Dustin Pedroia went 0 for 4 and left five men on base. But the Red Sox' victory on Saturday and his return to the lineup left him in good spirits after the game.

By Bill Ballou Worcester Telegram & Gazette

BOSTON — Dustin Pedroia was welcomed back to Fenway Park with a standing ovation, then proceeded to do most of things he has done almost on a daily basis since making his major-league debut with the Red Sox in 2006.

 He caught a popup, walked, scored a run with a hand-first slide, was the pivot man on a double-play grounder and came up with the bases loaded in the first inning.

 However, he flied to right.

 “Two outs, bases loaded in the first,” Pedroia said. “It was great. Obviously, I swung too hard.”

 Pedroia did not get that hit with the bases loaded, or at any other time, as he went 0 for 4 and left five men on base. But the victory and his return to the lineup left him in good spirits after the game.

 “It was great to be back,” he said. “It was a great win for us and it was exciting. It’s been a long time. It was just fun to be out there, and I’ll never forget that first at-bat. That was pretty cool. I felt good all day. I know I didn’t get any hits but I hit some balls good, that’s a good sign. I’m right where I need to be.”

 Pedroia was activated on Friday but did not play, ending a 51-game stint on the disabled list, the longest of his career.

 He has missed 243 games on the DL while with the Sox, this latest one recovering from left knee surgery.

 Close again: Andrew Benintendi keeps getting closer.

 He had a single, homer and triple on Saturday and has missed the cycle by one hit three times this month and four times already this year. Benintendi is the first Sox batter to miss the cycle by a double since it happened to Adrian Beltre exactly eight years ago, on May 26, 2010.

 “It seems like it’s either no hits for me, or a multi-hit game,” Benintendi said of his inconsistent season, which has him batting a respectable .283 after Saturday. “I don’t know why. I’m not thinking about it too much.”

 Dominating the NL: Boston’s domination of the National League is relentless. The Red Sox are 4-0 versus the N.L. this season and have a nine-game winning streak going back to 2017. Starting with the 2003 season, Boston is 186-97 against the National League — 197-99 if you want to count World Series games.

 While former manager Terry Francona used to claim that the American League was at a disadvantage in N.L. ballparks because there was no DH, the facts don’t prove that out. Since ’03 the Sox are 85-57 in N.L. parks, 91-58 including the World Series.