Mientkiewicz is banged up

TORONTO -- Doug Mientkiewicz began the night at first for the Sox, but he exited after 3 1/2 innings, his left shoulder banged up in the third inning when he slid headfirst into second on an unsuccessful attempt for a stretch double (Alex Rios with the perfect peg from right).

"Stupid," said Mientkiewicz, in obvious pain from what he called a shoulder strain. "The throw was off just a little bit, and I tried to get around it. One of those years for me, I guess. Just as I start getting comfortable at the plate, something like this happens."

Mientkiewicz iced the shoulder a couple of times during the Red Sox' 11-5 pounding of the Jays and believes the injury is not serious.

"Hopefully, it will be just a couple of days," he said. "In a situation like that -- when I don't get to play much anymore -- I just hate to sit. But I also didn't want to be an idiot, keep playing and make it worse -- then maybe it takes longer to get better."

Mientkiewicz said he sustained a similiar injury a few years ago. Comparing the two incidents, and the discomfort he felt from each, he said he figured he would need only a couple of days of rest.

"But an injury like this, you usually know more the next day," he said. "I can raise my arm OK right now, but moving it across my body is tough right now."

Kevin Millar, scheduled for a full night of rest, had to be summoned into duty.

"I felt bad for Kevin," said a chagrined Mientkiewicz. "Because of me, he had to go out there, and being the regular guy, he doesn't get many nights off. I would have liked to have played through it, for him, but it just wasn't smart."

Ramirez moves up Manny Ramirez, with career homer No. 381 in the fourth inning, tied former Indians teammate Albert Belle for 49th on the all-time HR list. Next up for Ramirez: Jim Rice and Frank Howard, tied with 382 . . . David Ortiz, who hit a career-best 31 homers last year, banged home runs 32 and 33 after extending his hitless streak to 0 for 9 in the series with a second-inning ground out . . . Curt Schilling fanned nine Jays over 6 1/3 innings and ran his career K total to 2,700 -- making him one of only 18 major leaguers to reach that plateau . . . Francona was pleased to see traces of offensive pop from Dave Roberts (two hits), who got his second start in a row, ostensibly because Francona felt he looked uncomfortable at the plate Tuesday night. "Those were some of the best swings he's taken in a while," lauded the manager. "If he keeps swinging the bat with authority, he's going to do some damage for us."

A sign to come? Baseball America reported the Sox have signed highly touted lefthander Mike Rozier, their 12th-round draft pick, to a $1.575 million signing bonus, a record for a player drafted after the 10th round. Rozier's price was high because he also had a scholarship offer to play quarterback for the University of North Carolina. His bonus is the third highest in franchise history, behind only 1999 top pick Rick Asadoorian ($1.725 million) and 1998 top pick Adam Everett ($1.725 million). Neither player played a game for the Sox. According to the trade publication, because Rozier was a two-sport athlete, draft rules allow the Sox to spread his bonus over a five-year period. Rozier is a 6-foot-5-inch, 210-pounder whom general manager Theo Epstein compared with highly touted Sox prospect Jon Lester. Rozier, Epstein said, throws in the low-to-mid 90s with a plus curveball and changeup . . . Tuesday night's victory over the Jays pulled an 11.4 rating on NESN, coming close to the 13.1 rating for NBC's prime-time Olympic telecast.

Bill Griffith and Gordon Edes of the Globe staff contributed to this report.