BOSTON (AP) — If Bobby Valentine thought he was going to spark Boston by getting thrown out he was wrong.

He didn’t get tossed and Boston lost for the fifth time in seven games.

Following Dustin Pedroia’s ejection in the ninth inning of Boston’s 6-3 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night, the manager came charging out of the dugout to defend his second baseman, who was tossed after making a comment to first base umpire Paul Nauert.

Valentine eventually stood face-to-face with Nauert, the animated manager doing his best to get ejected before slowly retreating to the dugout.

“I probably said more to him than I said other times I’ve gotten thrown out,” Valentine said. “He wasn’t going to throw me out — unless I made a complete fool of myself or punched him or something.”

Pedroia was called out by Nauert after checking his swing with one out in the top of the ninth and Boston trailing 5-3. Replays showed he didn’t make it halfway around. He yelled at Nauert on his walk back to the dugout, again during Adrian Gonzalez’s ensuing at-bat — a double off the Green Monster — but calmly took the field to begin the top of the ninth, not even looking in Nauert’s direction.

“It looked like he checked his swing from our vantage point,” Valentine said. “Then Adrian hits one off the wall, of course.”

After Red Sox reliever Craig Breslow hit David Murphy to begin the ninth, Pedroia was thrown out seconds later.

Will Middlebrooks had a pinch-hit three-run homer for the Red Sox.

Boston is 4-5 on its current 10-game homestand, the longest of the season. It concludes this afternoon against Texas when Josh Beckett (5-9) returns after leaving his previous start with a back spasm.

Jon Lester (5-10) turned in another solid start but left with nothing to show for it — again.

The left-hander faced only one batter over the minimum through five innings, but eventually lost his rhythm and was finished after 6.2 innings. He surrendered four runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts, and is 0-5 in his last six starts.

“Past three starts, I felt like I’ve thrown the ball better than I have all year. I’m 0-2,” he said.

Ryan Dempster rebounded from a rough debut with Texas by pitching shutout ball into the seventh inning and Ian Kinsler had a pair of RBI singles for the Rangers.

Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz each had two hits and drove in a run for Texas, which snapped a two-game losing skid.

Dempster (1-0) gave up Middlebrooks’ homer after a twoout error by Kinsler. He struck out six and walked one in 6.2 innings.

Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 22nd save.

With Texas leading 4-0 and two outs in the seventh, Kinsler misplayed Ryan Kalish’s grounder for an error. Middlebrooks followed by hitting the first pitch over the Green Monster — where a fan reached out to grab the ball near the top of the wall. The call was reviewed and upheld after a lengthy review.

Cruz’s RBI single made it 5- 3 in the eighth. Hamilton’s single made it 6-3 in the ninth.

The Rangers broke a scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the sixth. After taking a close pitch for a ball with a 1-2 count, David Murphy had a leadoff double. One out later, Kinsler singled off the top of the left-field wall, advanced on a groundout and scored on Hamilton’s single to right.

NOTES: Rangers SS Andrus was back in the lineup after missing Monday’s game with a sore right shoulder … Texas C Mike Napoli didn’t start after catching four straight games … For the second straight day, Rangers OF Hamilton spent a long time signing autographs, posing for pictures and joking with the fans on the field next to Texas’ dugout during BP. … Boston RHP Clay Buchholz wore a large Frisbee-type disc around his neck for a good portion of BP.