Foulke makes minor tweaks

BALTIMORE -- Keith Foulke has made a few mechanical tweaks in his delivery the past few days. Whatever the changes are -- neither Foulke nor pitching coach Al Nipper felt the need to elaborate -- Foulke believes he may be on the right track to return to his once dominant form.

Last night, Foulke entered the game in wet and sloppy conditions in the ninth, retiring the Orioles on 10 pitches to preserve Boston's 14-8 win.

It was hardly close to a save situation, but rather baby steps that Nipper believes Foulke is on board with.

''He's been very receptive to everything we've tried to do with him," Nipper said after the game. ''He's a smart guy. He knows what's going on. He's throwing the ball well. He's been very consistent with the things he's worked on."

Foulke threw fastballs in the 87-88-mile-per-hour range, an effective changeup, and ended the game on a double-play grounder by Jay Gibbons after allowing a one-out single to Chris Gomez. He caught a break when No. 3 hitter Melvin Mora led off by laying down a bunt that Foulke fielded cleanly despite the slick grass.

''I'm not sure I understand that one," Foulke said of Mora's bunt. ''I can still cover my position."

Foulke feels he's making good strides and thought he was far better than Opening Day. He acknowledged making changes in his delivery, and while he said he didn't feel completely smooth, he feels he's getting there.

Before the game, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said he'd continue to do what he felt was right but did not say Jonathan Papelbon, whom he used as the closer Wednesday, has the job indefinitely.

''It's our responsibility to win every game we can," Francona said. ''I have a total responsibility to 25 guys out there and the organization. So I'm going to do what I think is right. If we're down a couple I might get Foulke in there to get some work. There are a couple of different ways to do it and we'll just take it as it comes. The whole idea behind this is to win every game we can. And to get the most out of all the guys we can. Winning is so hard and so valuable, I think there's some value to doing it this way."

Francona would not say it was Papelbon's job to lose, nor would he say Foulke has no chance to regain his job.

''I want him to be able to go out there with his weapons," Francona said of Foulke. ''I want to make sure when we give him that responsibility he's ready to tackle it. Like in Texas there were some righthanders who hit the ball pretty hard against him and it wasn't just that. When you tell the truth you're pretty safe. I just thought I didn't want to get out of there without that kid [Papelbon] pitching."

Francona was hit with ''what if" scenarios fast and furious.

''There might be times when a starter goes five, I could have Pap pitch two innings and force my hand to use Foulke in a save situation," Francona said. ''The aim is to get Foulke back to anytime you're in the ninth inning you're getting Foulke the ball. I really do want that to be where we end up."

Julian Tavarez continued to keep sharp during his 10-day suspension by throwing out of the bullpen. The Sox haven't determined when Tavarez will pitch to hitters. It might be during Monday's offday . . . Kevin Youkilis was charged with the team's first error of the season when he fielded a slick ball at third -- where he'd replaced Mike Lowell in the late innings -- and threw in the dirt to J.T. Snow at first. ''I basically threw him a changeup," said Youkilis, who started the game at first and collected three hits . . . Francona didn't seem too concerned about Rudy Seanez's shaky inning of relief. The righthander allowed six hits and four runs, including a home run. Francona felt pitching in the rain and the wet ball affected Seanez . . . Francona raved about starter Matt Clement, feeling the righthander threw hard strikes throughout his seven-inning stint . . . Former Sox coach Al Bumbry was on hand last night. Bumbry has been home in suburban Baltimore coaching his son, who has received a baseball scholarship to Virginia Tech. Bumbry reminisced with Manny Ramírez and Coco Crisp, both of whom he knew from his coaching days in Cleveland. Bumbry is hoping to get back into baseball next season . . . Ramírez spent quite a while looking at video of his swing prior to the game. Ramírez was 1 for 10 with three walks in the Texas series. Last night, he walked with the bases loaded in the first inning to account for Boston's first run, then singled home Mark Loretta in the second inning. He finished 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs . . . Francona had a pang or two when he saw Alex Cora's numbers against Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera (6 for 11, .545 average), but he decided against it and gave the nod to Alex Gonzalez at shortstop. ''I saw those numbers but I don't want Alex looking over his shoulder," said Francona. Cora scorched a two-run double after replacing second baseman Loretta (2 for 3) . . . The Sox' locker room looked like the Boston Public Library before the game. Mike Timlin sat near his locker deep into a book, while Crisp was reading and highlighting passages in his book. Curt Schilling was going over video of his delivery in preparation for today's start . . . Josh Bard has caught Tim Wakefield a couple of times since his three-passed-ball outing in Texas and feels much more confident about catching Wakefield tomorrow . . . David Wells will likely rejoin the Red Sox today after a shaky outing in Pawtucket last night. Wells allowed 6 hits and 7 runs in 5 innings. He threw 92 pitches. He's scheduled to make his first start for the big league team Thursday vs. Toronto.