Boston takes all-Sox series with power trio

CHICAGO — In a slow-paced game marred with 16 walks, the Red Sox won thanks largely to power. Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez and Jackie Bradley Jr. each went deep Thursday night in a 7-3 win against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

The Red Sox outburst provided enough of a punch to overcome a shaky start from left-hander Henry Owens. He walked six batters in his three innings, but White Sox starter Erik Johnson wasn’t much better, taking the loss in his first Major League start this season.

Pedroia homered to left field in the first inning — the first of Pedroia’s three hits — and Ramirez followed suit in the third with a blast to right against Johnson. Bradley added his home run in the sixth, ending White Sox reliever Matt Albers’ scoreless-innings streak at 35. Boston got two more runs in the eighth when Dan Jennings walked the first two batters, setting up a Xander Bogaerts sacrifice fly and a David Ortiz RBI double.

The White Sox got a home run of their own from Avisail Garcia in the fourth, but Chicago couldn’t make the most of its run-scoring opportunities and dropped the three-game series to Boston as a result. The Red Sox have won five of six to take hold of first place in the American League East, with a series against the Yankees in New York up next.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDBetts fires strike; Hanigan finishes play: Clinging to a 4-3 lead in the fifth, the Red Sox were trying to get out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam. Austin Jackson lifted a fly ball to medium-depth right field, and Mookie Betts caught it and came up firing. Brett Lawrie tagged up and tried to score, but catcher Ryan Hanigan slapped down the tag on a strong throw from Betts, and Boston got …

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