For Lugo, contact sport
He comes through with a 4-hit game
Yes, it has happened before. With the Red Sox, even.
Julio Lugo now officially has 12 four-hit games, the 12th coming yesterday, in a game in which he reached five times and scored twice. So the player who was brought in for his offense out of the shortstop position, yet didn't demonstrate a whole lot of that in his first season in Boston, now is at .314 for the young season, with seven runs and three doubles.
"I know his numbers were a little deceiving coming in, he's finding ways to get hits, things like that," manager Terry Francona said. "But today he hit the ball on the barrel a few times, drove the ball, which is real good to see. Because if he's on base, even when he's hitting at the bottom of the order, it gives us that extra guy that can run and can create some havoc out there."
Lugo walked in the second inning, then stole second base, but he was stranded when Joe Thurston struck out with the bases loaded. He followed with an RBI single in the fourth and eventually scored. He doubled in the fifth and scored, and he finished with singles in the sixth and eighth. Lugo's last four-hit game came against Baltimore last May 12, when he went 4 for 5 with a run and an RBI. He also did it four times with Houston and six times with Tampa Bay.
Lugo now has a seven-game hitting streak, going 12 for 28 (.429) in that time.
He has three or more hits twice in his last six games, and eight of his 22 hits this season have been of the infield variety.
But, while his offense has been coming around, Lugo, who was not available in the clubhouse after the game, has had a terrible start defensively. He has six errors, the most by a shortstop in the major leagues.
Lowell getting closer
Mike Lowell continues to progress in coming back from his thumb injury. The plan is for Lowell to take live batting practice on the field today, three days before he's eligible to come off the disabled list.
The training staff has rigged a hockey-style contraption for Lowell's thumb, something that will keep it from being harmed but isn't rigid enough to cause Lowell additional injury on a diving defensive play.
"Probably not that far away," Francona said about when Lowell might come off the DL. "I think it depends on how he feels.
"For us to tell him doesn't make any sense. He's a veteran player who knows himself. He plays with pain. How comfortable he is, that's really what it amounts to.
"And we don't want to set him back, either. That's the kind of thing I've been telling him. We know you'll play, but we'd like to have you have a chance to play the rest of the year and not have this thing bugging the heck out of you."
Sticking to a plan
One day after Manny Ramírez got an early exit with a second-inning ejection, the left fielder got another day off, as had been promised by Francona. Though the manager thought about inserting Ramírez into the lineup - especially on a day when it looked like a spring training squad - he decided against it. "If it's supposed to be a day off, it's supposed to be a day off," Francona said. "It's an 11 o'clock start. He's been tremendous. Sometimes you try to reach one day too far [before resting someone] and you set somebody back. I wasn't going to do that. I mean, I know what happened yesterday and all that. We've got a pretty good thing going." It was Ramírez's first day off this season. He was named the American League co-player of the week, sharing the award with the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera. Ramírez batted .417 with four home runs and eight RBIs in seven games, leading the AL in home runs and slugging (.958). It was the 16th time he has been named player of the week in his career, the most ever. Thurston played left in Ramírez's absence . . . There were other lineup switches. Kevin Youkilis moved back to first base, making room for Jed Lowrie at third. Kevin Cash also started at catcher. Jason Varitek continues to battle flu-like symptoms.
A starter stumbles
Kason Gabbard, who was traded to the Rangers in the deal that brought Eric Gagné to Boston, started but lasted just two innings before stumbling while throwing a 2-0 pitch to Youkilis. He never threw the pitch, catching his left ankle as he slipped. He finished the frame, then came out to warm up in the third but left before facing a batter. It was announced that he left with back stiffness . . . Fans started a "Let's Go Bruins" chant in the top of the ninth . . . Jacoby Ellsbury became the first Red Sox to start his career 17 for 17 on stolen base attempts . . . When asked about the 11 walks issued by Texas, and the fact that just one of those batters scored, J.D. Drew let out a little whoop. "That would be me!" he said. Drew also tied a major league mark by walking twice in the fourth . . . David Ortiz is 11 for 36 over his last eight games with a home run, 2 doubles, 12 RBIs, and 6 runs. He had two doubles, including one Milton Bradley lost in the sun, and a walk yesterday . . . The Red Sox are now 65-48 on Patriots Day.
