Red Sox - Inside Pitch

After going through a week of turmoil, the Red Sox are happy to be returning to some semblance of normalcy as their pitchers return to good health, injured players are returning to the fold and another homestand is on the horizon.

Josh Beckett pitched an excellent 13-strikeout game that he ended up losing Sunday afternoon, and fellow flu-stricken pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is on pace to make his first start in nearly two weeks on Wednesday.

For a team that has gone through a rigorous season-opening trip to Japan, a number of injuries to positional players after enjoying relative health last season and illness that has stretched their starting depth and burnt out the bullpen, a bit of good health and good fortune is hopefully on the horizon.

That good fortune hasn’t been on the road for the Sox as they’ve put together a 6-8 record on the road this season, and are an amazing 1-7 indoors this season including an 0-for-3 at the Rogers Centre, 0-3 at Tropicana Field and 1-1 at the Tokyo Dome. A day off on Monday should do the Olde Towne Team a world of good after playing games on 20 consecutive days, but the Sox are still enduring a stretch when they’re playing 36 games in 37 days.

“We have some guys that need to throw a little bit and we’ll use the day off (on Monday) to our advantage,” Sox manager Terry Francona said to NESN following Sunday’s game. “We hope it does us some good.”

Rays 3, Red Sox 0: The Sox suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays for the first time in franchise history and managed only two hits in the loss. Josh Beckett pitched a strong game in rebounding from the flu and struck out a career-high 13 batters, but also allowed a pair of runs when he needed to be nothing short of perfect.

Notes, Quotes

• DH David Ortiz sat out games on both Saturday and Sunday after bruising his surgically repaired right knee while making an ill-advised headfirst slide in Friday night’s loss to the Rays. The Sox medical personnel planned on exercising caution with Ortiz and preferred to wait for the swelling to subside before clearing “Big Papi” again for baseball action. Ortiz had been hot at the plate as of late, and had driven in 16 runs over his last eight games played prior to hurting himself.

• 1B Sean Casey was placed on the disabled list on Saturday with a strained right hip flexor suffered while running the bases on Friday night. OF Brandon Moss was called up from Pawtucket to take Casey’s place on the 25-man roster, and is an option at first base after getting some playing time around the bag in Pawtucket this season. Moss had previously played solely as an outfielder during his path through Boston’s minor league system, but the Sox are excited at the versatility possibilities if the rookie can play both first base and the outfield.

• RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka will be bumped back one more day as the Sox announced that the Japanese hurler -– recovering from the flu bug that has swept through the Sox clubhouse -– will make his next scheduled start on Wednesday night. Sox officials felt comfortable giving Matsuzaka an extra day to recover and prepare for his first start in 12 days, and slotted scuffling LHP Jon Lester into the Tuesday night start.

• OF Manny Ramirez stole the 35th base of his station-to-station career in the fifth inning of Sunday afternoon’s loss to Tampa Bay. The stolen bag was a bit of history for the 35-year-old left fielder and the Sox as it was Ramirez’s first stolen base in a Boston uniform in over three years—dating back to a flight of fancy on the base paths on April 10, 2005.

• 1B Kevin Youkilis set a major league record for fielding perfection over the weekend when he handled his 1,701st errorless chance at first base. Youkilis broke the record of 1,700 straight errorless chances by former Sox 1B Stuffy McInnis from May 1921-June 1922. The errorless streak set by the Gold Glove-winning Youkilis is also the longest such streak of any defensive position in major league history.

By The Numbers: 1,701—Total number of consecutive errorless defensive chances by 1B Kevin Youkilis, which broke the record for all defensive positions in the major leagues.

Quote To Note: “I just try to go out there and play the best that I can whenever they put me out there. I wish it were softball, but it’s not so we’ll see what happens. Hopefully, we all continue to play well and give them a tough decision on who to put out there on any given day.”—OF Coco Crisp, on his mind-set while playing the part of a fourth outfielder on the Sox this season.

Roster Report

Medical Watch:

DH David Ortiz (bruised right knee) sat out April 26-27. He is day-to-day.

1B Sean Casey (strained right hip flexor) went on the 15-day disabled list April 26.

RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (flu) missed his April 23 start. His next start has been pushed back to April 30.

RHP Josh Beckett (stiff neck, flu) was scratched from his April 22 start. He returned to the rotation April 27.

INF Alex Cora (sore right elbow) went on the disabled list retroactive to April 10.

3B Mike Lowell (sore left thumb) went on the 15-day disabled list April 10. He began a rehab assignment with Class AAA Pawtucket on April 25, and he could be activated the following week.

RHP Curt Schilling (right shoulder) began experiencing discomfort during the offseason, and he opened the season on the 60-day disabled list as he undergoes a muscle-strengthening program. Schilling is expected to be out until at least the All-Star break, and his legendary career might be over.