After winning three straight Grapefruit League games, the Boston Red Sox hosted the Baltimore Orioles on Monday afternoon and fell 8-4.

Tim Wakefield struggled on the bump as he allowed five runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings.  Jonathan Papelbon was perfect in his inning out of the pen and Hideki Okajima allowed a run on two hits in an inning with two strikeouts. Daniel Bard struck out all three batters he faced.

On the offensive side of things for the Red Sox, David Ortiz was 2-for-2 with a walk and 2-run homer. Josh Reddick’s only hit of the afternoon was good for a 2-run homer. Gustavo Molina added two hits and Mike Lowell had one hit in his first spring training appearance.

Lowell’s first appearance of the spring came at first base as he essentially auditions for the other teams out there as the Red Sox are looking to move him with Adrian Beltre the every day third baseman.

This afternoon, the Red Sox are in Kissimmee with a split-squad to take on former bench coach Brad Mills and the Houston Astros at Osceola County Stadium. The Red Sox will also travel to Port Charlotte to take on AL East foes the Tampa Bay Rays at 7:05 tonight. We’ll have the lineups for that game and news from this afternoon in a later post.

The game will be broadcast by Astros radio affiliate KBME and is available on MLB.com if you have the MLB.tv or Gameday Audio package. You can also catch it on the MLB At Bat app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Jon Lester will start for the Red Sox and he’ll be followed by Scott Atchison, Michael Bowden, Fabio Castro and Fernando Cabrera. Roy Oswalt will start for the Astros and he’ll be followed by Matt Lindstrom, Jeff Fulchino, Sammy Gervacio and Gary Majewski.

Boston Red Sox

Houston Astros

1. Jacoby Ellsbury CF 1. Michael Bourn CF
2. Dustin Pedroia 2B 2. Kazuo Matsui 2B
3. Jason Varitek C 3. J.R. Towles C
4. Kevin Youkilis 1B 4. Carlos Lee LF
5. Jeremy Hermida LF 5. Chris Johnson 3B
6. Josh Reddick RF 6. Chris Shelton 1B
7. Tug Hulett DH 7. Cory Sullivan RF
8. Angel  Sanchez SS 8. Humberto Quintero DH
9. Gil Velazquez 3B 9. Tommy Manzella SS
Jon Lester SP Roy Oswalt SP

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Red Sox diary: Daniel Bard [Daniel Bard]

Split decision: Why Sox prospect Younginer was rooting for the Orioles [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Not bad at all for first try [Boston Globe]

Finally swinging into action [Boston Globe]

Former scout’s case dismissed [Boston Globe]

Matsuzaka’s neck feels a little better [Boston Globe]

Focus is back on Mike Lowell [Boston Herald]

David Ortiz takes stance [Boston Herald]

Good first impression [Boston Herald]

Ortiz: Struggles? What struggles? [Boston Herald]

The Lowell situation [Clubhouse Insider]

Quick hits: Orioles 8, Red Sox 4 [ESPN Boston]

Matsuzaka opts for bullpen session [ESPN Boston]

Reunion[Extra Bases]

Big Papi makes a big promise [Extra Bases]

Marlins Check Out Mike Lowell [Fish Bytes]

Reasons to not be alarmed by David Ortiz [Full Count]

An ‘encouraging day’ for Daisuke [Full Count]

Wakefield on Lowell: ‘Not fun to be in his situation’ [Full Count]

No decision yet on where Iglesias will start season [Full Count]

Starting nine: Dustin Pedroia [ProJo Sox Blog]

Nelson always ready to throw an inning in relief –– and sign autographs [Providence Journal]

Red Sox journal: Lowell makes smooth transition to first [Providence Journal]

Dice-K to pitch batting practice Wednesday [RedSox.com]

Lowell makes spring debut at first base [RedSox.com]

Wakefield sees results past box score line [RedSox.com]

Catching up on the catchers, and more [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]