Ortiz feels pain in his wrist

The Sox' Jacoby Ellsbury slides safely into third as the Orioles' Melvin Mora reaches for the throw in the first inning. (Joe Giza/Reuters)

BALTIMORE - In the midst of euphoria, some anxiety.

Sox slugger David Ortiz left last night's game in the ninth inning after feeling pain in his left wrist on a swing in which he fouled a ball down the left-field line on a full count. Ortiz's at-bat was finished by Sean Casey, who fouled off two pitches before flying to left.

Ortiz, who followed a home run by Dustin Pedroia in the third inning with his 13th home run, one fewer than league leader Carlos Quentin of the White Sox, underwent X-rays at the ballpark, which were negative. Judging by the description of manager Terry Francona - Ortiz was not available - it's unlikely he will play this afternoon.

"He took a swing and felt something in his wrist," Francona said. "It was very tender. That is what we know right now. Obviously, it is a concern. We will wait to hear what happened."

Meanwhile, in Durham, N.C., another homer-happy hitter: Brandon Moss, who homered on opening night in Tokyo for the Sox, hit three for Pawtucket last night in its 14-7 win.

Run this way
Because of thunderstorms earlier in the afternoon, neither team took batting practice outside. When Manny Ramírez went to hit in the cages outside the Orioles' clubhouse, he encountered Kevin Millar. "Why did you run that way to first base?" he said to Millar before embracing him.

Ramírez was referring to a play in the 12th inning Friday night in which Sox shortstop Julio Lugo juggled Millar's ground ball but still was able to throw him out at first base, Millar appearing to slow just as he reached the bag.

"It looked worse than it was, because I stopped at the bag," said Millar, who received treatment before the game for a sore hamstring that has been bothering him for a week, and also a bruised shin. "It's not like I stopped on the play. I could have run 20 feet past the bag and I still would have been out.

"But it becomes part of the story, 'Millar's hamstring.' I've had a hamstring for seven days. I'm just slow. My speed has been injured since I've been in the big leagues. I'm slow, but I'm quick-witted."

Ramírez, upon returning to the Sox dugout: "I've been talking to Millar about how to run the bases."

Millar, when apprised of Ramírez's remark, replied: "It's time for me to retire if Manny is telling me how to run the bases."

Buchholz: To-do list
Clay Buchholz's rehab assignment ended Friday night for Pawtucket when he gave up 3 runs on 2 hits and 4 walks in 4 innings against Durham in a 10-6 loss, but that didn't end his stint with the PawSox. Buchholz, who had been on the DL with a torn fingernail on the middle finger of his pitching hand, yesterday was optioned to the PawSox. Francona said he and general manager Theo Epstein explained the move to Buchholz in a conference call. The Sox want to see improvement in the consistency of Buchholz's fastball, Francona said, which is about arm slot and better command of the zone. Buchholz tends to work backward, establishing his breaking ball and changeup early, then going to his fastball. For Buchholz to achieve better command of his fastball, he has to throw it more. "This almost takes out whatever concerns he might have about the line score," Francona said of the demotion, which is expected to be of relatively short duration. "Go be consistent and pound the strike zone." . . . Francona will not be at this afternoon's game. He's flying home to attend the high school graduation of his 18-year-old daughter, Leah, a student at Brookline High. Brad Mills will manage in his place.

Start time changed
The Sox announced they're moving up the start time of Thursday's game against Tampa Bay, by an hour, to 6:05 p.m., to accommodate fans also wishing to watch the Celtics play the Lakers in the NBA Finals that night. The basketball game begins at 9. Francona said he sent a text message at around 2 a.m. yesterday to Celtics coach Doc Rivers after they won the Eastern Conference finals. "I'm happy for him," Francona said. "We're going through the grind of our season. He's going through the special part of his." . . . J.D. Drew felt better yesterday after having battled vertigo lately. He was out of the starting lineup for the third straight game, but entered last night's game in the ninth to play right field. "It's just an awful feeling you get from the vertigo," he said. Drew, who has battled the condition before, doesn't know why it happens. "Who knows?" he said. "Maybe something triggered it from the flying we do. I don't know." . . . Jason Varitek's second-inning double broke an 0-for-18 slump. Kevin Youkilis was 0 for 18 until his infield single in the 13th Friday night. Pedroia was 0 for his last 11 until he homered in the third. It was his fourth homer of the season and came on a full count . . . Jacoby Ellsbury had his second consecutive three-steal game, giving him 18 for the month. Since 1956, that's the most by a Sox player in any month since Tommy Harper stole 18 in September 1973, the year Harper stole a club-record 54 bases. Only five players in Sox history have stolen more bases than Ellsbury in a season by the age of 24, just one in the last 28 years. That was Ellis Burks, who stole 27 in 1987, when he was 22 (age by June 30). Tris Speaker stole 52 bases in 1912, when he was 24. The others were Harry Hooper, Buddy Myer, and Hal Janvrin.

Nick Cafardo of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.