Reliever Lopez acquired

MINNEAPOLIS -- The David Riske Era came to a close yesterday afternoon when the Red Sox traded the 29-year-old righthander to the White Sox in exchange for Javier Lopez, a 28-year-old lefthanded relief specialist who was property of the Red Sox for a few months before he was dealt to the Colorado Rockies in March 2003.

Lopez throws submarine style and compiled 12 saves in 26 appearances for the White Sox' Triple A team at Charlotte (International League) this year. He arrived at the Metrodome shortly before last night's game, was assigned No. 48, and found himself on the mound in the bottom of the eighth. Lopez walked Justin Morneau on four pitches, but was left in to face Torii Hunter. Hunter bounced an RBI single to right, then Lopez got out of the jam with a double-play grounder .

``This makes our bullpen better," manager Terry Francona said before the game, acknowledging that he had not seen Lopez pitch. ``It gives us an option we have not had all year."

In a conference call, general manager Theo Epstein said, ``We sent scouts to watch [Lopez] throw. We had a bit of redundancy with righthanded relief and this was a chance to get a lefty we think can help us now . . . Building a bullpen is not easy and it's not something we've been particularly good at here lately. We're looking for someone to step up and assert themselves and provide us with more depth."

Lopez pitched in 171 major league games with the Rockies and Diamondbacks. This year in Triple A, he held lefthanded batters to a .171 average and did not allow a run in his last 9 1/3 innings. Riske, acquired from Cleveland in the Coco Crisp deal, pitched in only eight games with the Red Sox, going 0-1 with a 3.72 ERA. He was on the disabled list for six weeks with a lower-back strain.

In related news, Epstein admitted, ``We need to come up with a starter. The way things have evolved, we need help for our starting staff, be it internal or external."

Matt Clement, who was ineffective again Thursday and complained of cramping in his right biceps, flew to Boston early yesterday and was scheduled for an MRI. After the game, Francona indicated more tests would be conducted today.

``We need to do more testing, that's what we found out today," said the manager. ``The reason we did this was to try to put his mind at ease. We can't keep taking him out of games. "

Kevin Youkilis has replaced Trot Nixon as the Sox' player representative. The players held a meeting at their Minneapolis hotel yesterday and elected Youkilis, with rookie Jonathan Papelbon serving as second in command.

``I was thrown into it," Youkilis said with a chuckle. ``I guess they figured I'm not married and have plenty of time on my hands. I talked to [Players Association executive] Don Fehr and Mike Weiner after the meeting."

Nixon said, ``It was time for new blood, time to get the younger guys involved. That way they can learn the ropes and pass it on to the next group of young guys."

Crisp isn't complaining about being taken out of the leadoff spot in the batting order. Crisp, who batted seventh last night, said, ``I'm OK with everything. It's a wait-and-see thing. They're just trying to get me going." . . . Second baseman Mark Loretta got the night off and was replaced by Alex Cora, who banged out three hits and reached base four times . . . Mike Lowell had his seventh three-hit game of the season . . . The Twins are mounting a campaign to get catcher Joe Mauer elected to the American League All-Star team. Mauer, who was born in St. Paul, is hitting .378. Legend holds that he struck out only one time in his high school career. The Twins conducted a similar campaign for infielder Roy Smalley more than a quarter-century ago, and Smalley was sometimes embarrassed when public-address announcer Bob Casey would tell fans to ``get out and stuff that ballot box for Roy Smalley!" . . . The Sox were scheduled to land in Atlanta at 4 a.m. today and play three against the Braves starting tonight, when rookie Jon Lester makes his second big league start. Tim Hudson will pitch for the Braves, who have fallen far behind the Mets in their quest for a 15th consecutive division title. Lester and Josh Beckett flew to Atlanta early yesterday, ahead of their teammates. Beckett gets the ball tomorrow afternoon and Sunday it'll be a marquee matchup of Curt Schilling against John Smoltz . . . David Ortiz will play first base tonight with no designated hitter being used, but Francona said Big Papi might get a day off tomorrow when the Braves start lefthander Horacio Ramirez . . . It will be the first of five consecutive series against National League teams. The Sox are 13-23 against the Braves since the start of interleague play.