Thome gives Orioles lead in 12th (O's win 9-6)

BOSTON - Jim Thome was relatively quiet today upon his return to the lineup, going hitless in his first five at-bats with a double play and two strikeouts. He didn't get a ball out of the infield. It just took 12 innings for Thome to warm up. Thome ripped a ground-rule double to right field to score Adam Jones, who led off with a double off Alfredo Aceves, and give the Orioles a 7-6 lead. Pinch-runner Xavier Avery scored with two outs on Endy Chavez's single to right, and Chavez raced home on Manny Machado's single off Chris Carpenter. Jim Johnson will go for his 47th save in the bottom of the 12th. The Orioles will try for their 16th straight extra-inning win while also keeping one eye on the scoreboard, which shows the Yankees and Athletics tied 5-5 in the 11th inning. Thome hadn't played since July 27 because of a herniated disc in his neck. He came off the disabled list yesterday. Thome was 0-for-6 with a strikeout lifetime against Aceves, who has allowed eight earned runs and nine hits in his last 3 2/3 innings. Chavez was 2-for-2 with an RBI. Aceves was booed as he walked to the dugout. It would have been much louder, except most of the fans had already left before the inning started. Tommy Hunter, who's the pitcher of record for the Orioles, threw a four-seam fastball to Dustin Pedroia in the bottom of the 11th inning that was clocked at 101 mph on the Fenway Park radar gun. It registered at 100 mph on mlb.com's Gameday. Hunter retired the side in order to keep the game tied 2-2. He threw a 96 mph cutter and 99 mph four-seam fastball to Cody Ross, who made the last out. Update: Johnson got the save, and the Orioles improved to 68-0 when leading after the seventh inning. They've won 32 of their last 45 games, and nine of their last 10 at Fenway Park. Orioles 9, Red Sox 6.