Lowell called, and thrown, out

Ninth-inning whiff has him enraged

Mike Lowell jumped in surprise and anger. The Red Sox third baseman thought the pitch from Mariano Rivera was a ball. But it was called a strike by Marty Foster, ending Lowell's at-bat as the second out in the bottom of the ninth inning. And Lowell didn't agree. After making that jump, he went after Foster, getting right in the umpire's face as Foster pointed toward the Red Sox dugout.

Then Lowell was tossed from the game, his first ejection since 2002. That was when he really went off, slamming his bat and then his helmet. The services of manager Terry Francona were required to get Lowell away from Foster and off the field. Even as he walked away, he turned backward and continued shouting at the umpire.

"I just think when you're facing Mariano, you're in a battle," Lowell said. "He's hitting his corners and you're fouling balls off. The pitch is a ball. I'm not really one to argue that much. But I blatantly think it's a ball. That's a pretty big situation, it runs the count to full, and you never know what happens after that. I mean, I looked at the video to make sure I wasn't nuts, and any angle does not get any plate. That's just frustrating.

"I feel like the bat was taken out of my hands."

Lowell also said that he wasn't happy with a couple of other calls in the game, adding to his frustration.

It was the seventh ejection of the season for the Red Sox, and first since June 5, when Coco Crisp was tossed for the brawl against the Rays.

A Delcarmen scare

Manny Delcarmen had just struck out Alex Rodriguez, but when Francona and trainer Paul Lessard saw him walking around the mound, wriggling his fingers, they immediately went to see what was wrong.

It was a cramp in his right forearm, said Delcarmen, who came out of the game in the eighth inning after facing Rodriguez.

"By the time he got to the clubhouse, it had calmed down," Francona said. "His strength was just fine. I think there's a chance he'll be a little stiff tomorrow. I don't think there's anything more than that. That was probably me being overprotective, which I won't apologize for."

One red flag, however, is that Delcarmen said this wasn't the first time he's had stiffness in that area of his forearm.

"They're going to check it out tomorrow," he said. "Right now the doctor looked at it and kind of massaged it."

Missing link

With the Sox missing a solid bridge to Jonathan Papelbon - at least the kind they had last season with Hideki Okajima - Justin Masterson might prove to be that pitcher. His transition, with 2 2/3 hitless and scoreless innings Wednesday against the Mariners, has started well.

"He was terrific the other day," Francona said. "If you had a tough time, we're not going to quit on you. But he threw the ball great. Everything about that outing had us excited. The ability to come in with runners on base, execute pitches right off the bat. Not settle into the game, then start making pitches. His ball had good life. He checked runners. He was aware of who was on base, and right now, not a hitter too late."

Masterson threw 27 pitches (20 for strikes) in getting eight outs.

Pedroia rolls on

Dustin Pedroia, who was orginally slated to bat leadoff with Jacoby Ellsbury being bumped to ninth, extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single in the first inning. He stole second on Ortiz's strikeout, but was stranded. Ellsbury and Pedroia batted in their customary 1-2 spots after Manny Ramírez was a late scratch . . . Golf legend Jack Nicklaus threw out the first pitch. He was in the clubhouse prior to the game, posing for pictures with Sean Casey, Tim Wakefield, and Jim Rice, among others . . . Country star LeAnn Rimes sang the national anthem . . . Senator John Kerry took in the game from the Monster seats . . . The Red Sox wives are continuing their can and cash drive today. Fans can get an autographed Sox photo by donating either $10 or 10 nonperishable items. The drive benefits the Greater Boston Food Bank.

Gordon Edes of the Globe staff and correspondent Baxter Holmes contributed to this report.