Peņa looks forward to making minor progress

After considering alternatives such as a stint in extended spring training in Florida or with Single A Greenville (S.C.), the Sox have finally set a course for Wily Mo Peña's rehab assignment.

Peña, who has been on the disabled list since May 28 with a sprained left wrist, said the plan is for him to play with short-season Single A Lowell tomorrow and Saturday, then report to Triple A Pawtucket for home games Sunday and Monday before the PawSox hit the road.

Peña said he will play right field tomorrow and act as the designated hitter the next day in Lowell, then play first base Sunday and center field Monday in Pawtucket.

``The main thing is I want to see some pitches--I haven't seen live pitching," said Peña, who has been taking batting practice and reports the wrist feels strong. ``I'm glad, I'm ready."

Peña is being groomed as a backup to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. ``I played a lot of first base with the Reds in spring training and played there all the time in winter ball," he said.

Sox manager Terry Francona said he debated allowing Jon Lester to throw 116 pitches in Tuesday's 8-4 win, especially since the rookie lefthander had been working on a strict pitch count before his callup. Francona acknowledged he might have a quicker hook for Lester in his next outing.

``He looks like he's getting tired, but taking him out, I think, would have been the easy way out," Francona said. ``I think the risk and reward [favored leaving him in]. You saw his reaction when he got the out [Lester pumped his fist when he struck out David Wright on a curveball to end a dramatic 10-pitch at-bat]. I think development-wise it was huge for him, he did so many things that could have gone wrong but didn't. He used all his pitches."

The Sox are batting a ridiculous .339 during their 11-game winning streak, with an on-base percentage of .421. Three regulars are hitting .400 or better during the streak -- Mark Loretta (.438, with hits in all 11 games), Alex Gonzalez (.438) and Manny Ramírez (.400) -- as well as two reserves, Gabe Kapler (.455) and Alex Cora (.429). The club has 48 extra-base hits during the streak (32 doubles , 16 home runs) and have drawn 57 walks, more than five a game. Ramírez and David Ortiz have knocked in a dozen runs apiece, while Ortiz (12), Ramírez (11), Coco Crisp (10) and Gonzalez (10) are in double figures in runs scored . . . Reliever Mike Timlin, on why the pitchers and catchers pitched in to buy a new Ford F-250 truck for bullpen catcher Jason LaRocque, who was driving a '94 Ford Explorer with a bashed-in front end, courtesy of a recent accident: ``The guy's here at 12:30, 1 [p.m.] every day. He's here if you need to play catch, he's here if you need to talk. He may not be known outside, but we know him in the clubhouse and he's definitely a part of this team." . . . Gonzalez drew a base on balls in the sixth inning from Mets left hander Darren Oliver, ending the possibility that he'd go the entire month without a walk. Gonzalez last drew a base on balls May 30, when Blue Jays lefthander Gustavo Chacin walked him on four pitches. The Sox shortstop went 71 more plate appearances before drawing another last night. Gonzalez is batting .368 (25 for 68) for the month, so he is getting on base.

Red Sox pitching coach Dave Wallace, recovering from hip replacement surgery, visited with Francona and Mets general manager Omar Minaya in the dugout before the game. Wallace and Minaya worked for three years together in the Mets' front office, when Minaya was assistant GM and Wallace was a senior adviser to GM Steve Phillips. Wallace also has a long history with Pedro Martínez, serving as the Dodgers' minor league pitching instructor when Martínez first broke into pro ball . . . Lefthanded reliever Craig Breslow will represent the PawSox in the Triple A All-Star Game July 12 in Toledo. Breslow is 5-1 with five saves and a 3.23 ERA. Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson was named as a coach for the International League team . . . The Sox posted a video board message wishing a ``full and speedy recovery" to Peter Gammons, the ESPN baseball analyst and former Globe baseball guru who was listed in good condition after undergoing surgery Tuesday for a brain aneurysm at Brigham and Women's Hospital . . . Among the scores of people who called or e-mailed inquiring about Gammons's condition was former Sox pitching coach Tony Cloninger, whose term with the Sox was cut short by bladder cancer. Cloninger, who lives in North Carolina and does some player evaluation for the Sox, reported he is in good health, but misses playing a more active role . . . According to one messageboard poster at Sons of Sam Horn, Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder dedicated a song to Gammons on the group's tour stop last Tuesday night in St. Paul.