Francona will give Lowrie long look at short

Manny Ramírez discards his bat after popping up for the second out in the ninth inning. (Danny moloshok/Reuters)

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Julio Lugo has not begun rehabilitating from a torn left quadriceps muscle, which means the Red Sox should get a good gauge on whether Jed Lowrie will be their shortstop of the future.

Lowrie, who went hitless in four at-bats after replacing Lugo July 12, the day after Lugo was injured, got his second start yesterday at short since Lugo went on the DL.

"We want to play this kid a little bit," manager Terry Francona said before the game. "This kid is steady. He has good at-bats, and kind of looks like Bill Mueller. I'm not sure that's not exciting."

The biggest question surrounding the switch-hitting Lowrie is his ability to play short.

"He'll be measured by some by balls that he can't get to," Francona said. "But if he makes the routine plays consistently, makes the plays he's supposed to make, that's a good shortstop.

"You take someone's whole game, add it together, and ask, does it help you win games?"

Lowrie's game was a mixed bag yesterday. He started a nice double play in the fourth, but was eaten up by Torii Hunter's ball that exploded at his feet and continued into left field for a base hit that proved vital to the Angels' four-run rally in the seventh.

"He hit that right him," Francona said. "He put his glove down, but it went by him. That ball was crushed.

"Overall, I thought he did very well. He looked very natural. He had his feet under him. It was good to see."

Lowrie singled in the fifth, but struck out on three pitches from Angels reliever Scot Shields with the bases loaded to end the eighth.

"I haven't seen him play a ton," Francona said. "I'm looking forward to it."

One that got away
Here's another reason you're not likely to see the Sox rush to make a trade-deadline deal: Engel Beltre, the minor league outfielder the Sox included in a package to Texas last summer for Eric Gagné, along with outfielder David Murphy and pitcher Kason Gabbard, just made Baseball America's hot prospects list. Gagné, of course, was a complete bust.

At 18, Beltre is the youngest player in the Single A Midwest League, but he helped lead his Clinton (Iowa) team to the first-half title in the West Division and has nine multihit games this month. Last week, he homered in three consecutive games, doubled twice, and tripled. He leads the league in runs and is second in hits and triples. Can you say superstar-in-the-making?

Bonus battle
While commissioner Bud Selig has said teams are free to spend what they want on draft choices, it's no secret he becomes highly agitated when clubs ignore the slotting guidelines Major League Baseball sets for signing bonuses. That means John W. Henry is likely to get an earful from Selig after the Sox signed top draft pick Casey Kelly for $3 million - the bonus will be spread out over five years - and reportedly are willing to go over the slot to sign high school outfielders Pete Hissey (Pennsylvania) and Ryan Westmoreland (Rhode Island), Yale third baseman Ryan Lavarnway, and high school pitcher Alex Meyer (Indiana). According to Baseball Prospectus, the Sox are willing to go as high as $2 million for Westmoreland and Meyer, who is being advised by agent Scott Boras.

See no evil
Francona was asked if he'd seen a replay of Manny Ramírez's blooper-reel keeper Friday night, which had the Sox left fielder sitting on the ball and laughing afterward. "You know what, I don't think I was laughing," Francona said. "I've been around Manny enough to know it's not malicious. Even if it comes across as him not caring enough, it's not malicious. I don't know how else to say it." . . . Dustin Pedroia singled in the first inning, giving him hits in 21 of his last 22 games. He came into the game tied with Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler for most multihit games (39), and now has multiple hits in eight of his last 11 games . . . Henry and Tom Werner were in the house yesterday . . . Jacoby Ellsbury snapped an 0-for-12 slide with a single in the seventh . . . Jason Varitek is 18 for 133 in his last 41 games, dating to May 21, to go from .295 to .214. The only player with a worse batting average in that span is Omar Vizquel, the Giants' 41-year-old shortstop. Varitek has just four extra-base hits (three doubles and a home run) over his last 41 games for a .182 slugging percentage. The only player worse is Vizquel (.110, no extra-base hits). Varitek was 0 for 2 yesterday with two walks . . . Coco Crisp said the wind was knocked out of him when he crashed into the wall catching Casey Kotchman's drive to end the seventh. "My back probably will be a little sore, but I'm OK," Crisp said . . . Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. has a slight tear in his left knee, but there are no plans for him to have surgery or place him on the disabled list, the Associated Press reported. Matthews has started only one of the last seven games and is 5 for 36 with one RBI since June 27.