Lowrie put right to work
This time, his stay shouldn't be short
The news that Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo suffered a serious injury made it to Jed Lowrie Friday night at about 12:30. Lowrie had just played for Pawtucket in a 4-0 loss in Norfolk, Va.
"My role on this team is to come up here and help out when I can," said Lowrie, who arrived in Boston yesterday at 2 p.m. and started at shortstop last night. "It's that situation right now where Lugo got hurt and I'm going to do what I can to help the team win."
Sox manager Terry Francona said Alex Cora will start at shortstop in today's series finale with the Orioles.
"Because of the days off coming up, there's no reason to get too far ahead of ourselves," Francona said. "We wanted to play each one of them one game and because of Cora's success against [Daniel] Cabrera, it made sense to do that. I don't want Lowrie to go six days without playing."
This is Lowrie's second stint with the Red Sox this season; he played in 17 games from April 10 to May 11 while Mike Lowell was on the disabled list. He started six games at third base, three at shortstop, and two at second base, and hit .310 with one home run and seven RBIs.
When it was clear last night's game was in hand (an eventual 12-1 drubbing), Lowrie shifted to third base in the seventh inning when Mike Lowell got the rest of the night off, and Cora took over at short.
Lowrie was playing shortstop at Pawtucket, where he was hitting .268 with five home runs and 32 RBIs in 53 games. He was hitting only .200 in July, though. Lowrie was the only Sox starter last night without a hit, going 0 for 4.
Lowrie had his left hand wrapped before the game, but he said the wrap was more of a precaution after he sprained his hand last week.
Lowrie said he feels more comfortable with the big club this time because he's already had a taste of the majors and because of the environment created by Pawtucket manager Rod Johnson.
"I think RJ does a great job down in Pawtucket of trying to keep it as similar as possible," Lowrie said. "You don't go down there and it's a whole different routine than it is up here."
There is a chance Lowrie could be with the Red Sox for an extended period because Lugo is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a torn left quadriceps.
"That's something I'm prepared to do on this team because whatever Tito needs me to do, I'm willing to do it," Lowrie said. "As far as playing short, obviously, I'm comfortable playing there."
"We haven't seen him play as much as the rest of the organization," Francona said. "This will be an opportunity for him to show what he can do, that's for sure."
