Timlin placed on DL with shoulder tendinitis

The Red Sox announced before last night's game against the Mariners that Mike Timlin, who earned his first save of the season Wednesday against Oakland, was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis.

It's not the first time the 41-year-old righthander has shown the wear and tear of a 17-year major league career. He started the season on the DL with a strained left oblique and was activated for the home opener April 10. Now, less than a month later, he's headed back to the DL.

"It's been there for a while," said Timlin. "We tried to get past it. There were times it would loosen up, as tendinitis tends to do, there were times that it wouldn't. We figured this might be a good time to let it settle down."

With the pain more than the normal aches pitchers endure, the shoulder was examined by doctors yesterday. There is no timetable for Timlin's return.

"If it was the middle of August, I think we'd try to go ahead and pitch through it, but it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense right now," said manager Terry Francona. "We shut him down for a couple weeks, maybe we can get Timlin back. That's the thought, to get him back and let him be Timlin."

Timlin has struggled this season after an unimpressive second half to 2006. Timlin has amassed a 6.23 ERA this season, having allowed at least one run in four of his nine appearances.

"Guys are throwing the ball well," Timlin said. "I'm not to say expendable, but the way the guys are throwing right now, this is a good time to take."

Devern Hansack, 29, was called up from Pawtucket to fill Timlin's spot, but threw a side session yesterday, making him unavailable last night, as was closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Jon Lester made his second appearance in the Red Sox clubhouse this season, arriving early in the afternoon to spend some time working with assistant trainer Mike Reinold on his left forearm after experiencing cramping in his start for Pawtucket Wednesday.

Francona wasn't sure why Lester experienced the cramping, despite Lester's guess of dehydration, though he did hazard a bit of speculation, including a grip on the ball that could have caused fatigue.

"It's just like getting a cramp in your hamstring or in your leg or whatever," Lester said. "It's nothing major. Just one of those things that happened. As far as I know, I've got another start. Don't know when. Hopefully, it's just maybe a day or two pushed back. Hopefully, it will be fine, get back to pitching, and get that pitch count back up."

Lester was seen by Dr. Thomas Gill before last night's game, and Gill found nothing more than cramping in the forearm. The Sox brass will sit down with Lester, whose rehab assignment ends today, over the weekend to map out a course of action for the lefthander.

"I can't wait to see him out there pitching again," Papelbon said. "Hopefully, the crowd will welcome him back with open arms. I'm sure they will. It's pretty awesome. It's amazing to think he could come back and beat that. If he can do that and we can be a team behind him and do that, there's no reason why we can't go and win the World Series, in my opinion."

That might be a little premature. Still, the team is looking forward to getting Lester back in the rotation. And so is Lester.

"Oh, yeah, personal timetable was two months ago," Lester said. "But the team has a timetable and they need to make their decision on when I'm ready."

J.D. Drew missed another game, his second in three days, because of the viral symptoms he first experienced Monday. Francona said he got so excited when Drew indicated he felt better Wednesday, he put him in the lineup. He now says that was probably premature . . . Because of a scoring change yesterday, Mike Lowell was credited with a stolen base Wednesday. The play was originally scored a caught stealing plus an error on Oakland catcher Jason Kendall . . . Julio Lugo initially made two errors in the first inning last night, though the second was later changed to a hit. Lugo went into a dive toward second base and Kenji Johjima's floater ticked off his glove. The next one, a bloop to short left-center from Yuniesky Betancourt, also bounced off his glove, though it was eventually ruled a hit, making all five runs earned off Daisuke Matsuzaka . . . Wily Mo Peña tied a career high with four hits, previously accomplished July 11, 2004, in Milwaukee when he was with Cincinnati. It also marked the first four-hit game of the season for a Sox player . . . The Sox are 15-0 when they have scored five or more runs . . . According to the Maniacal One, Chuck Waseleski, Matsuzaka's ERA is 3.00 when he retires the first batter of an inning. When he doesn't, his ERA skies to 11.45 . . . J.C. Romero's save was his first since April 17, 2004, a span of 210 appearances . . . Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki set an American League record with his 41st consecutive stolen base, breaking the mark set by Tim Raines.