BALTIMORE -- The Red Sox set a franchise record for stolen bases in a game Friday night with six, breaking the previous mark of five (which had been accomplished six times). Jacoby Ellsbury led the way with three, which is the most by a Red Sox player since Jerry Remy had a club-record four on June 14, 1980.

Manager Terry Francona said after the 5-2 victory that the Sox didn't plan to run as much as they did Friday night. It was just the right time to do so.

"It’s completely [determined by] game situations," said Francona. "A couple of them, [the Orioles] weren't going to throw through. A guy like Mike Lowell, we don’t ever tell him before a game that in the whatever inning he’s going to steal third. That’s just a heads-up guy taking advantage. We ran the bases aggressively, but smartly."

Lowell stole a base in the 13th inning that set up a much-needed insurance run.

"Wheels," he joked.

Ellsbury now has 23 swipes this season.

"We weren’t scoring runs, but we were moving our legs and getting into scoring position," he said. "We didn’t get the big hits, but we put ourselves in a position to."

There was one base, however, Ellsbury didn't steal, and if he had the Sox wouldn't have set the record.

He was on third with two out in the seventh inning. David Ortiz was at the plate, so the Orioles went into their defensive overshift. Third baseman Melvin Mora was positioned where the shortstop normally is, leaving no defender within 30 feet of Ellsbury. He was able to get a large, walking lead toward the plate, almost halfway down the line. And then, inexplicably, Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera pitched out of the set position. It was a great opportunity for Ellsbury to steal home. However, Ortiz grounded out on the first pitch thrown to him, ending the inning.

The game was tied 2-2 at the time, and had Ellsbury stolen home the Sox probably would have won the game in nine innings. And then there'd be no record, since three of the six steals came in extra innings.