For Bay, warm April

That may be a bit harsh - Bay has hit .275 over his past three Aprils - but when he walked to the plate in the seventh inning yesterday with the Red Sox trailing the Angels by a run and Rocco Baldelli on first base, he did not step into the batter's box with a history of playing the hero in April games.

But Bay gave the Red Sox the lead with a home run, and then in the ninth inning he preserved the 5-4 victory with what turned out to be a necessary insurance run with a solo shot. The performance marked his 13th multi-home run game, his second with Boston.

"We had some guys scuffling, and that's the beauty of the offense the four or five months that I've been here," Bay said. "We're not banking on one or two guys. We're not saying, 'Hey, these are the two guys that are going to carry us.' We've got a good balance throughout there."

And Bay has been a prime factor, reversing his personal history of slow starts. Bay is 5 for 15 with two home runs, a double, a triple, and six RBIs so far. Because of his five walks, his on-base percentage is an even .500.

"I think I probably doubled my April stats from every other April," Bay said. "Maybe it was the longer spring training. It's been nice to get off to this start. Historically, it hasn't been that good to me."

Facing Joe Saunders - whose 25 2/3-inning scoreless streak was snapped earlier - in the seventh, Bay yanked a low 0-and-1 fastball to left. The ball eked into the first few rows, just inside the foul pole.

His homer in the ninth - off a 2-and-2 slider from Justin Speier - left no doubt. It soared high into the blue sky and several rows into the crowd. The blast gave the Sox a 5-3 lead, and when Torii Hunter homered to lead off the bottom of the ninth, it became the winning run.

Before it turned heroic, Bay's day included an adventurous twist. Hunter led off the fourth inning by driving a pitch to left field. Starter Brad Penny thought the ball was going to leave the park - he had tried to bounce a split-fingered fastball in front of the plate but the pitch stayed up.

Bay drifted back and, at the warning track, his heels pressed against the fence, the ball fell to his glove. But Bay didn't catch the ball; his glove deflected it up. The ball's momentum carried it to the wall, and it appeared it banged off the wall. But, Bay said, he placed his glove against the wall and flicked it. After the ball deflected a second time, Bay grabbed it. The umpire ruled the ball never hit the fence and called Hunter, who was motoring around second, out.

Bay turned to center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. "Did I catch it?" he asked. "I think I did."

Bay hadn't changed his mind by the time the game ended.

"I caught that ball," Bay said. "I mean, it all happened so quick, and maybe there's a replay that shows otherwise. I caught it. Ultimately, it ended up being a pretty good play."

Penny clapped with his throwing hand and his glove. He had faced Bay often when they both played in the National League, with the Dodgers and Pirates. He marveled at how Bay could look bad on one pitch and then clobber the next. Now he benefits from it.

"He really bailed me out today," Penny said. "He's a great player. Now he's surrounded by other great players. I'm glad he's on my team."

Adam Kilgore can be reached at akilgore@globe.com