Ramirez again serves as the DH

He fills in for Ortiz, rests balky hamstring

The numbers are gone from the light tower in left field. No tangible reminder of his quest for 500 home runs. So, it should be easy for Manny Ramírez. Right?

Perhaps. But since he has a right hamstring that has been bothering him for two weeks, it isn't quite that simple. So for the fourth straight game last night, since David Ortiz injured his left wrist Saturday against the Orioles, Ramírez was the Red Sox' designated hitter. Not that he's putting additional pressure on himself to produce like two stars.

"I've just got to be myself," said Ramírez, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a third-inning RBI single in the Sox' 5-1 win over the Rays. "Now that I got the 500 out of the way, I'm just going to have fun. What I get from now on is like extra. What is there for me to do? Steal bases now? Five hundred bases? Six hundred bases?"

Not with that balky hamstring, certainly. Ramírez was examined yesterday, and manager Terry Francona said the injury has not been getting worse.

"Because of the DH spot opening up, he hasn't had to miss time," Francona said. "If it ever gets to a point where he needs to, we would sit him. I mean, [on Tuesday] you could see his gait to first was even, which is good. But you could tell he was thinking about it. He's trying to keep his gait nice and even and not do something he shouldn't do."

Ramírez is dealing with a sore hamstring, but at least he is no longer dealing with his home run chase. Apparently, it wore on him more than the "Don't worry about it" clubhouse maxim made it seem.

"In that situation, it's like what is happening to [Ken ] Griffey," Ramírez said of the Cincinnati Reds outfielder in search of his 600th career homer. "You just want to get that out of the way and move on. I think that's kind of stupid, changing balls [as Major League Baseball did with specially marked baseballs]. I understand maybe when you're at 599 or 499. But now changing balls every time [even before that], it was kind of stupid."

Meanwhile, Ramírez is having fun, even with Ortiz out. He's even added the No. 34 to his helmet in honor of his teammate on the disabled list. But that doesn't mean he's hanging on to the position permanently. He'll hand over DH as soon as Ortiz is ready.

"I love it," Ramírez said. "It's easy. Especially when I'm not a Gold Glover out there." But he surely doesn't want to see Ortiz take over in left field. "No," Ramírez said. "We don't want to make a circus in here."

Schilling progress

Though Curt Schilling was hoping it would be tomorrow, the pitcher got to step on a mound sooner than expected. Schilling threw 25 pitches yesterday off a mound, all fastballs.

"His complaint was he only threw 22 strikes," Francona said. "He will throw 35 probably [tomorrow]. As it was with his throwing program earlier, it got lengthened out, the distance got longer. Now with the off-the-mound, it will become a little bit more each time. Hopefully, a little bit more energy, a little bit more aggression.

"He was excited, justifiably excited."

There is no timetable for Schilling's next step, as has been the case through much of the process as he rehabilitates his right shoulder.

Masterson gets nod

Justin Masterson will get the start Sunday against the Mariners, the fourth of his major league career, as he continues to fill in for the injured Daisuke Matsuzaka. Masterson will oppose Jarrod Washburn. Though Masterson has made three starts in Fenway Park for the Red Sox, and another in the Futures at Fenway event, he had yet to see a game as a spectator until last night. "The kind of kid he is, being able to watch and learn, I would think it would be really good for him," Francona said. "Just to soak up some things that are going on, the atmosphere, his teammates." . . . With Ortiz on the DL, J.D. Drew batted third. Kevin Youkilis had occupied that spot the previous three games. Drew went 2 for 3 and is 7 for his last 13 and 15 for his last 41. "We've got a couple guys the next couple days that have been tough on Youk," Francona said. "J.D. looks like he wants to get hot. Again, we're missing a big boy in the middle. We're trying to make it look, or have it appear, a little less like we're missing the big boy in the middle." . . . Rays first baseman Carlos Peña, a native of Haverhill, was placed on the DL with a broken left index finger, suffered when Masterson hit him with a pitch in the first inning Tuesday . . . The tarp was on the field all afternoon, but the game started on time . . . With Tuesday's 7-4 win over Tampa Bay, Francona tied Don Zimmer for sixth place on the Sox' all-time victories list with 411. Next up is Jimy Williams with 414 . . . Today's game has been moved up to 6:05 p.m. to minimize the overlap with Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers. Gates will open at 4:05.

Home and home

The Red Sox are 23-5 at home, winning their last 12. They have beaten the Rays in all five games at Fenway and lost all three in St. Petersburg, Fla. . . . The Sox are batting .318 during the home streak and have a 3.00 ERA . . . Francona praised Manny Delcarmen's changeup after the reliever struck out all three batters he faced: Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross, and Jason Bartlett. "We all know he's got the life on his fastball," Francona said. "But he threw some really good changeups to get them off the fastball." . . . Sox relievers have a 1.63 ERA in their last eight games, allowing five earned runs in 27 2/3 innings . . . B.J. Upton was ejected in the eighth for arguing with home plate umpire Paul Emmel after a called third strike. He had already struck out twice, once looking.