Lowe out for brand-new start in New York

TORONTO -- The way Derek Lowe figures it, Yankee Stadium will be rocking like it rarely has during the regular season tonight when the Red Sox return to the Bronx for the first time since the fateful Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

"It's going to be electric from the time our bus rolls up to Yankee Stadium," said Lowe, who will try to bounce back from his woeful outing against the Yankees Sunday as he faces Jose Contreras in the opener of a three-game showdown. "I imagine it's going to be as close to playoff atmosphere as we're going to see all year."

Lowe suspected his greatest challenge will be preventing the electricity from jolting him off stride. He has gone 2-1 with a 3.55 ERA in four starts in the Bronx during the regular season since he joined the starting rotation Sept. 22, 2001. And he was outdueled by Andy Pettitte in his only start in New York last October in the ALCS.

"It's a completely different feeling when you step out at Yankee Stadium than any other stadium," Lowe said. "It's a situation where [it's important] how quickly you settle down. It's a good feeling. You're not scared. It's just like a big rivalry game in any sport, you have a little extra adrenaline."

Making it unscathed through the first inning could be crucial.

"For me, it always is there," Lowe said, "because if you struggle early and get that crowd going against you, it can make for a long night."

The Sox gave Lowe a mulligan for his last outing after he was asked to face the Yankees on 10 days of rest because of rain and rotation-juggling.

"I think you'll see a different Derek Lowe," manager Terry Francona said. "The position he got put in last time was not only quite tough physically but a little bit tough mentally. I think he feels probably better about himself going into the game."

Lowe said he was hurt most by lacking control of his breaking ball. Trying to regain his rhythm, he threw twice in the bullpen between starts rather than once, as he usually does. And he expects to be back on track.

"I'm not really worried about it because I feel if I was pitching on my fifth or sixth day, I would have had a better game," he said. Noting that Doug Mirabelli wore eye black Wednesday when he pounded two homers to lead the Sox past the Jays, Lowe joked that he might try the same look tonight, "Roger Clemens style."

Lowe was scheduled to depart Toronto for New York just as last night's game started to rest for tonight's start. The rest of the team was scheduled to head for New York after the game.

Extra day can't hurt

Returning to recent tradition, the Sox expect to take advantage of Monday's offday to give Pedro Martinez and the rest of the rotation an extra day of rest. Martinez will have made two straight starts on four days' rest when he faces the Yankees Sunday (the Yankees, coping with a shortage of starters, had yet to decide whether Martinez will face Donovan Osborne or Javier Vazquez, who would go on three days of rest).

After completing a stretch of 11 games that will have included seven against the Yankees, the Sox apparently feel comfortable giving the ace and his mates an extra day.

Francona declined to explain the decision, citing competitive interests. After Monday, the Sox will play their next 20 games against the Devil Rays, Rangers, Indians, Royals, and Blue Jays without a day off. Martinez would be in line to make his next start May 1 against the Rangers in Texas.

There's a possibility Byung Hyun Kim could make his first start of the season April 30 against the Rangers, depending in part on his rehab outing tomorrow for Triple A Pawtucket. When Kim joins the team, Bronson Arroyo, who is scheduled to face Kevin Brown tomorrow, will shift to the bullpen.

Rest stop

Ramiro Mendoza (right shoulder tendinitis) and Jason Shiell (right elbow soreness) remain limited to resting. Mendoza's shoulder remains tight two weeks after he went on the 15-day disabled list, and Shiell was directed to rest after he received a second opinion from the noted sports medicine surgeon, James Andrews, in Alabama . . . Pokey Reese got his first day of rest after starting the first 14 games at shortstop. Reese yielded to Cesar Crespo, who had been scheduled to spell Reese on Patriots Day before Mark Bellhorn needed to sit with a sore elbow . . . David Ortiz hit his fourth homer of the season in the team's 15th game. Last year, when Ortiz finished with 31 homers, he didn't muster his fourth homer until his 51st game of the season, June 27 . . . Curt Schilling, who surrendered 13 hits, has allowed 13 or more hits in a start only four times in his career. The only time he has allowed more was Sept. 20, 2002, when the Rockies collected 14 hits . . . Add bullpen catcher Dana Levangie to the injured list. Levangie's right arm was placed in a cast for three weeks to try to heal a frayed tendon. The former Sox farmhand, who played for Whitman-Hanson High School and American International College, continues to work in the pen with help from coach Euclides Rojas.