After this win come decisions

Division may not be a priority now

The jubilation that enveloped Fenway Park last night will be somewhat tempered today when the Red Sox show up for work. The wild card is in hand, but the American League East title is still attainable, if barely.

The Tampa Bay Rays sliced their magic number to 2 last night by sweeping the Baltimore Orioles. Even if the Red Sox win their remaining five games, the Rays would have to go 1-4 for Boston to repeat as division champ.

The question, then, is: Do the Red Sox continue to push for the AL East or start aligning themselves for the playoffs?

"We've got to see where we're situated," manager Terry Francona said. "We've got to play good baseball, get guys healthy. If there's a time when it's appropriate to run guys out there, then we'll make those decisions. We've certainly talked about those things.

"Even in spring training, if you're playing, you want to win. I know that there's some common sense that comes into play. We'll try to get guys really feeling good about themselves, and by that I mean health and things like that."

Said general manager Theo Epstein, "It's important to get ready for the postseason. But we're going to keep trying to win games."

The Red Sox have several questions to answer and needs to fulfill in the coming days. Two are most pressing. They must decide whether Paul Byrd or Tim Wakefield will be the fourth starter, and they need to try to return Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew to the lineup.

Both tasks were made more manageable with last's night victory.

"We'll show up tomorrow and try to play good baseball and get our house in order," Francona said. "It's a little bit easier to do that without that last win hanging over your head."

Lowrie hitting wall

Jed Lowrie, in his head-spinning rookie season, has played in 42 games at shortstop and 47 at third base, often toggling between the two in the same game, as he did last night. He has hit in every spot in the batting order except leadoff. He has played in 47 of the Red Sox' last 48 games.

"We've asked a lot of him," Francona said.

The demand on Lowrie, 24 years old and 76 games into his major league career, is beginning to take a toll. He is mired in the worst slump of his short tenure with the Red Sox, struggles made more glaring by two key strikeouts in clutch situations Monday night.

Lowrie's batting average has plummeted from .314 to .256 since Aug. 19. He is hitless in 17 at-bats and is 4 for his last 36 (after an 0 for 4 last night), a span that includes 15 strikeouts. The two most damaging whiffs came Monday. In the seventh, with one out, the Red Sox down one, and the bases loaded, Lowrie struck out looking. In the ninth, with men on second and third and two outs, Lowrie struck out swinging on three pitches.

"What can you say?" Lowrie said. "I had a couple opportunities, one to tie in the seventh. Then I had an opportunity to get a hit and win it. It was one of those days. It's frustrating."

Lowrie, pressed into service for the better part of the season because of Julio Lugo's injury problems, has had to carry a larger offensive burden with the absence of Mike Lowell. The grind of the season, and the ability of opposing scouts to scrutinize him as a big leaguer, has limited his productivity.

"He's had a little trouble with the fastball lately," Francona said. "I don't think it's uncharacteristic that a young player has ups and downs. They kind of get a free pass in the league for a while, then the league starts making adjustments.

"The one thing he's not done is that he's not swinging at balls and still he's running a lot of deep counts. I think he might be a little tired."

Despite the wear, Francona penciled Lowrie into the lineup again last night.

The manager did not want to sit Lowrie against lefthander Cliff Lee. Lowrie, a switch hitter, was batting .347 against lefthanders and .224 against righthanders.

The wear has seemingly not affected Lowrie on defense, where he has been versatile and reliable. He has not made an error in 149 chances at shortstop - most in the American League without one - and has made only two in 72 chances at third.

"He's really handled it quite well," Francona said. "He's done it not only in different games, but in the middle of games, and it's allowed us to move [Kevin] Youkilis back to first. He's made all the plays you're supposed to."

Progress report

Drew and Lowell both made progress yesterday. Drew, battling a herniated disk in his back, "was as encouraged as he's been in a long time," Francona said. On Monday, Drew received an epidural and almost immediately felt positive results.

Drew had planned on taking batting practice in a cage, but felt so good he decided to take a full session on the field. His availability, though, remains in question.

The Sox planned to have Lowell (torn hip labrum) hit in the batting cage last night, then on the field today. Lugo, after seeing a doctor Monday, did not receive promising news regarding his strained quadriceps. He will remain in Boston when the Red Sox travel for the first round of the playoffs and work with the medical staff.

"He's run into some problems every time he gets to that certain point," Francona said. "Again, I don't know how realistic it is that he's going to play in the near future. He's going to keep trying to get better, and who knows how long our season lasts?"

Banned in Boston

Indians infielder Asdrubal Cabrera began a three-game suspension last night, meaning he will not be eligible for the remainder of this series. . . . Pawtucket Red Sox president Mike Tamburro won the International League Executive of the Year award yesterday for the fifth time, an IL record. The PawSox set a team record with 85 wins and led the league in attendance at 636,788 . . . Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 14 games, a career best, with a double in the fifth inning . . . Dustin Pedroia hit his 53d double, tying Tris Speaker (1912) for third in Sox history.

Michael Vega of the Globe staff contributed to this report.