Lugo to miss 4-6 weeks

Grim diagnosis is torn quadriceps

Julio Lugo's lost season took its worst turn yet when the Red Sox shortstop learned he has a torn left quadriceps that probably will sideline him 4-6 weeks, according to manager Terry Francona.

The Sox placed Lugo on the 15-day disabled list yesterday and recalled rookie infielder Jed Lowrie, who flourished during an April call-up. Lowrie started at shortstop in last night's 12-1 rout of the Orioles (he moved over to third base in the seventh inning) and veteran Alex Cora will play short this afternoon, Francona said, but beyond that the manager was noncommittal about how he plans to divvy up playing time during Lugo's absence.

Lugo was hurt beating out an infield hit in the ninth inning of Boston's 7-3 loss to the Orioles Friday night. He fell over the first base bag, and had to be helped off the field.

"I felt it pop and I knew it was something and it swelled up right away and bruised so I knew it wasn't good," said Lugo, wearing a brace that extended from his thigh to mid-shin. "The doctor right away told me, 'You've got a tear.' I didn't want to believe him."

Lugo was batting .268 in 82 games, an improvement over the .237 he batted last season, his first with the Sox. But Lugo had suffered an alarming drop in production, with just one home run and 22 RBIs, well below the 73 runs he drove in last season. He was on pace for just 24 extra-base hits, which would have been his lowest total of any full season in his big league career, and he was the team's worst hitter with runners in scoring position (.139, 11 for 79).

Lugo's 16 errors were the most by a shortstop in the American League and tied Florida's Hanley Ramírez for most in the majors. His .945 fielding percentage was the lowest among major league shortstops.

Cora has made just 13 starts at short this season, and is batting .143 (6 for 42) in his last 25 games. He missed more than three weeks earlier this season with a sprained right elbow. In his career, he has put up better numbers as a starter (.246 BA/.313 OBP) than he has as a sub (.225/.275). In 15 starts this season, he was batting .271 with five doubles. He had just two hits in nine plate appearances coming off the bench.

Lowrie hit safely in his first eight games in April, when third baseman Mike Lowell was on the DL with a strained thumb ligament. Lowrie hit .310 with a homer and seven RBIs in 17 games before returning to Pawtucket May 11. Of his 11 starts, three were at short.

"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. "It's that situation right now where Lugo got hurt and I'm going to do what I can to help the team win."

He went 0 for 4 last night, the only Sox starter without a hit.

Francona mapped out plans for David Ortiz that would have the Sox slugger back in action for the Yankees' visit at the end of the month, if there are no setbacks.

Ortiz, who was voted a starter on the All-Star team but will not play because of the injury to his left wrist, will make the trip to New York and take batting practice tomorrow and Tuesday, Francona said.

The Sox then will send Ortiz on a rehab assignment: three games with Pawtucket, three with Double A Portland, with a day off in between, which would put him in line to rejoin the club when it returns from a West Coast trip to Anaheim and Seattle. The Sox play their last game in Seattle July 23, then open a three-game series with the Yankees July 25.

Ortiz hit Friday against the pitching machine, in simulated game conditions. Asked if he felt 100 percent, he said, "I don't know. I've got to play first. Sometimes I get a little sore but it's not the soreness that bothers me to play. Hopefully, when I start facing speed, everything still feels the same way when I'm hitting. That's good enough for me."

Outfielder Bobby Kielty, hindered by a series of injuries in Pawtucket, asked for and was granted his release. Kielty appeared in just 20 games for the Sox after making his debut Aug. 18, but will forever be remembered for his pinch-hit home run in Game 4 of the World Series. Kielty, 31, signed a nonroster minor league deal with the Sox this winter, believing he'd be added to the club if the Sox traded Coco Crisp . . . Sean Casey has gone 144 at-bats since his last home run, which came Sept. 21 against Kansas City's Billy Buckner, when Casey was with the Tigers . . . The Sox hit back-to-back home runs for the 10th time this season (J.D. Drew and Manny Ramírez in the first) . . . Dustin Pedroia has 122 hits before the break, three short of the club record set by Wade Boggs in 1987 and tied by Nomar Garciaparra in 2003 . . . Top pitching prospect Michael Bowden was placed on the disabled list by Double A Portland with a sore calf . . . The Sox showed their support for the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge - an event they have sponsored the last six years - by inviting PMC cyclists, all cancer survivors, to bike around the warning track before the game. Stacey Lucchino, Dawn Timlin, and Tiffany Ortiz all are riding in the event, scheduled Aug. 2-3. The PMC's goal is to raise $34 million for the Jimmy Fund this year. More information can be found at pmc.org.