Red Sox 5, Astros 4
BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox continued their march back to respectability, pulling out a 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.
Designated hitter Hanley Ramirez one-handed a two-run homer over the Green Monster in left field off left-hander Tony Sipp in the seventh inning to give the Red Sox the win.
Houston scored three times in the top of the inning when rookie shortstop Carlos Correa and left fielder Evan Gattis hit back-to-back home runs.
The last-place Red Sox (39-45) earned their 11th win in their last 17 games and closed their American League East deficit to six games. They were 10 out on June 20. The victory also wrapped up their third straight series win as Boston rebounded from a loss Friday night with two straight victories.
After the Red Sox took a 3-1 lead with the help of Correa's second error of the series (his third in his 25 games) in the sixth inning, Correa connected for his second homer of the series to tie it. Two pitches later, Gattis drilled his 14th of the season.
Sipp (2-4) relieved Will Harris with one out in the bottom of the inning and walked first baseman David Ortiz before Ramirez hit his fifth homer in his past 10 games to help drop the Astros to 48-36.
Right-hander Matt Barnes (3-2) got the last out of the seventh and earned the win.
Junichi Tazawa, who hadn't pitched since the previous Sunday but was not classified as injured, worked the eighth, and fellow righty Koji Uehara the ninth, the latter notching his 19th save in 21 opportunities. Uehara got help when right fielder Colby Rasmus tried to bunt against the shift and fouled the ball off for strike three.
The game lasted 4 hours, 1 minute.
Third baseman Pablo Sandoval and catcher Ryan Hanigan had three hits apiece for the Red Sox, who stranded eight runners in the first six innings before Ramirez came through. Hanigan, who also drew a walk, drove in two runs.
Rookie starters Lance McCullers (Houston) and Eduardo Rodriguez (Boston) both labored through 101 pitches in five innings of one-run ball. Both were long gone when the game was decided.
It was a tough day for the umpires, who were challenged three times and had calls overturned on all three -- two of the calls by second base ump Cory Blaser. The three delays totaled 3:54.
NOTES: Boston DH David Ortiz made his first start at first base in a non-interleague game since Aug. 5, 2006, his first at Fenway since July 16, 2005, as the Red Sox removed floundering 1B Mike Napoli from the lineup. Napoli, in a 2-for-27, entered as a defensive replacement. ... Astros OF Jake Marisnick was activated from the disabled list and started in center field, with OF Domingo Santana returned to Triple-A. ... Astros ace Dallas Keuchel, who has thrown 17 consecutive scoreless innings, goes for his 11th win of the season when Houston opens a four-game series at Cleveland on Monday night. ... The Red Sox are off Monday. LHP Wade Miley opens Boston's two-game set with the Miami Marlins at Fenway Park on Tuesday night. ... Because of two off days, RHP Justin Masterson will work out of the Boston bullpen until the All-Star break.