Boston Red Sox's Dustin Pedroia hits a two-run double against the San Diego Padres during the first inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston Thursday, July 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Boston Red Sox's Dustin Pedroia hits a two-run double against the San Diego Padres during the first inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston Thursday, July 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Allen Webster delivers against the San Diego Padres during the first inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston on Thursday, July 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Eric Stults delivers against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston on Thursday, July 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Boston Red Sox players stand for the national anthem before their baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Fenway Park in Boston on Thursday, July 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
San Diego Padres center fielder Alexi Amarista chases down a double by Boston Red Sox's Mike Napoli during the fifth inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston Thursday, July 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
BOSTON (AP) ? Dustin Pedroia has been in the heart of Boston's batting order during its strong start. His play was on the mind of San Diego manager Bud Black before the game.
Pedroia hit a two-run double to jump-start Boston's 18-hit effort, David Ortiz had a two-run single and the Red Sox wrapped up a big homestand by beating San Diego 8-2 Thursday, sending the Padres to their season-high sixth straight loss.
"He's been in the middle of this offense from Day One and continues to be so," Red Sox manager John Farrell said of Pedroia, who raised his average to .325 by going 2 for 4.
Brandon Snyder and Jacoby Ellsbury each had solo homers for the Red Sox. Boston went 8-1 at Fenway Park to match its best homestand since June 2010.
The Red Sox also won for the 12th time in its last 14 games at home. The AL East leaders improved to 19 games over .500 (53-34).
Sitting in his uncomfortably warm office about two hours before the game, Black praised the play of Pedroia. It didn't take long for the Red Sox second baseman to make him look good.
"Pedroia might be the MVP of the league so far. I think you can make a case for it," he said.
Pedroia's two-run double in the first moved Boston ahead 2-0. Ellsbury singled leading off to extend his season-high hitting streak to 14 games and Shane Victorino doubled off the Green Monster before Pedroia doubled into the left-field corner.
"What we're seeing of late is he's starting to pull the ball," Farrell said. "It's a byproduct of getting pitched in a little more because he's gotten so many hits the other way. We know that when either an offspeed pitch stays in the middle of the plate or a fastball's in the inner part of the plate, he's always been a dead-pull hitter in those locations of pitches."
The 2008 AL MVP just feels like he's taking a simple approach each time he steps to the plate.
"I feel good," he said. "It depends if the ball's in. I'm trying to hit the ball where it's pitched. If I'm pulling the ball, it means they're throwing it in a little more. That's it."
The Padres have scored just seven runs in their losing streak. They also lost for the 10th time in 12 games.
"They know what's ahead of them. They know what the challenge is," Black said after the game. "This is the part of the season, part of the summer where it's hot, it's hot for everybody. You've got to keep pushing through. We were swept in this series. We've swept some teams to get back in the race in the west, but our guys know what's in front of them."
Allen Webster (1-2) pitched six innings for his first major league win, allowing two runs and five hits, while walking four and striking out two.
Chase Headley didn't feel like the slump has been that bad despite the team scoring two or fewer nine of the last 12 games.
"I think it's looked worse than it has been," he said. "We've had some at-bats in situations where we had a chance to drive in runs and the guys hit the ball hard and it just hasn't gone in the hole for us. Obviously it's disappointing when you put one, two runs up on the board for an extended period of time. I think as a group, I don't think it's maybe as far off as it looks."
The Red Sox open a three-city, 10-game West Coast trip Friday night in Anaheim against the Angels.
Eric Stults (6-7) gave up four runs and nine hits over 4 1-3 innings without walking or striking out a batter. He was tagged for seven runs ? six earned ? in 3 2-3 innings in his previous start Saturday in a loss at Miami after giving up two runs or less in his previous six.
In the second, Snyder homered into Boston's bullpen to make it 3-0. Ortiz's bases-loaded, two-run single off reliever Tyson Ross in the sixth gave the Red Sox a comfortable 7-2 lead.
Ellsbury homered over the bullpens to make it 8-2.
Headley's sacrifice fly had cut it to 3-1 in the third before Jose Iglesias' run-scoring, ground-rule double pushed Boston's lead back to three an inning later.
The Padres sliced it to 4-2 in the fifth on Jesus Guzman's single high off the left-field wall ? when he missed a homer by a couple of feet ? but Webster got Mark Kotsay to line to left, ending the inning with two runners on.
Jonny Gomes' RBI single made it 5-2.
NOTES: Black said he expects SS Everth Cabrera, on the 15-day DL since June 19 with an injured left hamstring, to be activated when the club opens a three-game series against the Nationals on Friday night. ... Boston 1B Mike Napoli was back in the lineup after getting Wednesday night off. With a left-hander starting for San Diego, Gomes was also inserted into the lineup one day after hitting a game-ending homer in the ninth inning. ... Black also discussed options for his team's struggling offense. "You have to try and do everything you can to get things going," he said, saying they'd run and bunt with the right people. "When you're not scoring things look a little flat. As people in the game know, that happens everywhere. When you score, sometimes you score in bunches and you lose and the pitching wasn't solid, but you're playing hard. We're playing hard, but we're just not scoring runs." ... Farrell said he hopes SS Stephen Drew, sidelined since last Friday after aggravating his right hamstring, will be back in the lineup Saturday. ... The gametime temperature was 91.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-07-04-Padres-Red%20Sox/id-d799d456f8254e95b42919136df15f77
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Photo by Gary W. Green-Pool/Getty Images (SANFORD, Fla.) -- Police in South Florida are bracing for the verdict in the racially charged George Zimmerman murder trial, creating places for people to peacefully protest, monitoring social media and urging people to remain calm. "It's a trying time for all of us. We're not sure what the verdict is going to bring but it's a great opportunity for evolution of the Sanford community," Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said at a news conference Friday as the jury began its deliberations. Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin in Sanford on Feb. 26, 2012. Zimmerman, 29, maintains he shot Martin, 17, in self-defense, while the state argued that Zimmerman "profiled" Martin and concluded he was a criminal. The case took on racial overtones after police declined to charge Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic. Martin was black. Zimmerman was charged with murder nearly two months later by a special prosecutor appointed by the state. Because of the tension over the case, the judge initially said she will delay the announcement of the jury's eventual verdict by two hours to give police ample time to prepare for security. It's not clear if that is still the plan. Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for Martin's family, told ABC News Friday that he did not expect violence. "I certainly don't think Trayvon Martin supporters are going to be emotionally overcharged to act out in a way that's not responsible becau ...
