Tavarez wants to be on cutting edge

Julian Tavarez, who has made an effort to befriend Daisuke Matsuzaka (and Hideki Okajima), is now asking Matsuzaka for a favor. He wants Matsuzaka to show him how to throw a cut fastball.

"I told him, 'I think you're one of the greatest pitchers I've ever seen,' " Tavarez said. " 'The way you go 88, 89 the first three innings, then 95 later. You walk around the mound, and all of a sudden you come out with so much power.'

"I asked him, 'Do you get sore at all?' He said, 'No, it's all mental.' He has seven pitches and command of all of them. He's at another level, that guy.

"There are little things I want to learn. He's going to work with me twice a week on a cutter. That pitch has kept a lot of guys in baseball. Mike Timlin, Doug Jones. He says it's OK with him."

Okajima, who is unscored upon in his last dozen appearances, also has made an enormous impression on Tavarez.

"He throws a change, a splitter, a fastball, and a hell of a rainbow breaking ball," said Tavarez. "No doubt, everybody who comes from Japan knows how to pitch. They're all good, they play year-round. So many different pitches, so many different mechanics.

"No doubt, he's good. He's not an overpowering guy, but he knows how to pitch. He's one of the best lefties in baseball right now."

Mike Lowell led Sox regulars with a .314 average in April, though part-timer Alex Cora was highest on the team at .360. David Ortiz led with seven home runs and 22 RBIs, two more than Lowell. Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis had the highest on-base percentage of regulars at .402. J.D. Drew batted .278 in his first month with the Sox, but a bit of a surprise was that he had just five extra-base hits (three doubles and two home runs). Dustin Pedroia had the lowest average of Sox regulars, .182, while Wily Mo Peña in limited time was at .172. Josh Beckett led the staff with five wins and the starters with an ERA of 2.48. Matsuzaka had a staff-high 38 whiffs. The bullpen had an ERA of 2.18, with Brendan Donnelly unscored upon in nine appearances (6 innings), Jonathan Papelbon unscored upon in nine (9 1/3 innings, eight saves), and Okajima leading in strikeouts with 17, two more than Papelbon. Timlin had the highest ERA in the pen, 5.87.

Papelbon's younger brother, Josh Papelbon, was not perfect in April, but he came close. The younger Papelbon, pitching for Single A Greenville in the South Atlantic League, had five saves, and held opponents scoreless in eight of his nine outings. He allowed three earned runs in the one outing he was scored upon, so he has an ERA of 2.61 . . . Sunday was Jacoby Ellsbury's first day off this season. The Portland outfielder has hit safely in a career-high 13 consecutive games, batting .404 (23 for 57). He has reached base in 23 straight contests dating to Aug. 27, 2006. His .455 average (30 for 66) leads all minor leaguers, and he ranks first in the Eastern League with 30 hits, 10 doubles, and a .507 on-base percentage. Ellsbury has started 15 of Portland's 16 games this season.

Gordon Edes can be reached at edes@globe.com