Renteria takes a seat

TORONTO -- Edgar Renteria loathes hitting in cold weather, which explains his .264 career average in April, his lowest in any month of the regular season. Renteria's next lowest month? That would be September, at .273.

A .288 career hitter, Renteria is down to .279 on the season, largely because of September. He's just 1 for his last 14 and is 10 for 53 (.189) this month.

He made two errors Tuesday night, his 26th and 27th, tying his career high (2000 with St. Louis) and moving him into the league lead. In fact, he's committed the most errors by a Sox shortstop in two decades; Jackie Gutierrez made 31 in 150 games in 1984.

All of this led manager Terry Francona to give Renteria a night off to gather himself, mentally, and physically.

''Let Alex [Cora] play," Francona said before yesterday's 5-3 win the Blue Jays. ''It will be good for him and good for Edgar."

Renteria claims that he's simply made physical mistakes in the field, that the burden of a new city and a pennant race are not affecting him. He also claims that nothing is wrong with his body. The fact that he dives so rarely gives the suggestion that he might be injured. But that, he said, is not the case.

Renteria was asked in particular about a ball hit by Vernon Wells in the first inning Monday, a ball that just evaded Renteria, who with a dive could have snared it.

''You have to be smart," he said. ''Who was the hitter?"

Wells.

''If that is a slower runner, like [John] Olerud, I'll dive, " he said. ''You have to be smart. You don't want to injure yourself when you don't have to."

Payton's place

Jay Payton, in 55 games with the Sox: .263 (35 for 133), 5 HRs, 21 RBIs.

Payton, in 54 games since joining the Athletics in the July 13 deal that brought Chad Bradford to Boston: .282 (61 for 216), 13 HRs, 38 RBIs.

Overall, Payton is hitting .275 with 18 homers and 59 RBIs in 349 at-bats Today, he returns to Fenway -- and plays against the Sox -- for the first time as an Athletic.

''He's played great," Francona said.

Francona, of course, was the target of Payton's dugout tirade in Baltimore in early July, a move Payton later admitted he staged to expedite a trade.

Payton, though, would have enjoyed a steady diet of work had he remained with the Sox. Trot Nixon missed four weeks in late July and August with a strained oblique muscle, Johnny Damon has missed five of the last 10 games with shoulder complications, and Gabe Kapler is now out for the season with a ruptured Achille' tendon.

Damon hopeful

Damon, home in Boston since Monday night, spoke by phone with his manager yesterday morning. ''He actually asked me if I wanted him to come up here," Francona said. ''I told him, 'Just wait.' " That's a hopeful indication that Damon will be in the Sox lineup tonight for the first time since Sunday, and return to center field for the first time since Friday at Yankee Stadium. ''He said he feels better," Francona said. ''He sounded pretty hopeful about [tonight]. I hope that he's correct, and if he's not, it doesn't sound like it's too far off." . . . David Ortiz's 42d homer established a career high, eclipsing his 2004 total by one. It was also his 38th homer this year hit out of the DH position, surpassing Edgar Martinez's single-season record of 37 in 2000 with Seattle . . . Josh Towers may have been beaten by Ortiz's eighth-inning home run, but don't count him among those who believe Ortiz deserves MVP consideration. ''As good a hitter as he is, and he's one of the best, no question, I could never vote for a guy who doesn't play defense," Towers told the Associated Press . . . David Wells has now won four of his last five starts (4-1, 2.94 ERA) . . . Double A Portland lost Game 2 of the Eastern League Championship, 4-3, last night. Injured Sox starter Wade Miller takes the ball tomorrow night in Game 3 of the best-of-five series . . . 'Tek-nical difficulties: Jason Varitek, 0 for 3 last night with two strikeouts and a walk, is batting just .150 (6 for 40) in September, the wear and tear of a long season behind the plate (115 starts) perhaps finally catching up to him. Varitek, whose 21 home runs are four shy of equaling his career high set in 2003, has gone 63 at-bats without a homer. That's second most among Sox starters, behind only Renteria (91 at-bats). ''A guy like Varitek is a guy you worry about," Francona said. ''If we have to sit him a day we would. But he takes such good care of himself." . . . Mike Myers is auctioning off his four tickets to the Sox' Oct. 1 game vs. the Yankees to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. Myers's seats will be up for bidding today during ''The Big Show" on WEEI between 2-6 p.m.