Worth noting

• Daniel Bard, who made two ugly appearances for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox this week, joined the Short-Season Class A Lowell Spinners and tossed one scoreless frame for them Saturday night.

The inning included 31 pitches -- just nine strikes -- while Bard fanned two, walked the bases loaded and threw a wild pitch. He handed out four free passes, but a caught stealing allowed him to escape unscathed.

"He's willing to do it and wanting to do it," Farrell said before Saturday's game against the White Sox. "And we don't want to take that motivation away from him."

• Right-handed pitcher Anthony Ranaudo was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, the first Red Sox prospect to garner the honor since Jon Lester (2005). Ranaudo had a 2.95 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 19 games for Double-A Portland before being promoted to Pawtucket in early August.

• Will Middlebrooks stole a base Friday night -- his first of the year -- but don't expect that to become a regular occurrence.

"We're not looking to just run into an out," Farrell said. "When a combination might swing in our favor, that's when we'll look to be a little bit more aggressive with him or guys with similar running speed."

• Saturday marked the first time Xander Bogaerts started at shortstop at Fenway.