Red Sox - Inside Pitch

Red Sox manager Terry Francona has all the time in the world for young ballplayers who play the game the right way.

Infielder Jed Lowrie just happens to be one of those guys.

The 24-year-old is one of a group of fresh-faced ballplayers who have softened the blow of both illness and injury for the Sox over the first month of the season. In cases like Lowrie and outfielder Brandon Moss, players originally brought up as insurance policies have also shown promising signs to Boston’s coaching staff.

“With Lowrie, I think that we’re pleased with how he’s playing the game. That’s stating the obvious,” Francona said of a young ballplayer who has begun to draw comparisons to former batting champion Bill Mueller. “He’s a really mature young man. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have anything to learn, but he seems to be pretty hungry to learn on the job and help us win games.

“That makes it fun for the staff, and it’s a little easier when you have young guys around the club that want to learn and do things right. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

When a rash of injuries removed third baseman Mike Lowell, utility infielder Alex Cora and first baseman Sean Casey from the lineup, it was Lowrie’s turn to step into a catch-all utility role. Moss was ready to answer the bell Wednesday night when J.D. Drew left Tuesday night’s game with quadriceps tightness.

Lowrie was thrown out at the plate as a pinch runner in the ninth inning Wednesday night, but he nearly gave Moss a game-winning RBI on his single up the middle.

“There are a lot of guys that are going to contribute this year,” first baseman Kevin Youkilis said. “I think for us it’s going out and trying to win every day. The young guys have been filling in really nicely, and one thing we have on this team is a lot of depth.”

Red Sox 2, Blue Jays 1: A Jason Varitek single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday scored a speeding, sliding Manny Ramirez from second base, giving the Red Sox their eighth walk-off win of the young season. David Ortiz crushed a solo homer in the seventh inning to give the Sox a 1-0 lead, but the Boston bullpen betrayed Daisuke Matsuzaka after the righty tossed seven shutout innings.

Notes, Quotes

• RHP Jonathan Papelbon executed the first successful regular-season pick-off throw of his big-league career during the ninth inning of Wednesday night’s game. Papelbon memorably picked off Rockies OF Matt Holiday during Game 2 of the 2007 World Series, and this time Papelbon’s victim was Toronto SS John McDonald. The closer has worked hard on controlling the running game after feeling that other teams were taking liberties on the basepaths against him.

• RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka has led the Red Sox to a perfect 8-0 record in his last eight outings, a stretch that dates back to Sept. 22. Matsuzaka boasts a perfect 4-0 record for this season, and he is sixth in the American League with a 2.52 ERA. In a season where the Sox needed a No. 2 starter to step up in their rotation, Matsuzaka made a statement with his mound work during the month of April.

• DH David Ortiz slugged a solo homer in the seventh inning Wednesday, the first extra-base hit for the Sox dating back to last Friday’s opening game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The home run ended a span of 39 consecutive innings and three complete games without an extra-base hit—a record that had put the scuffling Sox into a tie with similar Sox power outages in both 1956 and 1964.

• RHP Bartolo Colon threw 45 pitches in an extended side session Wednesday and looked good enough to advance to a third side session at Fenway Park on Friday. As long as the big right-hander gets through the third throwing session without incident, Colon will pitch in game action with Class AAA Pawtucket on May 5. While the Sox have been getting very good pitching out of their starters as of late, the arrival of Colon would bolster their rotation depth.

• OF J.D Drew sat out Wednesday night’s game with a tender quadriceps muscle, but Red Sox manager Terry Francona reported that the right fielder was neither better nor worse after the muscle tightened up on him Tuesday. The outfielder was receiving treatment Wednesday, but Francona wouldn’t hazard a guess as to when Drew would return to Boston’s lineup.

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:

OF J.D. Drew (tightness in left quadriceps) left the April 29 game. He didn’t play April 30, and he is day-to-day.

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

INF Alex Cora (sore right elbow) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 10. He might start making throws across the diamond on May 2.

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.