G58: Red Sox 4, Rangers 3

A speedy 2:18 victory -- and we're back in first place.

Wakefield was superb (7-4-2-1-6, 94), leaving with a 3-2 lead (all the Boston runs courtesy of Trot Nixon's first inning home run). Hansen began the eighth and was victimized by a couple of one-out groundball singles. But he came back to retire Mark Teixeira on a foul pop and turned the ball over to Jonathan Papelbon.

Hank Blalock hit a high fastball on a 1-2 count to left center for an RBI-single. (Where was the splitter?) It was Pap's first blown save of the year and the game was tied 3-3. [What's that, Michael Kay, you wanna know how Papelbon will handle his first bout of adversity, his first blown save? Stay tuned.] ... Bighead Mench made the third out.

The Rangers also went to their pen in the eighth, with Francisco Cordero taking over for Vincente Padilla. As rain began falling, Manny Ramirez worked a eight-pitch walk. Nixon, who ended the night 4-for-4, lined a single towards the right field corner and Manny went to third. Mike Lowell flied to right and Ramirez easily slid across with the go-ahead run.

In the ninth, Papelbon (looking somewhat pissed off) struck out the first two batters before allowing an infield hit to Rod Barajas. Jerry Hairston pinch-ran and stole second, but Ian Kinsler struck out to end the game. [Yo, Mr. Interlocking NY, how's about you break down that inning -- and then STFU.]

In New York, the Athletics chased the Eunuch after only four innings (4-6-6-5-2, 84). In the bottom of the seventh (rain delay), it's Oakland 6-1. Update: Yanks lose 6-5.

***

Tim Wakefield's stiff back has been a "little bit of an issue", so Craig Hansen will be used if Wakefield is pulled early.

Wakefield / Padilla, 7 PM

Mistakes

Curt Schilling threw only three of his 96 pitches from the stretch. They came in the third inning, after Johnny Damon doubled. Melky Cabrera lofted a 1-1 pitch to short center and Damon was doubled off the bag. Curt: "It was kind of a weird game. I made four mistakes. I left three splitters up for two homers and a double. And I left a slider up for [Williams's] homer. I've got to eliminate my mistakes."

Why is it that when pitchers discuss "mistakes" they made during a game, they are almost always home runs? Couldn't at least one of those homers not have been a mistake? And couldn't Schilling have made mistakes that were fouled off or hit for outs? "Mistakes = home runs" seems way too reductive. ... But maybe that's just what pitchers tell writers.

Steve Buckley highlights Alex Gonzalez's key eight-pitch at-bat and double lined past Alex Rodriguez in the sixth inning -- it knocked in Jason Varitek and broke a 3-3 tie. Slappy said it was a tough play -- one he makes maybe three or four times out of 10. ... That's clutch, baby!



Coco Crisp has been bothered by a blister at the base of the middle finger of his left hand, so he's now wearing one batting glove. ... Keith Foulke sat out a sixth straight game because his back did not respond well to an indoor throwing session. ... David Pauley doesn't care if he's in the pen this weekend: "Anything that's going to keep me up here, I'm more than happy to do it."

Submariner pitcher Josh Papelbon was chosen by the Red Sox in the 48th round of this week's draft. Jonathan on Josh: "Out of the three of us brothers [Josh's twin Jeremy [also a pitcher] was chosen by the Cubs], he's always been the hardest worker out of all of us. Nothing has really come easy to him, so he's always worked harder than both of us. That will play out well here."

Pedro Martinez is in line to pitch in Fenway on June 28, although if the Mets don't use a fifth starter after an offday that week, he'll face the Sox on June 27.

G57: Red Sox 9, Yankees 3

After some initial annoyance -- three solo home runs to three left-handed Yankee batters (Damon (leading off the first inning), Williams and Cano), which gave New York a 3-1 lead after five -- Curt Schilling suddenly became ultra-economical.

Schilling faced and dispatched nine straight Yankees in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings on a total of 23 pitches (7-9-7). At the same time, Boston chased Jaret Wright in the sixth -- walk, single, single, HBP to start the frame -- battered Scott "Umm, Joe, My Arm's Gonna Fly Out Of Its Socket By August" Proctor (two doubles and Tek's three-run line drive home run to right), and abused Scott Erickson (an HBP and two hits, including Coco Crisp's two-run single to cap the scoring).

After eight innings, Boston led 9-3 and Schilling had thrown only 96 pitches, but Jonathan Papelbon came on for the ninth (he hadn't pitched since Sunday).

The New York 9th against the Papelbot:

Damon - first pitch foul pop out to catcher.
Cabrera - (cbbcbf) walk.
Giambi - (cbs) struck out swinging (strike two: 96 fastball; strike three: 89 in the dirt).
Slappy McLastout - (cf) struck out swinging (96 heat up and away).

Papelbon's ERA dropped by a mere 0.01 -- from 0.32 to 0.31.

***

It turns out lefty Jon Lester will make his major league debut on Saturday in the first game of the Rangers doubleheader. Matt Clement gets the ball on Sunday and David Pauley will be available out of the pen over the weekend.

MFY: Gary Sheffield will have surgery on his left wrist next week and will be out until September (at least).

Schilling / Wright, 7 PM

Grimsley

Jason Grimsley has told federal investigators that he used human growth hormone and allegedly named many other players who were also users.

According to Gordon Edes's report

Grimsley painted a picture of a drug culture in baseball that went beyond the use of steroids and HGH. He said that "boatloads" of players used amphetamines, according to the affidavit, often mixing them in coffee marked "leaded" and "unleaded," and said that in many cases, "Latin players" were the suppliers. He also said players for California teams could easily buy drugs in Mexico and sell them to players located elsewhere.

Rob Manfred, baseball's chief labor negotiator: "Human growth hormone [is] a problem for all sports because there is no universally accepted and validated test -- either blood or urine."

Representative Henry Waxman (D) of California: "The absence of testing for HGH in the MLB policy is a huge loophole." ... Indeed (cough).

In the Herald, John Tomase quotes this sentence from the FBI's report

Grimsley also identified XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX, a former Major League Baseball player, as one of his better friends in baseball. Grimsley stated that [sic] knows XXXXXXXXX used human growth hormone...

and bemoans the fact that "the good folks in the federal government don't believe in fixed-width fonts like Courier New [so we can] discern exactly how many letters comprise the mystery man's last name."

Grimsley's affidavit can be found (in PDF format) at the Arizona Republic.

Pass The Geritol

Kyle Snyder, the Red Sox's 14th pick in yesterday's draft, was born on December 12, 1988.

Rotation Gets A Breather

Yesterday's rainout allowed the Red Sox some flexibility with the pitching staff.

Curt Schilling will pitch tonight (against Jaret Wright, a Curt-Unit matchup being unlikely), Tim Wakefield will go Friday, Matt Clement and Josh Beckett will probably pitch Saturday's doubleheader before David Pauley gets another start on Sunday. ... The rainout will keep Jon Lester in Pawtucket.

Keith Foulke's back has been causing him pain since June 1 (he last pitched May 31): "Until it lets go it's going to be tough for me to do anything. [The pain] is in between the middle [of my back] and the top of my butt. It hurts to turn, it hurts to bend, it hurts to pitch. It's the first time it's bothered me since probably the playoffs in '03."

The Red Sox considered putting him on the disabled list, but have decided instead to just ride it out. Francona: "He probably needs at the most two or three [more] days." ... So even though the Sox are carrying 12 pitchers, they are still short-handed.

Gabe Kapler will join the Portland Sea Dogs (AA) tonight. ... The Red Sox and Yankees have five games scheduled for four days in August (18-19-20-21) and with yesterday's rainout probably will play four times in three days in mid-September (15-16-17). ... At 1.5 games out, Boston has not been this far behind the Yankees since June 21, 2005.

Wednesday Night: Rained Out

Probably rescheduled for mid-September.

Robbed

My partner Laura says the 2-1 loss hurt more than the 13-5 rout, but I don't agree.

I had no problem with Pauley starting the seventh. While six innings of one-run ball was so much more than we expected, he was at 80 pitches and was facing the bottom third of the order. (Rudy Seanez did start warming at the start of the inning. That was Terry Francona's first mistake, since the score was 1-1. This wasn't a case where he was warming someone with a four-run lead that Pauley subsequently lost. (However, getting Jonathan Papelbon up at the start of the 7th did not make complete sense. If Pap goes two innings, and it's unlikely he'd go more than that, then a significantly inferior pitcher has to work the 9th. There were no quotes about it in the papers, but maybe Tito wanted Seanez (if necessary) to finish the 7th and Pap to take the 8th and 9th.))

Pauley retired Andy Phillips on a grounder to short and Bernie Williams on a fly to right. Miguel Cairo tapped a meaningless grounder that Pauley was genuinely shocked not to have gloved on the first base side of the mound. Maybe this was the time to pull Pauley -- only because he was likely somewhat distracted by not getting the ground ball. But I was imploring Tito to not pull him after that, to give him another shot at the third out.

Johnny Damon sliced a 1-1 pitch to left and Cairo moved up to second. Al Nipper came out to talk with Pauley. Here is where I would have gone to the pen. Since Seanez was the only warm arm out there, Francona should have brought him in with some margin for error. Third base was open, so even if Rudy tosses a wild pitch, or walks Cabrera, it still wouldn't score a run. ... Pauley walked Cabrera on four pitches. (And then Seanez walked Giambi to force in the eventual game-winning run.)

Pauley:

I just didn't get my glove down far enough and it scooted underneath. It was definitely frustrating. ... If I come up with that, it's 1-1 going to the next inning. ... I was a little bit more comfortable. ... Getting out of the first inning was the biggest thing. That gave me confidence. A moment like this will be there with me the rest of my life.

Mark Loretta:

He threw strikes. He wasn't affected by the crowd. I was really impressed. And he was able to keep getting them out the second and third times through the order, which showed me even more.

Francona:

I'm so proud of him. ... He sunk his fastball, threw off-speed pitches for strikes. He competed. He pitched a very, very strong game. The idea is to win, but you can see how much I thought of him. I left him out there a long time in tough situations.

Re Manny's attempt at a double in the sixth inning, where he tested Damon's noodle and was out by at least 10 feet. I love and defend Manny, but this was pure idiocy. There was only one out, the game was tied, and Wang was at 88 pitches. Francona claimed to like the attempt: "Out of the box, he was thinking all the way. He just came up a little short. I've got no problem with the hustle. He's trying to do something to help us win the game." I don't believe Tito is telling the truth -- he must be doing it to perhaps quiet (good luck!) the Bonehead Manny talk that is sure to follow.

Melky Cabrera's amazing catch in left center on Ramirez's bid for a game-tying home run in the eighth was perfect. He ran a straight route, took a quick look at the wall just as he reached the warning track, timed his leap and snagged the ball securely as it sailed over the fence. "That's the best catch I've made in my life."

Craig Hansen is with the club:

I picked up a changeup in the minor leagues. I feel like that's one of the pitches that is going to help me out throughout my career. ... I feel like I'm stretched out enough to start if they want it. If I have to go into the bullpen, wherever they plan on using me, right now I feel like I'm versatile to either starting or pitching in the bullpen.

Mike Timlin is eligible to come off the DL Saturday, but that won't happen. Francona said Tuesday or Wednesday is probably more realistic. ... David Wells is going to San Diego to get a second opinion from the doctor who performed arthroscopic surgery on his knee last October.

G56: Yankees 2, Red Sox 1

9:56 PM -- I am pissed. Seanez? Rudy Seanez?? It's 1-1 in the 7th inning and Francona thinks Noriega is our best arm? Are you shitting me?

Basic progressive baseball thought (which the Red Sox claim to subscribe to) tells you to go with your best pitcher with the game on the line. Francona couldn't have forseen Pauley loading the bases (DP was as shocked as anyone that he didn't field Cairo's grounder), but the score was 1-1 -- Tito's got to have quality arms getting warm.

Pauley pitched his heart out -- way beyond anything I could have hoped for. ... Manny got robbed of a game-tying home run in the eighth by Milk Dud in left (and screw you, Johnny, for the excessive celebration).

And thanks a ton, Nixon-Varitek-Lowell, for making Rivera work so hard in the ninth -- five pitches.

***

7:00 PM -- Craig Hansen is with the team (last outing: 72 pitches on Friday). Jermaine Van Buren was optioned back to Pawtucket. Also, Francona said Keith Foulke (back stiffness) was examined by the Red Sox medical staff; the team "may be forced into making a move".

***

David Pauley, who turns 23 next Saturday, is visiting New York City for the first time -- he was a bit of a tourist yesterday -- and he'll be on the Yankee Stadium mound tonight.

Pauley says his greatest challenge will be

controlling myself under pressure, being able to pitch my game and stick to my game plan. I learned you've got to be able to hit your spots all the time. Mistakes up here get hit and they get hit hard. I got tedious and tried to make too good pitches, and balls were getting hit hard. ... It's tough to put where I am in the back of my mind, but I have to look at this the same as any other start.

Last night, the Yankees battered Red Sox pitchers for 11 hits. It was their 12th straight game with at least 10 hits -- a new club record, breaking the old mark of 11 (May 21-31, 1937).

New York and Boston have changed places atop the East for three straight days. How about four?

David Pauley (12.46) / Chien-Ming Wang (4.82), 7 PM

Kickin' The Beckett

So what's up with Josh LaLoosh?

It's just a lack of execution of pitches. Unexecuted pitches get hit hard. Some go out, some don't. If I had to pinpoint one thing, that would probably be it, unexecuted pitches. No excuses. ... I felt fine. In fact I felt really good today. ... It frustrates the hell out of me. I'm a competitive guy. I know I'm pitching against Mussina. You can't stake him to a lead like that.

Many observers thought Beckett threw too many fastballs, was more in love with the idea of smoking the MFY hitters than actually pitching.

Steven Krasner notes that Terry Francona is a bit concerned that Beckett is throwing too much hard stuff. "When you've got hitters like [the Yankees] who can do damage, and if they're looking [for fastballs], I don't know if you can throw hard enough."

Beckett: "I threw some breaking balls. [T]the pitch Cairo hit was a changeup." ... Francona was asked if Beckett had any health issues? "No. He had some hit issues. But not health issues."



In his last two outings -- totalling six innings -- Beckett has been pounded for 17 hits (six home runs) and 14 earned runs. He has allowed a whopping 16 homers this year (all on the road) in 70 innings after allowing only 14 in 178.2 last year with Florida. ... Also, Beckett has a 2.16 ERA in four home starts and a 7.00 ERA in eight road starts.

The Herald reports these stats against strong and weak teams:

             W-L  ERA  IP  H ER HR BB SO
NY-Tex-Tor-
  Cle-Phil   4-3 7.02  50 55 39 15 21 35
Sea-TB-Bal   3-0 0.90  20 12  2  1  2 18

Is this the first "hot seat" sighting of the year? The headline on Steve Buckley's column: "Tito, Pauley on hot seat: Rout adds to pressure"

Keith Foulke didn't pitch for the fourth straight game. Tito: "We don't know quite where we stand with Foulke yet. We have some issues we probably have to at least discuss. He's getting better. Will he be available [tonight]? I don't know." ... That doesn't sound very promising.

Today's annoying sportswriter? The Post's Mike Vaccaro:

The 13-5 pasting the Yankees applied last night not only moved them into first place by a half-game, not only got this four-game series off to a staggeringly hopeful start, not only evened the current season series at four games apiece, it also makes you wonder if a kind of seismic, season-altering shift didn't take place, too.

G55: Yankees 13, Red Sox 5

I missed a three-week stretch of games, but that's gotta be the ugliest loss of the season.

Beckett had nothing (1.1-7-8-2-1); the Yankees pounded five hits on his first 11 pitches of the second inning. Although it was clear that Beckett was useless, Terry Francona didn't even get anyone up until New York's 8th batter of the inning (HGHiambi) crushed a three-run homer off the third deck facade to make it 8-2. What is Beckett's problem? He looked horrible in Toronto and downright useless tonight.

A five-spot in the third put the game pretty much out of reach. And honestly, saying 13-5 makes the game sound a hell of a lot closer than it really was. (I cannot believe Torre used Proctor (his 28th appearance) and Rivera (whose status I thought was "only in an emergency"). Not that I'm not complaining ...)

ESPN (Gary Thorne and Rick "Why God Invented Mute" Sutcliffe) had the game, so I watched most of it -- certainly after the second inning -- without sound. Still, I was lucky enough to hear Thorne say that "there are a lot of Red Sox fans here. When the Boston lineup was announced, there were a lot of cheers, but when the Yankees fans get here, that will be the end of that."

When he said this, it was the top of the 2nd and the game had been going on for 36 minutes. When the Yankees fans get here ...

Still, a loss is a loss, whether it is 13-5, 564-0 or 19-8. So let's regroup for tomorrow, pound Wang and give David Pauley the kind of run support that Mussina enjoyed tonight.

***

Lineups, from the Herald:

Crisp, CF        Damon, CF
Loretta, 2B      Cabrera, LF
Ortiz, DH        Giambi, DH
Ramirez, LF      Rodriguez, 3B
Nixon, RF        Posada, C
Youkilis, 1B     Cano, 2B
Lowell, 3B       Phillips, 1B
Varitek, C       Williams, RF
Gonzalez, SS     Cairo, SS

I like Tek 8th for now. Nice lineup, Tito. Seriously ... You too, Joe!


Should we now call him Slappy McRedlips?



Beckett / Mussina, 7 PM

Silverman: Yanks Are Better

What's a sports columnist #1 job?

Vivid, lively prose? No. ... The ability to muster facts into a cogent argument? Nope. ... The skill to enlighten us and help us consider new ways of thinking? Nah.

His job is to get a reaction. And so, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald has clearly done his job with his Monday column (my pithy comments in italics):

[A]s the Red Sox enter the Bronx beast's belly tonight for the start of a four-game series, here's one fun morsel to chew on: The Yankees are better.

Forget about the AL East standings [which, let's not forget, is the only measure of betterness that counts come playoff time], which show the Sox a half-game up on NY. With two-thirds of the season still left to play, the Red Sox have no business saying what team is better, nor do their fans, who are too emotionally invested in the subject to see clearly. [But a columnist with inches to fill on a tight deadline apparently does.]

With that said [when, oh when, will this annoying speech tic/expression pass out of usage], it takes no special powers to observe that despite all of their injuries, the Yankees have sustained a higher overall level of play than the Sox this season. [No special powers needed, but only Silverman can suss it out ...]

Even without Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield, their lineup is better and deeper, with their overall run production, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, batting average, stolen bases and total bases topping those of the Red Sox. [And if they don't win as many games as Boston by the end of September, all of that won't mean squat.]

Pitching-wise, the Yanks' overall ERA and opponents' batting average rule the Red Sox', and that's despite Randy Johnson's struggles. [Yeah, it's not like Boston has had any pitchers that have struggled this year. And the club was without Coco Crisp for 40+ games] ... [W]hen you look at how the Yankees have played against the better teams in the AL, their record speaks for itself.

Now, I will say that according to their respective runs scored and runs allowed, the Yankees "should" have a 2.5 lead over Boston in the East, rather than trailing by a slim .5 margin.

         Actual Record  RS/RA Expectation
Red Sox    33 - 21          30 - 24
Yankees    33 - 22          33 - 22

Also: Good stories on the between-starts work that Matt Clement did before his solid outing yesterday. ... Gordon Edes thinks 22-year-old Jon Lester will make his major league debut this Saturday when the Red Sox play a day-night doubleheader against the Rangers. (Ian Browne of MLB also thinks it's quite possible.) ... Mike Timlin throws today for the first time since going on the DL.

Plenty o' injuries for this series:

Red Sox : Kevin Youkilis was hit on the left forearm yesterday; x-rays were negative. Yook: "I feel I'll be able to play [Monday]. It caught me on the meat of the forearm, and it just cramped up." ... David Wells and Mike Timlin are on the disabled list, Keith Foulke has missed the last three games because of back stiffness, Mike Lowell has a strained left hamstring, Mark Loretta has a brusied left toe, and Manny Delcarmen has a bruise where he was hit off the lower left calf by a batted ball on Saturday.

Yankees: Derek Jeter was hit on the right thumb yesterday and left the game; his x-rays were also negative. Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield are on the disabled list, Mariano Rivera has missed four games because of back spasms, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi each missed two games this weekend because of stomach trouble, and Johnny Damon has a fracture in his foot.

G54: Red Sox 8, Tigers 3

Nice. Clement did well (6-6-3-2-5); Gonzalez, Youkilis, Ortiz and Ramirez all homered; and Varitek had three hits. ... Plus Baltimore beat the Yankees 11-4, so we're back atop the East with four big games in the Bronx -- starting tomorrow.

***

I'm off at a wedding in Geneva, New York today, so you're on your own.

Please be nice to Matt Clement and hope that Zach Miner (making his major league debut) doesn't pitch as well as Cy Bonderman. About pitching to Manny and Papi, Miner says "I've gotten them out on video games. Hopefully, it'll transfer over."

The fun -- after which the regular season is exactly one-third complete -- starts at 1 PM.

G53: Tigers 6, Red Sox 2

Why is Julian Tavarez pitching in high-leverage situations? Why?

Batters hit his first 15 pitches to the tune of .317/.382/.533. Magglio Ordonez jumped on pitch #2, lining a three-run homer in the eighth inning that turned a 2-3 game to a 2-6 loss. ... Tito: If the difference in runs is four or higher, then Tavarez can pitch.

Once again, Tim Wakefield (7-6-3-2-6, 99) gets screwed with no run support. ... And Matt Clement goes tomorrow. Yipee. Even hitting against a guy making his major league debut, I question whether the Sox can score enough runs.

***

Wakefield / Bonderman, 7 PM

Youkilis Enjoys A "Bellhorn Day"

Kevin Youkilis on his ninth inning home run: "It was a rough day, but you can have four bad at-bats in this game and still go out there and do something. I call it a Bellhorn Day. Mark was the best at that. He’d have three bad at-bats and then - boom! - a home run to win the game."

David Pauley's second major league start will be Tuesday in Yankee Stadium. Francona: "All things considered, we felt it was a good idea for him to pitch again. He showed enough poise, he did sink the ball. He gave up a lot of hits, and didn't command at times ... but we saw enough to [start him again], rather than have somebody else come into Yankee Stadium for the first time."

Pauley: "Any kid who has ever grown up playing baseball dreams of playing at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. It's a dream come true. I'm excited about it. ... I don't really know how to put it into words, but it means a lot to me to have the confidence in me to let me go back out there."

Curt Schilling broke out a new pitch last night -- a sinking two-seamer. "It's something I've been messing with and I'm going to possibly mess with later in the year."

Steven Krasner looks at the many bumps in the Sox's 2006 road -- both physical (Wells, Pena, Loretta, Timlin, Crisp) and otherwise (Clement, Varitek). He notes that the Yankees also have their problems (Matsui, Sheffield and Posada). ... Mariano Rivera has missed a few games because of lower back spasms -- suffered while putting on his shoes. "When it happened, I couldn't believe it. I thought it was a little thing, then all of a sudden, I couldn't move my legs. ... I'm just taking it day-by-day."

G52: Red Sox 3, Tigers 2

Yooooooook! Trailing 2-1 and down to their final out, the Red Sox rallied against Todd Jones. Mike Lowell singled to center and Willie Harris went in to pinch-run. Kevin Youkilis looked at a strike before banging a two-run home run to left.

Jonathan Papelbon notched his 20th save (in 20 chances) with a perfect bottom of the ninth, striking out Ivan Rodriguez to end the game.

***

Schilling / Rogers, 7 PM

Lineups:

Crisp, CF     Granderson, CF
Loretta, 2B   Polanco, 2B
Ortiz, DH     Thames, DH/RF
Ramirez, LF   Ordonez, DH/RF
Varitek, C    Guillen, SS
Lowell, 3B    Shelton, 1B
Youkilis, 3B  Monroe, LF
Nixon, RF     Inge, 3B
Gonzalez, SS  Wilson, C

Pena Will Miss 6-8 Weeks

Wily Mo Pena had surgery today to remove the hamate bone from his right wrist. He will miss between 6-8 weeks. Sounds like he won't be back until after the All-Star break.

Dr. Richard Mosychuk, Cape Cod Family Practice and Sports Medicine clinic: "Without having seen him, I will say that most patients typically return to their previous level of functioning in approximately eight weeks" after surgery.

In May 1988, David Ortiz had similar surgery. "I broke mine on May 9, and I came back after the All-Star break (July 9), after about eight weeks. But I was weak still the rest of the season. I couldn't hit hard. Every time I put a good swing on the ball it hurt. ... I can't believe he was playing with a broken bone."

Right now, with the team carrying 12 pitchers, Willie Harris is the only outfielder on the bench. It's sounds like that is the plan for the near future. Francona: "Willie Harris has been very valuable doing what he does." ... What is that exactly? Making sure Tito has plenty of chaw on hand?

After scoring 4.68 runs per game and batting .256 in April, the Red Sox scored 6.42 runs per game and hit a MLB-best .306 in May. ... Mike Timlin will start throwing on Monday. ... Mike Lowell said he felt his hamstring "grab" as he rounded third base in the fourth inning. "I didn't feel a pop or anything, which is good. ... I'm hoping to be ready by Friday."

The Herald has changed its policy about charging to read its columnists on line. They are now free.

Werner On Clemens: "I Thought We Had Him"

Roger Clemens's agent Randy Hendricks said Boston "made the most sense in terms of best team", but the TCM chose to return to Houston.

Thinking of Clemens's uniform number, the Red Sox offered a one-year deal of $21,000,021. The Astros did the same thing, pitching a total of $22,000,022.

Gordon Edes has a little more in his mailbag, including Red Sox chairman Tom Werner's statement to the Globe's Nick Cafardo: "I thought we had him."

G51: Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 6

We saw (finally) Ted Lilly pitch like he does against the rest of the league; Ortiz, Loretta, Nixon and Ramirez hit home runs; and David Pauley threw four decent innings before having a bit of a meltdown in the fifth.

Pauley was aided by double plays to end each of the first three innings. In the fifth, with a 7-2 lead, he walked the leadoff man. After getting one out, he surrendered three singles and a triple. Terry Francona left Pauley out at least a batter or two too long, seemingly hoping he could shut the door against the bottom third of the Jays order. (And get his five innings in and qualify for the win.)

He could not, however, and was pulled after letting Toronto cut the lead to 7-6. The quartet of Van Buren (who got two outs in the fifth to strand the tying run at third), Delcarmen (1.2 IP, 0 H), Foulke (a perfect eighth 8th) and Papelbon (leadoff single, then three outs for his 19th save) allowed only two hits and one walk over the final 4.2 innings.

Moronic Media Moments: With JT Snow batting in the eighth, Jamie Campbell, the Jays play-by-play guy, informed us that Snow has not had much playing time with the Red Sox this season "and has suggested that a change of venue might be a good idea". ... Snow's request was in the May 18 papers; his subsequent statement that he's happy to stay in Boston was printed May 24 -- seven days ago. Nice prep work, Jamie.

Also, Pat Tabler, Campbell's partner, after Catalanotto was thrown out on a close play at first base: "I don't know if they got that 'tie goes to the runner' thing ..." The Jays are off tomorrow, Pat, why don't you read the rule book.

The Yankees beat Detroit 6-1, so both New York and Boston are 31-20. Toronto is 29-23, 2.5 games out.

5:40 PM -- Lineups:

Crisp, CF      Catalanotto, LF
Loretta, 2B    Zaun, C
Ortiz, DH      Rios, CF
Ramirez, LF    Glaus, DH
Youkilis, 1B   Overbay, 1B
Lowell, 3B     Hillenbrand, 3B
Mirabelli, C   Hinske, RF
Nixon, RF      Hill, SS
Gonzalez, SS   Alfonso, 2B

I love that 1-6! (Is Vernon Wells tired from all that jogging around the bases?)

***

David Pauley (#60) makes his major league debut tonight against Ted Lilly at Skydome.

Pauley, a 22-year-old righthander, was 2-3, 2.39 in 10 starts for Portland (AA). In 60.1 innings, he has allowed 54 hits and 17 walks, while striking out 47. Pauley has not pitched in AAA. ... He came over from San Diego in December 2004 with Jay Payton and Ramon Vazquez in the Dave Roberts trade.

According to Sox Prospects:

Pauley mixes an excellent sinker with a low 90s fastball with good movement, a good changeup, and a top-notch curveball. Has 4th or 5th starter potential. Has been very consistent in recent seasons, with some flashes of brilliance. ... Needs to improve his control somewhat.

Pauley was an eighth round pick in 2001 and has a 3.78 ERA in six minor league seasons. Here's SoSH Adopt-A-Prospect thread on Pauley. ... Andrew (of the 12eight blog) has a piece on Pauley at Fire Brand.

Pauley: "Pure excitement. Obviously, I was shocked at first. It took me a few minutes to come down and realize what was going on. Biggest point in my life."

Terry Francona: "We didn't think it would bother his progression. We have a day off [Thursday]. It's not like he has to go eight. And hopefully some unfamiliarity with him will get him through. We think he can handle a start or two or whatever it ends up being." ... A second start would be next Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

Pauley got the nod when David Wells went on the disabled list for the third time this season. Francona said he told Wells after an aborted throwing session "'Seems to me that if you thought you could pitch you'd be yelling at me.' And he says, 'Yeah.' So it made it painfully obvious to me that that was the move to make." ... Wells could return for a June 11 start against Texas.

The other possibilities for tonight's spot start were Abe Alvarez and Craig Hansen. Alvarez would have been pitching on his normal rest, but the Jays have hit lefties at a .340 clip this year. Although Alvarez hadn't spent the required 10 days in the minors after being sent down May 22, putting Wells on the DL would have voided that rule. Hansen threw four innings on Saturday (in only his third minor league start) and would have been pitching on three days rest.

Wily Mo Pena Has Wrist Surgery

Statement from Red Sox Medical Director Dr. Thomas Gill:

Wily Mo Pena underwent diagnostic testing and further examination on Tuesday. He has an injury to the hamate bone in his left wrist. The plan is to perform a surgical procedure on Thursday morning to treat the injury.

Wily Mo will immediately begin rehabilitation on the wrist. He will be able to continue his throwing and conditioning programs throughout the entire post-operative period.

No mention of when Pena might return. ... For what it's worth, David Ortiz broke a hamate bone in his right wrist in 1998 and missed two months.

So it looks like The Willie Harris Era will continue (and Trot playing against LHP (.222)). Despite Adam Stern's low numbers in Pawtucket (.231/.301/.331), I'd rather have him on the bench than Wee Willie.