Snyder's stay could be brief

ATLANTA -- Meet Kyle Snyder. He's 6 feet 8 inches and has had four major arm surgeries. When he's effective he sinks the ball in the low 90s, with a good changeup and an average curve. He's pitched in the big leagues once this season, allowing nine runs (five earned) on 10 hits in two-plus innings of a June 8 game Kansas City won, 16-12, in spite of him. He's never pitched for any organization but the Royals.

Tonight, he starts for your Red Sox, who claimed him off waivers over the weekend and will hand him the ball, even though the only throwing he's done since June 8 was in bullpen sessions. Why Snyder? A) The Sox wanted a righthander to face Washington tonight, and B) he has minor league options remaining, meaning he can be sent to Pawtucket as soon as the game concludes.

The Sox, because they have Thursday and next Monday off, don't need a fifth starter again until July 1 at Florida. With just 11 pitchers on the staff, they'll likely option Snyder after he pitches and summon another reliever.

The Sox' only other real options for tonight were PawSox righties Keith Ginter (who pitched yesterday) and David Pauley. But Ginter doesn't have a minor league option, and the club wants to give Pauley some normalcy.

``Pauley's bouncing all over the map, he's in the rotation, in the bullpen, in Triple A," manager Terry Francona said. ``We're trying to minimize that if we can. We don't want to bring Pauley for a start and not pitch him for 15 days."

If Matt Clement can't return by July 1, Abe Alvarez stands to get the call, but the Sox didn't want Alvarez, a lefthander, facing the Nationals, who are 11-9 vs. lefties and just 21-30 vs. righties.

Snyder, in his major league career, is 2-9 with a 5.91 ERA in 29 games, 19 of them starts, spanning 2003 to 2006. This season, with Triple A Omaha, he was 0-4 with a 3.88 ERA in 10 games (nine starts). He fanned 43 and walked nine in 60 1/3 innings.

Alex Gonzalez went through last night's game without an error, making it 49 straight games, breaking Rico Petrocelli's Sox record for errorless games by a shortstop. Entering the game, Gonzalez had made just one error this season in 207 chances for a .995 fielding percentage, tops in the American League and second best in baseball behind the Giants' Omar Vizquel (.996).

Gonzalez, despite his reputation as a defensive wizard, never has won a Gold Glove.

Mike Lowell, who has watched Gonzalez as a teammate in Florida and Boston dating to 1999, believes this is the best defense Gonzalez ever has played to begin a season.

``I really hope he gets [the Gold Glove] this year because I think he deserves it," said Lowell. ``The numbers are unbelievable. His hands, his awareness, his athletic ability, his ability to turn the double play, he's unbelievable."

Gonzalez made a stunning play last night in the third inning on Renteria to keep the errorless streak alive. Marcus Giles, who'd singled, was running on the play and Gonzalez vacated his position to cover second base. But Renteria hit the ball toward the hole vacated by Gonzalez and he slipped while attempting to reverse direction. Lying on the ground, he gloved the ball and threw off a knee to nab Renteria.

Gonzalez, who was hitting .197 May 24, is batting .343 (23 for 67) in his last 18 games, improving his season average to .250.

Alex Cora, Francona said, will start tonight.

Coco Crisp went 2 for 5, but is 4 for his last 26, and is hitting .268 on the season (he began the year a career .287 hitter). What's wrong with the Sox' No. 8 hitter? ``He's flying open a little bit, especially lefthanded," Francona said. ``His legs are moving, his body is coming open. He's just not locked in. He's going to have to play himself into it. Good thing is we moved him down, we can let him do that. It's not as glaring if you're hitting seventh or eighth if you're not on base a couple times a game." . . . Manny Ramírez, who asked out of the lineup Saturday with a sore right knee, decided right after Saturday's game that he would be well enough to play last night. ``He told me before he left here [Saturday] that he appreciated the day [off] and he's ready to go," Francona said. Ramírez entered last night 0 for 17 dating to last Sunday at home against Texas. According to an ESPN graphic, that was his longest 0-for since going 0 for 21 in September 1998. Ramírez struck out in the first inning last night, but then homered to left-center leading off the fourth. He went 1 for 4.

Renteria, who began the series hitting .325, went 1 for 10 in the three games with an infield single, four K's, and three walks . . . The Sox improved to 5-1 in interleague play this year and 14-2 since June 12, 2005 . . . Curt Schilling's single improved Sox pitchers to 5 for 15 (.333) with a homer and three RBIs this year . . . The seven-game losing streak is the Braves' longest since 1990, the year before they began their current run of 14 consecutive division titles.

IMAGES AND INFO For a gallery of photos from last night's game and news updates heading into tonight's Nationals-Red Sox game, go to www.boston.com/redsox.