Johnson was hot under the collar

After doing a slow burn on the mound in the first inning, one he barely survived after facing eight batters and allowing two runs on four hits, Jason Johnson retreated to the Red Sox dugout and had a conversation with himself.

Given the steamy conditions the 36,328 patrons had to put up with last night at Fenway Park, it was no doubt a heated conversation.

``Yeah, you know, I think I won, though," Johnson said.

It was the only thing Johnson won, as the righthander, called up yesterday from Triple A, took the loss in last night's 6-3 setback to the Indians. Johnson, acquired from Cleveland June 21 for cash and a player to be named, was cuffed around in the first by his ex-teammates. ``His first inning was, what, 36 pitches?" said manager Terry Francona. ``I might be off a couple, but it was a long inning, a lot of deep counts. But even in the first inning, as long of an inning as it was, I thought he was far more crisp with his pitches."

And, as it turned out, a little too deliberate for his own good.

``The first inning, I didn't get into a rhythm at all," said Johnson (3-11, 6.25 ERA), who dropped to 0-5 career against the Indians after allowing three runs on nine hits (including a solo homer to Casey Blake) and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. ``After that, I started feeling a lot better, a lot more comfortable out there. I was able to work quicker.

``I was working really slow in the first inning. I told myself [in the dugout] to quicken up a little bit and not take so much time between pitches. I think that helped me get into a rhythm."

Although he said his pitch count didn't affect the rest of his outing, Johnson, a diabetic who pitches with an insulin pump attached to his belt, said the heat played a factor in his decision to pick up the pace.

``The heat definitely took its toll on our defense, and that's why I wanted to quicken up," Johnson said. ``That was definitely something I wanted to do. They're standing out there in the heat, while I'm throwing three or four pitches to each batter. It's tough on them, so that was one of the key reasons I wanted to quicken up."

After allowing a leadoff homer to Blake in the third, Johnson retired the next eight batters, ringing up two of his three strikeouts in that stretch.

``His fastball had sink," Francona said. ``I thought he looked more confident. I thought he gathered himself and actually pitched pretty well. That first inning, I'm sure, took a lot out of him."

Doug Mirabelli, who was scheduled to catch Johnson well before the Sox placed Jason Varitek on the disabled list with an injured left knee, said, ``He didn't really pitch that bad, as far as making pitches in the first inning. They hit a couple of hard shots there and it makes for a long inning, but he stayed composed and got out of the inning and it could've been a lot worse than it was.

``After that, he settled in nicely and made some pitches and got deeper into the game than it might have appeared in the beginning."

Clearly, Johnson was a much different pitcher in his third start for the Red Sox (and first at Fenway) from the one who took a 5-2 loss July 5 at Tampa, when the Devil Rays tagged Johnson for five runs (four earned) on seven hits and four walks in four innings.

``The confidence is definitely back," said Johnson, who made four minor league starts after being optioned to the minors July 10. He allowed just one run over the last 14 innings of his stint in the minors, winning his last two starts with the PawSox, including a seven-inning shutout at Toledo last Thursday.

``I think going down to Triple A and making a few starts and really getting my confidence back has helped me a lot," he said. ``After that first inning [last night], about three weeks ago I probably would have buckled because the confidence wasn't there.

``Now I feel a lot better out there and a lot more comfortable getting outs."

Now that he's jumped from the frying pan into the fire with his return to Fenway, the only thing Johnson has left to prove is whether he can stand the heat and win his first game for the Sox.