BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox warmly welcomed back an old friend, then sent him to the visitors' clubhouse in disappointment.

While Kevin Youkilis clearly remains a fan favorite at Fenway Park, the cheers he received as a member of the White Sox seemed almost quiet to the roar after Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to break a 1-1 tie as the Red Sox spoiled Youkilis' return with a 5-1 win over Chicago on Monday night.

Gonzalez drove in four runs, more than atoning for his throwing error in the first inning that cost Boston a run. He tied it in the bottom of the first with an RBI single, then broke it open in the eighth.

“It feels great to win the game,” Gonzalez said. “I'm not really worried about the home runs or any of that stuff.”

Perhaps that's because the spotlight was mostly on Youkilis, who was playing his first game against the Red Sox since they traded him to Chicago on June 24. Boston fans cheered him as if he was still a member of the home team.

The Red Sox even posted a large 'thank you' to Youkilis on the center-field monitor between innings in a gesture that showed the organization remembered Youkilis' accomplishments in Boston, including World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.

Youkilis responded by going 3-for-4 with a single and two doubles, scoring Chicago's only run with some heads-up baserunning in the first.

Youkilis went from first to third on a fielder's choice, causing Gonzalez to make a throwing error that allowed him to score and put Chicago up 1-0.

It was the only run the White Sox would score as starter Aaron Cook and relievers Vicente Padilla (3-0) and Alfredo Aceves shut down Chicago the rest of the way.

Youkilis and A.J. Pierzynski combined for all five of Chicago's hits as the White Sox lost for the first time in Boston since August 26, 2009.

“It feels good but you want to win. That's our job here. We've got to win games,” Youkilis said. “It doesn't matter how many hits you get. You've got to win.”

Gonzalez was able to redeem himself in the eighth when he drove a 2-1 pitch from Leyson Septimo (0-1) over the Green Monster after Carl Crawford and David Ortiz led off the inning with back-to-back walks. Ortiz stumbled on second base on his way around and limped his way back to the dugout after crossing the plate.

Crawford, activated earlier in the day after missing the first half of the season because of injuries to his wrist and elbow, scored twice in his first game for the Red Sox this season.