaro was on the 15-day disabled list with a strained oblique.

Iglesias spent most of his time on the bench, observing the big league pros and how they go about their everyday business.

But he did appear in six games, being used a defensive replacement late in the game and a pinch-runner in key situations, even scoring the game-winning run his first time on base.

Iglesias is Boston’s No. 1 prospect, according to MLB.com, with a slick glove and a great arm, his name has been discussed in connection with future Gold Gloves. But the Cuban defector could still be years away with his bat.

The 21-year-old was 0-for-4 in his brief stint with Boston, striking out twice, and he’s struggled to hit at the Triple-A level this season as well. In 41 games with Pawtucket, Iglesias is batting .238 with just one extra-base hit in 151 at-bats.

But the Red Sox will likely be patient with him, and with Scutaro’s two-year contract up at the end of the 2011 season, Iglesias could be on Boston’s roster to begin next season. Iglesias profiles as an eventual No. 2 hitter, but he’s been hitting out of the eight-hole in Triple-A and will need to show some strides before he gets his big league chance.

Left-hander Felix Doubront, perhaps the next guy on the prospect list to join the Red Sox, needs to keep himself healthy. The Venezuelan spent some time with Boston earlier in the season, making three appearances out of the bullpen, but his left elbow was at about only 80 percent.

Manager Terry Francona has said multiple times that the organization has a lot of faith in the 23-year-old, but the Sox want to take their time with him. Doubront is being stretched out as a starter with Triple-A Pawtucket right now, but an injured groin delayed his progress yet another few weeks.

In his last three starts at Triple-A, Doubront has thrown 12 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, and striking out 17 batters.

His nametag sits above the trainer’s room in Pawtucket, perhaps a joke to his fragile body he’s shown recently, but there will likely come a time this season when he’s needed in Boston, and it could be sooner rather than later.

Josh Reddick is a name many Red Sox fans are familiar with, as the 24-year-old outfielder has been up and down with the club the past three seasons. Reddick struggled his first two years, but he looked like a much different hitter when called upon this season, going 5-for-13 with four RBIs during his stay with Boston.

The problem, as he looked around the clubhouse last week and admitted, is that he’s a left-handed outfielder and fourth on the Sox’s depth chart. There just aren’t any at-bats for him with the Red Sox right now, and unless an injury or roster move occurs, Reddick may be slated for consistent at-bats with Pawtucket for the majority of the season.

Another club might be happy to have him, as he is tied for third in the International League with 12 home runs. He’s waiting for everyday playing time in the Major Leagues, and the Georgia native has handled his role like a professional.

Anthony Ranaudo has flown threw the Minors in his first full season as a professional. After being drafted in the sandwich round last June, slipping in the Draft because of right elbow issues and command problems, the 21-year-old righty went 4-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 10 starts for Greenville.

He was promoted to the Class A Advanced level and made his first start for Salem on Wednesday night, needing just 63 pitches to hurl six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out three.

If Ranaudo can stay healthy and continue to make progress, the youngster could move quickly through the Minor Leagues.

It no longer seems to matter who takes the mound for the Red Sox or which hitter comes to the plate in a key spot. Invariably, whoever that person is keeps coming through, and what you have is a red-hot team that is feeling better about itself with each passing day.

Backed by a vintage knuckleball by Tim Wakefield and another plethora of hitting heroes, the Sox rolled to a 6-3 victory over the Tigers on Friday night.

Boston is 12-2 over the last 14 games, and has sole possession of first place in the American League East after the Yankees’ loss to the Mariners late Friday evening.

“Yeah, we’re playing good,” said second baseman Dustin Pedroia. “We know where we came from, so we’re just going to keep showing up every day and play winning baseball. That’s it. It’s been fun. We’re going to keep it going.”

With John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list, Alfredo Aceves and Wakefield continue to step up.

One day after Aceves stymied the Tigers, Wakefield did the same, allowing five hits and two runs over seven innings. He needed just 83 pitches, 58 of which were strikes.

“He got some fly balls, which he always does, he got some popups,” said manager Terry Francona. “It seemed like he kind of took the sting out [of their bats]. He was at 83 [pitches], that’s pretty good. We wanted to kind of hold him around 85 if we could, so it worked out really well.”

In four starts since Lackey and Dice-K went down, Aceves and Wakefield are a combined 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA.

“We were kind of talking about that. It’s impressive,” said Francona. “The four starts they’ve given us, I know they haven’t been able to go nine [innings], but they’ve been really solid starts. That gives your ballclub a huge lift.”

Of course, Wakefield has been supplying the Red Sox with these types of lifts long before Francona moved into the managers’ seat.

For the 44-year-old veteran, this is career win No. 195 overall and 181 with the Red Sox, leaving him 11 shy of Cy Young and Roger Clemens for the club’s all-time lead.

“You know, I’m just doing what I can to help us win games,” Wakefield said. “I was asked to fill a role here, and I’m trying to do the best that I can.”

Down, 2-1, after two, Wakefield got all the offense he needed in the third, when Boston — fresh off scoring 28 runs in the previous two games — erupted for a five-spot.

Jacoby Ellsbury got things started against Rick Porcello, ripping a homer to right. Pedroia kept the pressure on with a walk, and Adrian Gonzalez smacked a single. Kevin Youkilis didn’t let that RBI opportunity go by, hammering a two-run double to center.

“We’re swinging the bats great,” said Pedroia. “We’ve just got to keep it going.”

Nobody has been more adept at keeping things going of late than Carl Crawford, who belted a two-run homer to right to cap the damage in the big inning.

Over his last nine games, Crawford is hitting .429. In the last three games, he’s raised his average, from .212 to .245.

“Yeah, and he worked his way back from an 0-2 count to full [on the homer],” Francona said. “I guarantee you, a couple of weeks ago, that wouldn’t have happened. He did that a couple of times tonight. He’s obviously feeling a lot better about himself.”

As for Ellsbury, he is putting together an All-Star-caliber season. The speedster, who played just 18 games last year because of rib fractures, is hitting .299 with six homers, 27 RBIs, a .365 on-base percentage and 18 stolen bases.

“He’s a great player,” said Pedroia. “We expect this from him. He can do anything. He hits homers, he steals bases, he plays defense. He’s a special player, man.”

Given a four-run led, Wakefield put it into cruise control, keeping the Tigers off-balance with his knuckleball.

Of course, he’s only been doing that for the Red Sox since 1995. Is there any end in sight?

“He’s been doing it for a long time,” Francona said. “As long as he continues the work, I don’t know when it’s going to stop. Only, maybe, when he wants it to.”

And that moment doesn’t seem to be on the horizon.

“I’m not doubting that,” said Wakefield, asked if this could go on for a few more years. “I feel great physically. We’ll see what happens.”

Meanwhile, the Tigers will see if they can contain the Red Sox on Saturday.

“They’re obviously very hot, and right now, when they hit it good, it’s falling in,” said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. “And when they hit it bad, it’s falling in. I mean, Ellsbury dunks one in to start the game and then smokes a home run. He’s on fire right now. But you still have to make pitches, and when you make pitches, you shut teams down. And we just didn’t make very good pitches, and they’re pretty hot.”

After playing 16 games in 16 days, the Red Sox could at last take a breather on Thursday, their only day off in the month of May. The respite comes smack in the middle of a stretch in which the club plays 36 games in 37 days.

Conveniently, the club is spending the day off in the Big Apple, where there is no shortage of entertainment options. Amid a stressful 17-20 start, the Red Sox haven’t played up to anyone’s expectations — particularly their own.

Boston will resume play on Friday night, when a three-game rivalry showdown begins at Yankee Stadium.

But before finding a way to take the series from the Yankees, third baseman Kevin Youkilis urged his teammates to find some form of escape. This came after the club was swept in a two-game series in Toronto.

“Do whatever you want in New York City — that’s the thinking,” said Youkilis. “You can’t worry about baseball [Thursday], because you’re not playing baseball. So go enjoy the off-day, enjoy yourself, have fun, live life a little bit. You know you only have one off-day this whole month. Might as well live it up. For us, everyone should enjoy themselves, have a good time and make the most out of your off-day.”

Except for small spurts, the Red Sox haven’t had a whole lot of collective enjoyment on the field through the early portion of the season.

The Red Sox trail by five games in the American League East, which the Rays lead after winning Thursday afternoon, with the Yankees playing a Thursday night game against the Royals.

The way the Red Sox look at it, that deficit can easily be eliminated if several core players get to their expected level of performance. At the moment, Jacoby Ellsbury, Adrian Gonzalez, Jed Lowrie and David Ortiz are the only members of the starting nine who have the overall numbers you’d expect.

On the other side of the ball, Jon Lester and Josh Beckett have been the stalwarts. John Lackey has been belted around in four of his seven starts. Clay Buchholz, who has pitched well lately, has been inconsistent. Daisuke Matsuzaka? Still enigmatic.

“We’re not putting it all together,” second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. “We pitch good one day, we don’t hit. Hit good [the next day], we don’t pitch. To be a good team, you have to put it together. We’ll play better, I guarantee you that. We’re not going to end the season being [subpar] like we are.”

Pedroia vowed that the first 37 games is not an indicator of what type of season this will be for the 2011 Red Sox.

“Guys are going to figure it out, I know that,” Pedroia said. “I’m not going to hit .240. Youk’s not going to hit .240. Carl [Crawford] is not going to hit .210. [Jarrod Saltalamacchia] is not going to hit .200. It’s not going to happen. If we could throw away the first 36 games or however many we’ve played, yeah, we’d do it, but you can’t. We’ll figure it out. We have to. We’ve worked too hard — that’s it.”

It just so happens that the Yankees are next on the schedule, but the Red Sox aren’t in the position to be thinking about rivalry subplots. All they care about at the moment is finding a way to get in a groove.

“Right now, it doesn’t matter who we play,” Pedroia said. “We’re trying to find our way out of this. We want to be a lot better than what we’ve showed, that’s obvious. Everyone cares. We’ll figure it out.”

Even with the knowledge that they will “figure it out,” that doesn’t make this stretch any less frustrating.

“Yeah, man, we’re grinding away,” Pedroia said. “It’s not easy. We play good for three or four, then play [bad] for three of four. It’s frustrating. We’ll figure it out. We’ve got too much talent and too many guys who care to not.”

Quite often over the last few years, the Yankees have brought out the best in the Red Sox. When Boston opened the season with an 0-6 start, it bounced back by taking two out of three from the Yankees.

Another series win against New York could do wonders for morale and also help in the standings.

“It’s always exciting when you’re getting ready to go play the Yankees,” Crawford said. “Use the off-day and get the rest and regroup mentally, and get ready to come play those guys real hard.”

The Red Sox have their top three starters going in this series in Buchholz, Beckett and Lester.

“It’s going to be a good series,” said Saltalamacchia. “We’re all going to be hyped up — we know we’re going to be playing against a good team, we’re going to do the best we can and the key thing is just playing nine innings.”

Manager Terry Francona relied heavily on his big three in the bullpen to win Wednesday’s game in Oakland and Thursday’s 11-inning contest against the Angels. He knew he would have to pick his spots on Friday.

Prior to the contest, Francona, who was celebrating his 52nd birthday, declared Daniel Bard unavailable. The righty threw 20 pitches Wednesday and nine more on Thursday.

But Francona was confident he’d have either Bobby Jenks or Jonathan Papelbon if he needed one of them. The good news was that ace Jon Lester was on the mound.

“Go get ‘em, big boy,” quipped Francona. “No, I mean, we would always do what we need to do, but I’m pretty confident we’re in pretty good shape in a couple of places. They want to pitch, and I’m glad they do, but I want to make them go through trainer Mikey Reinold just because I think that’s the best way to do it.”

Jenks, who had struggled recently, turned in one of his best outings of the season to earn the win on Thursday. He threw 10 pitches, eight of them for strikes.

“I know he was excited last night,” Francona said. “He felt good about himself.”

This was the 100th opener at Fenway Park, but the case could be made that the Red Sox were never as desperate for a win in the previous 99 as they were in this one. And in the end, that made Friday’s 9-6 victory over the Yankees one to savor.

After entering the season with World Series aspirations — something more than a few prognosticators agreed with — Boston had stumbled en route to an 0-6 start for the first time since 1945.

But with a packed house of Fenway fans at their back, the Red Sox broke out their bats, producing a double-digit hit attack that helped offset another subpar start by John Lackey.

The Standells’ “Dirty Water,” the song played after every Red Sox win at Fenway, never sounded so good to the hometown.

“I’ve never seen a team so happy to be 1-6,” said manager Terry Francona. “That was the best we could do today. That’s good. You’ve got to start somewhere. We did some good things today.”

On a day Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski threw out the first pitch, several of Boston’s current hitting stars came through with big performances.

Dustin Pedroia (3-for-5, homer, three RBIs), Adrian Gonzalez (2-for-5, two runs) and David Ortiz (2-for-4) all came through with multihit games. Pedroia sparked the Red Sox early, driving in three runs over the first two innings.

“We’re 1-6,” said Pedroia. “Whatever. We’re just grinding, man. We don’t really care what [the media] writes. We don’t care what people think. We just need to go play baseball. We have a lot of great players on this team.”

Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who batted .077 on the road trip, came up with two hits as well, including a double that put the Red Sox ahead for good. J.D. Drew went 2-for-4 and drove in two.

The Red Sox, to a man, were happy to at last give their ravenous fan base something to cheer about.

“Every at-bat, every pitch, every inning, everything counts here,” said Ortiz. “We have fans all over the planet, and they worry about things. I know that sometimes it gets out of hand the way people want to make it look like. But it is what it is, and as a player, we’ve got to deal with it. Trust me, there were a lot of sad faces the past six days.”

Despite giving up seven hits and six runs over five innings, Lackey got the win.

“I don’t set my goals that low,” said Lackey. “I definitely want to do better than that. The guys swung the bats great and the bullpen was tremendous today. We won the game, so it worked out. I definitely have to keep working.”

The bullpen did a fine job after Lackey’s absence, silencing the Yankees over the final four innings.

Alfredo Aceves, recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket before the game, fired a strong sixth. Bobby Jenks mowed down the Yankees in the seventh. Daniel Bard threw a perfect eight. And Jonathan Papelbon was impressive in his first save opportunity, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

“The biggest part for us is getting that so-called monkey off our back and being able to move on to the next game and start playing our game,” Papelbon said.

For the second start in a row, it was clear in the early going that Lackey didn’t have his best stuff. He opened the game by walking Brett Gardner. With two outs, Alex Rodriguez drew a walk. That set up Robinson Cano for a two-run double to center.

Unlike the futile road trip, the Red Sox had their best from the outset in this one. Pedroia hammered a solo homer in the bottom of the first against Phil Hughes, putting Boston within one.

From his frenetic sprint back to the dugout to his fist-pounding of whatever teammates he came across, Pedroia gave his team an early spark.

“He’s definitely an emotional guy and somebody the other guys feed off of,” said Lackey. “He takes things really personal and gets fired up when things are going well or bad. He came up huge for us obviously.”

But the Yankees got that run right back in the top of the second, as Lackey gave up a one-out double to Curtis Granderson and a two-out double to Gardner.

After that, the Red Sox broke through with what was easily their biggest inning of the season, a five-spot that knocked out Hughes. The big hits were delivered by Pedroia (two-run double), Gonzalez (RBI single) and Ortiz (RBI single).

With a 6-3 lead at his disposal, Lackey failed to hold it. The Yankees came back with a run in each of the next three innings to tie it. The equalizer came on a towering solo blast from Rodriguez in the fifth.

Lackey hung in there just long enough to get a win.

“We needed to win a game, for sure, just to get moving in the right direction,” Lackey said. “The guys really swung the bats well today. The rest of us starters were talking about outlasting the other guy. I didn’t pitch well but hung in there long enough, I guess.”

After what the Red Sox had been through for the first week of the season, they weren’t looking for style points from Lackey or anyone else. They cared just about a letter — the “W.”

“They weren’t going to go out without a win this year,” said Yankees catcher Russell Martin. “It’s always frustrating when a team’s not doing too well. You want to keep them down while they’re down.”

By late Friday afternoon, the Red Sox had finally gotten back up.

Right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka has donated $1 million to the Red Sox Foundation to help victims of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck Japan on March 11.

All of the funds the Red Sox Foundation has collected in support of the disaster are going to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Matsuzaka, a native of Tokyo, joined the Red Sox in December 2006.

“Our efforts on the field are dedicated to all who are suffering from this catastrophe. We are in this together, so we must overcome tragedy together.” Matsuzaka said in a videotaped message released by the Red Sox earlier this month.

Three other pitchers in the Red Sox organization — Hideki Okajima, Junichi Tazawa and Itsuki Shoda — have also made personal donations to the Red Sox Foundation. Earlier this month, those pitchers joined Dice-K, captain Jason Varitek and other members of Boston’s staff to collect fan donations at the gates prior to a pair of Grapefruit League games at City of Palms Park.