Lugo is on and off

Entering the dugout, Julio Lugo shrugs as if to say his first homer in 69 games was no big deal. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo had two battles last night. At the plate, he battled effectively. In the field, he battled himself.

Lugo committed a pair of throwing errors in the sixth inning as the Cardinals scored a run during a 5-4 victory at Fenway Park.

But as much as he was struggling to find his range, and particularly first base, Lugo looked very much in charge during his at-bats.

In the second, he hit a sacrifice fly that drove in Manny Ramírez with the first run of the game. In the sixth, not long after the errors, Lugo launched a homer to left field on a 3-and-2 pitch off St. Louis starter Kyle Lohse to make it 2-2.

It was his first home run since last Sept. 22 against Tampa Bay, 69 games ago. And he hadn't connected at Fenway since last July 20 against the White Sox.

In his final plate appearance of the night, with two out in the eighth, Lugo dueled righthander Ryan Franklin. With the count 3 and 2, Lugo fouled off several pitches and on the 10th pitch earned a walk.

Lugo acknowledged the dichotomy of his evening.

"Any time you get a home run, you feel great," he said. "It's not a big deal for me. I've been a home run hitter. If I hit them, I hit them. If I don't, it's all right. When you hit a home run, you're happy. It was the first one of the year."

Lugo said the Red Sox didn't capitalize on all their offensive chances, but that's the way it goes.

"There are always going to be some missed opportunities," he said. "It's impossible for us to score every time. We're playing well. We just lost the game today. But the most important thing is we can win the series."

There were chances for the Sox to win, particularly in two instances when Ramírez stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. In the fifth, he struck out looking. In the seventh, he grounded into a double play.

"I'm going to take my chances all the time with Manny," said Lugo. "If [he's up] 100 times with the bases loaded, I'm going to bet on him."

It was Lugo who was sharp at the plate. He believes he's in a bit of a zone.

"I'm seeing the ball good right now; I feel comfortable," he said.

As for the errors, Lugo said you can't dwell on them. When asked how he was able to shake them off and hit the home run, he said there's no choice.

"When you're hitting, you're hitting; when you're on the field, you're on the field," he said. "When something happens, no one wants to make errors. I come in here and try to do my best. I feel bad when I make an error. I know I've been awful. I've been awful out there. I just try to make the next play. I know what kind of player I am. When something goes bad, I know where to reach."

He said any other way to look at it won't help him or the team.

"It's destructive," said Lugo. "It could be awful because if you make an error and then you go strike out with the bases loaded instead of being able to put the ball in play and see what happens, it makes it worse. Sometimes you can make two errors, but if you win, nobody knows. You make two errors and you lose and everybody knows it. It's like today. I hit a home run to tie the game and have two RBIs, but I have nothing to show for it because we lost."

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at marrapese@globe.com.