Phillies

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff Your move, Papelbon. Celtics center Kevin Garnett took a shot at Sixers fans after Game 5 Monday night when asked to compare crowd at TD Garden in Boston to the one at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. "Not even close," said Garnett. "You got fans and then you got fair-weather fans. Take that how you want. " The Celtics have to play Game 6 in Philadelphia Wednesday night, so the timing for the bulletin board material might not be the best.

■ Detroit's Justin Verlander has pitched at least six innings in 52 straight starts. It's the longest streak in the majors since Steve Carlton did it for 69 consecutive starts from Sept. 13, 1979, to April 13, 1982. ■Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong struck out three times against Miami and is 0 for 15 with 13 strikeouts this season. ■The Reds and the Braves combined for 16 homers - 13 solo shots - accounting for 21 of the 24 runs in the four-game series.

Game over Hunter Pence reached on a bunt single, but he was doubled off first on a liner from Carlos Ruiz to Mike Aviles making life easier for Alfredo Aceves, who earned his ninth save. Aceves also allowed a single to Ty Wigginton after the double, but he struck out Hector Luna to end the game. There were 45,656 on hand. Top 9th: Red Sox 7, Phillies 5 Sox unable to add on to their lead and will hand it over to Aceves, seeking his ninth save. Bottom 8th: Red Sox 7, Phillies 5 Just as the night was tough for Jon Lester, it was tedious for Vicente Padilla as...

Hunter Pence hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning off Jason Motte and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 on Friday night. The Phillies won their third in a row after surviving a fourth inning in which Pence, the right fielder, and Shane Victorino, the center fielder, lost balls in the lights. The winning runs came too late for Cliff Lee, a 17-game winner last season still seeking his first win of 2012. Juan Pierre singled to start the 10th against Motte, working his second inning.

The Red Sox have released the schedule for 2012. Highlights include an April 20 matchup with the Yankees on the 100th anniversary of the first Red Sox game at Fenway Park. The Red Sox open the season at Detroit April 5, and play their home opener April 13 against the Rays. They will face the Phillies, Nationals, Marlins, Braves, and Cubs in interleague games. Click the image above to see a high-resolution image of the schedule.

PHILADELPHIA - It was a noble idea the Red Sox had, taking Daniel Bard out of the bullpen and making him a starter. But that transition has left a pitcher with one of the best arms in baseball either unable or unwilling to throw his fastball for strikes. Bard continued down a path Friday night that could lead him back to the bullpen, giving up four runs in the first inning as the Phillies beat the Red Sox, 6-4. "This loss is definitely on me," Bard said. The Red Sox are 2-5 in games Bard has started and he has a 4.85 earned run average.

By Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and MLB Network reported that veteran righthander Roy Oswalt, a free-agent, threw bullpen sessions for the Philadelphia Phillies last week and the Boston Red Sox this week, according to his major-league sources. Rosenthal said Oswalt would throw for two more teams in the next few days. Rosenthal's report said that Oswalt rejected offers from the Red Sox and Detroit Tigers last offseason. His preference then was to play for either the Texas Rangers or St. Louis Cardinals, but he has since decided to consider other...

PHILADELPHIA - Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, vice president of player personnel Allard Baird, and head athletic trainer Rick Jameyson had a closed-door meeting after Friday night's 6-4 loss against the Phillies. They had plenty to talk about. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was at a local hospital getting his left ear stitched up after being struck by a ball in the fifth inning. Right fielder Cody Ross had been taken for X-rays after fouling a ball off his left foot in the eighth inning.

Brett Myers expected the ball to plop onto the grass or into the glove of his left fielder. The former Phillies pitcher should know as well anyone that flyballs have a way of carrying into the seats at Citizens Bank Park. Hunter Pence atoned for a ninth-inning misplay by hitting his second home run of the game, a solo shot in the 10th that lifted Philadelphia over the Houston Astros 4-3 Tuesday. Pence connected off Myers (0-1) with one out to give the Phillies their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has been suspended one game for his nose-to-nose argument with plate umpire Bob Davidson during a game on Tuesday night. Davidson also received a one-game suspension for what Major League Baseball called "repeated violations" in how umpires are supposed to handle situations. Manuel was ejected in the eighth inning of a 4-3, 10-inning win over Houston. He thought a ball had been foul tipped and got into an argument with Davidson that escalated into profanities.

After coming back from a six-run deficit to tie the game, the Cardinals let it slip away. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny wanted to make sure his players remembered to focus on all the good work they did just to get back into the game before losing 10-9 to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night. "I just went in there, went around the room and told them I was real happy with the way, especially our offense and defense went about that game," Matheny said. "There's a whole lot of positives.

No dustups between Bryce Harper and Cole Hamels in the rematch. Harper and his teammates did little damage Wednesday night as Hamels pitched eight scoreless innings and led the Philadelphia Phillies over the Washington Nationals 4-1. Hamels finished his outing by retiring Harper as the Phillies snapped a season-long four-game losing streak. Hamels faced Washington for the first time since intentionally hitting the 19-year-old rookie on May 6. The incident sparked a firestorm, with Hamels earning a five-game suspension and Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo...

Gio Gonzalez allowed three hits over six innings and Ian Desmond homered and drove in both runs to lead the Washington Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night. Gonzalez (6-1), a former Phillies farmhand, struck out seven of the first nine batters and finished with nine strikeouts. That upped his total to 35 over his last four starts, all wins, in 25 innings. Bryce Harper had two hits for Washington. Sean Burnett came in with one out in the ninth after Nationals closer Henry Rodriguez allowed runners to reach second and third and escaped a jam to...

Three days after appearing to turn the corner, the Philadelphia Phillies have reverted to old form. The offense, which has been inconsistent for much of the season, once again has been a major contributor to the club's woes. Gio Gonzalez allowed three hits over six innings and Ian Desmond homered and drove in both runs to lead the Washington Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the Phillies on Monday night. Gonzalez (6-1), a former Phillies farmhand, struck out seven of the first nine batters and finished with nine strikeouts.

Pearl Jam, Skrillex and D'Angelo are among the performers scheduled to take the stage at the Made In America music festival Jay-Z is curating in Philadelphia in September. Jay-Z will also perform, as will Janelle Monae, Passion Pit, Odd Future, Santigold, Afrojack, Calvin Harris and Rick Ross and his Maybach Music group. The festival will feature 28 acts over Labor Day weekend. Tickets for the two-day festival are to go on sale Wednesday. Jay-Z announced plans for the event last week atop the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Proceeds will benefit the...

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff Your move, Papelbon. Celtics center Kevin Garnett took a shot at Sixers fans after Game 5 Monday night when asked to compare crowd at TD Garden in Boston to the one at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. "Not even close," said Garnett. "You got fans and then you got fair-weather fans. Take that how you want. " The Celtics have to play Game 6 in Philadelphia Wednesday night, so the timing for the bulletin board material might not be the best.

It's funny that two teams playing each other this weekend took such opposite paths. The Phillies spent $50 million for four years on Jonathan Papelbon because they identified him as one of the top three closers in the game. Their assessment has been correct, as he had 12 saves in 12 chances going into Saturday night's game. The Red Sox went for the low-cost approach with arbitration-eligible Andrew Bailey . Bailey, whose salary is $3.9 million this year, got hurt in spring training and hasn't yet pitched.

Boston #####@ #± Philadelphia ######@ # ab r h bi± # ###### #@ ab r h bi Aviles ss 5 1 1 1± Rollins ss 5 0 1 1 Pedroia 2b 5 1 1 0± Mayrry lf 4 1 3 0 Ortiz 1b 5 1 2 2± Victorn cf 5 0 3 1 Byrd cf 0 0 0 0± Pence rf 4 0 1 0 AdGnzl rf-1b 4 0 0 0± Ruiz c 4 1 0 0 Mdlrks 3b 4 1 2 1± Wggntn 3b 5 1 2 0 Sltlmch c 4 2 3 1± Luna 1b 5 1 3 1 Sweeny cf-rf 3 1 1 0± Galvis 2b 4 1 2 2 Nava lf 4 0 1 1± Blanton p 2 0 0 0 Lester p 2 0 0 0± Valdes p 0 0 0...