Mueller driven during run

It seems when Bill Mueller steps into the batter's box with runners on, the Red Sox can collectively exhale and trust their third baseman to drive in some runs.

Yesterday, Mueller once again showed he deserves that trust.

With the bases loaded in the second inning, Mueller whacked a sacrifice fly to right field, sending Kevin Millar home for the first run of the game. Then in the fifth he came through again, blasting a triple into the center-field triangle that brought in Jay Payton from first as the Red Sox blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-0, yesterday at Fenway Park.

This, it seems, is Mueller's shtick of late. He has 12 RBIs and a .636 average in 11 at-bats with the bases juiced. In his last six games, he has driven in 10 runs.

It's obvious the third baseman is producing, but as Trot Nixon said, Mueller still is underrated.

''I don't think he gets enough credit with his defense and his offense," Nixon said. ''He has the capability of hitting that ball off the wall and driving that ball into the triangle like he did, or even turn on it and hit it out. He's just another professional hitter on this team. There are not really many weaknesses that he has. It's not just because he does well here at home, but he's a tough out on the road also."

In the three-game Pittsburgh series, Mueller was 4 for 8 with two triples, two doubles, four RBIs, and one run scored. The triple Friday night was his first since August 18, 2004. In each of his last three games with a triple, he has also hit a double and driven in two runs.

Though he missed about half of spring training while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Mueller said it hasn't bothered him this season.

Manager Terry Francona, however, said sometimes Mueller's knee does get the best of him.

''When his leg is strong, when his knee feels good, both offensively and defensively he's a terrific player," Francona said. ''He can get a little run down. When he bangs that knee, that's when you see he's made his errors or gets into a little problem with his hitting."

Mueller missed four games from April 21-24 while fighting the flu. Since returning April 25, he is batting .293; his overall average is .287.

His hot bat during the Pirates series was no surprise, either -- Mueller is hitting .347 at Fenway compared to .230 on the road. But Mueller said he hasn't paid any attention to his individual statistics this year.

''There are a lot of things that go on in the season. You might get hurt, or you might tweak something when you are battling through something, you might get sick," he said. ''It's not a two-month season. It's not a one-month season. There are seven months of baseball. That's when you obviously look at the statistics because right now they're not worth anything. You're just worried about getting wins for your team."

''As long as his knees feel good, and we keep an eye on him, I think he can play a lot of games," Francona said. ''It's always our responsibility to make sure he doesn't go too far, and because he likes to play so much he'll do that."