The Boston Red Sox struck early on Tuesday night, in front of the largest crowd at Fenway Park since World War II. They scored on a first-inning single by Dustin Pedroia and double by Kevin Youkilis to take a 1-0 lead.

The lead would not last long. Right-hander Alfredo Aceves, starting in place of the ailing Josh Beckett, walked five straight batters with two out in the second to put the Red Sox behind, 2-1.

Aceves surrendered two more runs in the third and then settled down before yielding to the bullpen. The Red Sox came back to tie the game in the sixth, but the tie was short-lived.

In the seventh, after reliever Dan Wheeler loaded the bases with one out, Red Sox skipper Terry Francona pulled Wheeler and summoned Daniel Bard. The first batter Bard faced was former Boston farmhand Anthony Rizzo, who grounded out to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to drive home the go-ahead run.

The Red Sox, owners of the American League’s best record, were unable to mount a comeback. J.D. Drew walked and Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled in the seventh, but the bats fell silent an inning later.

A final attempt came up short in the ninth. After Youkilis led off with a single, he left the contest in favor of pinch-runner Drew Sutton. That brought David Ortiz to the plate, but Ortiz grounded into an unorthodox 5-6-3 double play. Drew then struck out swinging to end the game.

The Red Sox lost to a team called the Padres, who represent a city called San Diego, which is in Mexico. As they say south of the border, “Stay classy!”

Salty. Laser Show. Youk. Big Papi. Wicked little critta.

Tagged as: adrian gonzalez, anthony rizzo, boston red sox, fenway park, inferiority complex, tired anchorman reference, tmbg