BOSTON -- Will Middlebrooks reaction running down the first-base line might have summed up how his teammates were feeling when the Boston Red Sox finally got back to . Tre Mason Rams Jersey .500. The slumping Middlebrooks pumped his fist a few times after hitting an RBI single with the bases loaded, capping a two-run rally in the eighth inning that sent the Red Sox over the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 Wednesday night for a sweep of the two-game interleague series. "I just wanted to help the team win and to contribute," Middlebrooks said. Mired in a 2-for-19 stretch and coming off an 0-for-5 night with a pair of strikeouts, Middlebrooks sent a hard grounder up the middle for the go-ahead run. "Ive been frustrated, but regardless if youre 10-for-10 or 0-for-10 or whatever, youre happy to contribute to a win in any way possible," he said. David Ortiz and Mike Napoli also drove in runs for the World Series champions, who reached .500 for the first time since the fourth game of the season. They failed in eight previous chances. "I dont think it was a mental hurdle," Boston manager John Farrell said. "I never heard too many of us mention that were bumping up against .500 and taking a step back. It was just more of a situation inside games where we had opportunities that we havent cashed in on, finally we do tonight." Skip Schumaker hit a two-run homer for Cincinnati, who lost the opener to Boston 4-3 in 12 innings. It was the Reds 11th one-run loss, most in the majors. "We play a lot of low scoring, one-run games," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "Were battling and well be whole soon, but until then weve got to find a way to create some distance between ourselves and our opponent. Itll come down to making every single play over the course of those last three innings to win the game, and it cant be like that every single day of a baseball season." Trailing 3-2 in the eighth, the Red Sox scored against two relievers. "Its tough," Reds left fielder Chris Heisey said. "We felt like we had the game and let it slip away." Napoli drew a one-out walk from Manny Parra, J.J. Hoover (1-4) walked pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes and A.J. Pierzynskis ground-rule double tied it at 3. Jackie Bradley Jr. was intentionally walked before Middlebrooks had his tiebreaking hit. Craig Breslow (2-0), who also got the win in Tuesdays game, pitched one hitless inning. Koji Uehara struck out the final three batters for his eighth save. Cincinnati starter Mike Leake pitched seven strong innings and was in line for the win before Boston rallied. He gave up two runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out four. Bostons Jake Peavy allowed three or fewer runs for the sixth time in seven starts, giving up three runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts. The Reds took a 3-2 lead in the seventh when Roger Bernadina bounced a slow groundout to second against reliever Chris Capuano with the bases loaded. In the bottom half, Heisey made a nice inning-ending running catch on Shane Victorinos liner into the gap with the tying run on second. Boston tied it with a pair of runs in the sixth on a run-scoring single by Ortiz and RBI double by Napoli. It could have been worse for Leake, but Grady Sizemore bounced to second with runners on second and third and, after an intentional walk, Bradley Jr. hit an inning-ending grounder. Schumaker, who came off the 15-day disabled list on Saturday after being sidelined since spring training with a dislocated left shoulder, homered in the third after Heisey had a leadoff double. The teams bounced into a combined five double plays, with the Red Sox turning three. NOTES: Farrell didnt start SS Xander Bogaerts to "get another left-handed bat in the lineup." Switch-hitter Jonathan Herrera took his spot and batted ninth. Bogaerts came in as a defensive replacement in the ninth. ... Leake had given up eight hits and four runs over seven innings in each of his last two starts. ... Reds RHP Alfredo Simon turned 33 Wednesday. ... The Reds are off until Friday, when they open a six-game homestand against Colorado with RHP Johnny Cueto (3-2, 1.31 ERA) going against RHP Jhoulys Chacin (0-1, 7.20). After Peavy, Chacin is the second of four straight starting pitchers the Reds are scheduled to face with the first letter of their first name starting with the letter "J." The Rockies will are also slated pitch RHP Jordan Lyles and Juan Nicasio. ... Boston is also off Thursday before opening a six-game road trip in Texas when RHP Clay Buchholz (2-2, 5.63) faces Yu Darvish (2-1, 2.87). Mark Barron Womens Jersey . Starlin Castro had an RBI single for Chicagos only run in a 4-1 loss to Latos and the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night. Jared Cook Jersey . The NFL club and Rogers Communications announced Wednesday theyve put the beleaguered Bills Toronto Series -- which features Buffalo playing exhibition and regular-season games at Rogers Centre -- on hold for at least a year.San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Marco Belinelli led seven Spurs in double figures with 20 points as San Antonio cruised past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 123-101, on Saturday. The Spurs shot a scorching 57.3 percent from the field even though Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker took the night off. Tim Duncan recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds, Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph netted 18 points apiece and Boris Diaw scored 17 points off the bench in San Antonios 10th win in its last 11 games. Zach LaVine led Minnesota with 22 points and a career-high 10 assists, while Shabazz Muhammad chipped in 20 points in the clubs fifth straight setback. I dont think anyone played (well), Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders said. Belinelli scored 11 points in the first quarter as the Spurs jumped out to a 31-23 lead that ballooned to a healthy 20 points latee in the half. Benny Cunningham Youth Jersey. Danny Green netted seven points during a 9-0 run that he capped with a dunk to give San Antonio a 64-44 cushion, and the Spurs ended the half with a season- best 68 points. Everything was clicking, Green said. We moved the ball well. Minnesota had a respectable 51 points at the break and used a 10-0 spurt early in the third quarter to pull within 73-61. Joseph stopped the rally with a three-point play and in turn ignited a 16-2 string the other way that gave the Spurs some more breathing room. It was a 96-76 game heading to the fourth. Game Notes The Spurs have won 19 of the last 20 home matchups against Minnesota ... Thaddeus Young and Anthony Bennett each scored 14 points for the Timberwolves ... Green (11 points) and Matt Bonner (10) rounded out the Spurs double-digit scorers. cheap nfl jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
