BOSTON - Boston rookie third baseman Will Middlebrooks went out of his way to try to avoid sounding overconfident, considering he has become a hot topic of conversation in a fight for a regular starting spot. Middlebrooks had a solo homer among his three hits and drove in two runs, Franklin Morales gave Boston another decent start as the fill-in for Josh Beckett, and the Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 8-4 on Saturday night. Middlebrooks, recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket when Kevin Youkilis went on the disabled list with a strained lower back on May 2, has put up big numbers in a small period of time. "You said it," he said, smiling, when asked if he is letting his bat do the talking as he challenges Youkilis for playing time. "I dont care, to be honest, I came here to play baseball." Dustin Pedroia added three hits, a walk and had two RBIs for Boston, which won for the eighth time in 10 games to ensure a winning interleague record for the eighth straight season. The Red Sox improved to 10-7 against NL opponents. But it was Middlebrooks that sparked the offence. Middlebrooks hit Martinezs first pitch of the third into the Monster seats, making it 5-1. It was the ninth homer of the season for the rookie third baseman, who has made it hard for manager Bobby Valentine to keep him out of the lineup. "A lot of home run hitters hit them in bunches," Valentine said. "You dont want to take him out of the lineup when hes hot." Middlebrooks has gone 10 for 14 in his last five games with three homers, three doubles and nine RBIs, and is hitting .381 in his last 26 games. "Im just confident. I feel good right now," he said. "Im in a good groove. Its pretty simple: Im seeing the ball well." Morales (1-1) gave up three runs -- two earned -- and seven hits, striking out eight and walking one. He fanned a career-best nine in five innings last Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, when he took Becketts turn in the rotation after the right-hander had shoulder inflammation. Morales said he understands it is not his choice, and is hoping Valentine gives him another chance to start. "I feel really confident in myself," he said. "I think its good for me to be starting." Valentine quickly answered "yes" when asked if Morales would make another start. Braves starter Randall Delgado (4-8) was knocked out of the game after retiring only four batters. He gave up four runs and six hits. "He just didnt have location," Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said. "When a young kid struggles with location, it snowballs on him fast." Michael Bourn had three singles, two stolen bases and two RBIs for the Braves, who lost for the second time in nine road games. Trailing 1-0 in the first, Boston scored two runs when Adrian Gonzalez had an RBI single, and Middlebrooks followed with a run-scoring double off the Green Monster. The Red Sox chased Delgado in the second and increased the lead to 4-1 on Pedroias two-run double to the gap in left-centre. Cristhian Martinez relieved with the bases loaded and got Gonzalez to bounce into an inning-ending double play. Bourns RBI single cut it to 5-2 in the fifth, but Cody Ross RBI double restored Bostons four-run lead in the bottom of the inning. Atlanta cut it to 6-4 against Scott Atchison in the seventh, but Brian McCann lined into an inning-ending double play against Andrew Miller with runners on the corners. In the seventh, Daniel Nava had a two-run single for Boston. The Braves had taken a 1-0 lead in the first on McCanns run-scoring infield hit. Morales then struck out the next two batters before getting Jones to line out. "We should have gotten more out of the first than we did," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We really had a chance to kind of set the tone for the ballgame and have them play catch-up and hopefully give our young guy a little bit of breathing room." NOTES: Braves RHP Jair Jurrjens was feeling fine a day after his first major league start since late April when he held the Red Sox to one run and three hits in 7 2-3 innings of a 4-1 win on Friday. He was sent to the minors to "strengthen his right knee" that caused him to miss all of last September. ... Neither team took batting practice on the field due to a strong line of thunderstorms that hit the area about 2 hours before the start. ... Middlebrooks started for the third straight game, leaving Youkilis on the bench for the third in a row. "Difficult and stressful and all those things," Valentine said of how the situation has been to handle. Before the game Youkilis joked, "Im not dead. Im still here," when asked to recall some of his memories in Boston. ... Pedroia was 0 for 11 coming into the game. ... Braves lefty Mike Minor (3-5) faces Aaron Cook (0-1) in the series finale Sunday. Cook will replace Clay Buchholz, who was scratched due to an illness. ... It was the 750th consecutive sellout of Fenway Park. jerseys from china . But after using six relievers a night before, San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy was forced to stick with him despite giving up four runs through three innings. nfl jerseys china . The blast may have been even bigger for Detroits playoff chances. Cabreras home run gave the Tigers a five-run cushion they would end up needing and Justin Verlander struck out eight in seven innings in a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday that gave them a two-game lead in the AL Central. http://www.garotasnavan.com/ . The Impact now has 20 players under contract for the 2013 season. The club exercised its option on goalkeeper Evan Bush, defenders Jeb Brovsky, Hassoun Camara, Dennis Iapichino, Calum Mallace, Zarek Valentin and Karl W. cheap jerseys from china . On Wednesday, they had four with big games. Daniel Murphy homered twice, Scott Hairston hit a grand slam and David Wright drove in five runs to lead the Mets to a 17-1 rout of the Chicago Cubs. wholesale nfl jerseys .A. Happ struck out eight batters in a rare start as the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen held on for a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday.The (5-6-1) Winnipeg Jets continue a seven game road trip tonight against the (5-5-1) New Jersey Devils. Winnipeg added defenseman Paul Postma for tonights game due to an injury to Randy Jones Thursday in Uniondale vs the Islanders. Postma played 1 NHL game last year for Atlanta against Carolina. Ondrej Pavelec starts his 5th consecutive game for the Jets coming off his 1st shut out of the season. Ben Maxwell replaces Kenndal McArdle on the 4th line. Head Coach Claude Noel likes McArdles play over the last 5 games but wanted to get Maxwell back in. Here is tonights expected line-up based on this mornings pregame skate: Ladd-Little-WellwoodBurmistrov-Antropov-KaneGlass-Slater-ThorburnMaxwell-Staplet... Bogosian-FesterlingByfuglien-FloodOduya-Postma Martin Brodeur starts in goal for the Devils who are 2-2-1 on home ice this season.dddddddddddd New Jersey has not allowed a power play goal against at the Prudential Center this season and have scored 2 short handed goals. Devils line-up from pregame skate: Sykora-Elias-ZubrusParise-Henrique-ClarksonTedenby-Carter-PalmieriPelley-Mills-J... Tallinder-FayneSalvador-LarssonFraser-Volchenkov ' ' '