Pedroia is now hitting stride

SEATTLE -- Dustin Pedroia had a brutal first month of the season, batting .182 in April, then a spectacular one, batting .415 in May. Since then, the Red Sox second baseman has been the model of consistency, an impressive achievement for a rookie.

On June 3, after hitting two doubles in Fenway Park against the Yankees, Pedroia was hitting a season-high .336. Since then, Pedroia's average hasn't been higher than .331 or lower than .309.

Over the last 47 games, Pedroia has hit .314 (59 for 188) and had gone hitless in back-to-back games just twice. He led off last night with a single to center, his sixth hit in eight at-bats. Pedroia went 2 for 5 in the Sox' 7-4 loss to Seattle, upping his average to .323, the highest among American League rookies and eighth overall.

"The other night [Tuesday] when he took an oh-fer and he had that bad last at-bat when he swung at a changeup to end the game," hitting coach Dave Magadan said, "instead of going in after the game and feeling sorry for himself or looking for an excuse, whatever, he came in early the next day. He took some extra swings in the cage and had a mind-set that yesterday's over with, I'm doing damage today, and he went out and got three hits.

"That's the stuff that's very hard to teach. He takes it personally when he gets embarrassed at the plate. He's got that inner desire, man, to do well. That's something you can't coach."

So why did manager Terry Francona flip-flop pitching turns for Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling, with Beckett now pitching tomorrow on regular rest, and Schilling opening in Anaheim the next night?

With a couple of days off coming up, Francona said, it worked out better that way. It also puts both on track to pitch a day-night doubleheader against the Angels Aug. 17 at Fenway.

J.D. Drew was not in the starting lineup again last night against lefthander Horacio Ramirez. The deciding factor probably was Wily Mo Peña's success against Ramirez (4 for 9, 1 home run), but Francona also was sensitive to Drew's personal situation.

Drew's 17-month-old son, Jack David, is in a body cast from his chest to his ankles after undergoing lengthy surgery to correct development dysplasia of the hips (a dislocation), which doctors discovered after he fell and fractured his collarbone the week before. Drew and his wife, Sheigh, had noticed their son was having some difficulty walking.

Drew said his son was doing considerably better yesterday, but admitted it was difficult to leave for the next 11 days.

"What really pulled at me," he said, "was all he wanted was me. He was calling, 'Dad, Dad, Dad,' even while my wife was holding him."

Drew entered as a pinch hitter for Peña in the sixth, grounding into a fielder's choice. He also struck out looking in the eighth with a runner on first and one out.

Sox pitchers have been involved in two of the more memorable home runs hit by Barry Bonds.

In 2002, while pitching for the Marlins, Beckett gave up a first-inning home run that Mike Lowell, who was playing third for Florida, remembers well.

"Yeah," Lowell said, "he broke his bat. But you know what, it's not like he got jammed and broke his bat. He hit it off the barrel of his bat.

"It sounds great, but once he hit it, I thought there was a chance it would go out. After he hit it, Bonds kind of looked at his bat, but it's not like [Beckett] sawed him off and he hit it over the wall. Still, it was impressive. He had to do something to break it."

Newcomer Eric Gagne had a memorable duel with Bonds in April 2004, when both players were still at the tops of their games, before Gagne had elbow surgery and Bonds turned creaky.

It was the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium, and with the Dodgers ahead by two runs and no one on base, Gagne went after the slugger.

Sox infielder Alex Cora was playing second base for the Dodgers that night.

"He didn't care [if Bonds hit a home run]," Cora said. "No changeups or splitters. He was going to challenge him, and he did challenge him.

"He hit one foul a long way, then he hit one to dead center. It was fun to watch. [Gagne] was throwing 99 up and in on the first pitch, and Bonds turned on it and hit it foul. The next pitch, I think, was 98 over the middle of the plate.

"People are still pitching to him like he's got the bat speed of a few years ago. I watched a game the other day, I couldn't believe it."

Reliever Javier Lopez said he couldn't recall ever recording a decision in which he threw as few as two pitches, which is what it took for him to be credited for the team's 5-4 win over the Orioles Wednesday. Lopez recorded the final out of the seventh after Kyle Snyder got the first two outs, and was the beneficiary of the team's four-run rally. "It's pretty funny," he said. "I told Snyder, 'Thanks for letting me get into the game.' He did all the hard work." The Sox bullpen opened the night with a major league-best 2.74 ERA, although with 12 wins, it was tied for Toronto for fewest relief wins in the AL. Only the Giants (nine) had fewer. But the Sox bullpen had just seven losses, compared with 17 for the Jays.

Gordon Edes can be reached at edes@globe.com.