There's a spark between Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Josh Beckett, and it carried the Red Sox to a 5-1 rubber-match win over the Phillies on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

"Got a real strong guy there," Boston manager Bobby Valentine said of the decision to play Saltalamacchia in a day game after a night game, just two days after Saltalamacchia went for 12 stitches in his left ear. "I've been talking with Salty, if there was any indication that he needed to be off today, he was off today.

"He and Josh were so in tune last start. Josh was really on tune with Salty one game -- I mean with Kelly [Shoppach] one game -- and he said, 'Why switch a good thing?' So I just took a page out of his book, said 'Why switch a good thing?'"

Before Tuesday, Beckett and Saltalamacchia had only been paired up once this season, and it didn't go well. On Sunday, Beckett tossed 7 2/3 innings and allowed just one run -- the only run he and the backstop have given up in 14 2/3 innings spanning the two starts.

Saltalamacchia, who also went deep Saturday, provided the majority of the Sox's runs with an estimated 446-foot, three-run bomb onto the concourse in center in the third inning.