Pedroia finds comfort zone

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Get Dustin Pedroia away from the Los Angeles Angels in the postseason and his offense comes back to life.

Pedroia opened the American League Championship Series with a hit that led to a vital run in the Red Sox' 2-0 victory over Tampa Bay last night at Tropicana Field. His hitting streak is up to two games, and counting.

One hit, a single, may not seem like much, but it equaled Pedroia's output for 17 at-bats in the Division Series win over the Angels.

Pedroia hit the ball hard against the Angels, but a 1 for 17 can play with a hitter's confidence. Hitters do not take comfort in style points. They want only results.

"You definitely want results when you're having good at-bats," Pedroia said. "I know if I stick to my plan and keep having good at-bats, the hits will come.

"The biggest thing for me is that I've got to get on base and help the offense. I've got to do the little things. That's my responsibility."

Pedroia walked in his first plate appearance, a sign of patience. After failing to get the ball out of the infield in his next two at-bats, he knocked out starter James Shields with a one-out, line-drive single through the middle in the eighth inning.

From there, Pedroia took it upon himself to set up the middle of the order.

Running on his own, he perfectly timed the delivery of reliever J.P. Howell and easily stole second base. David Ortiz walked, but Kevin Youkilis drove in Pedroia with a sinking liner that left fielder Carl Crawford played into a double.

Pedroia has earned the right to make his own calls on running. He is smart about it. Including the regular season, he has 21 steals in 22 attempts.

"I pick and choose when to run," Pedroia said. "In that situation, I thought I could get on second base so they could drive me in."

The tide began to change for Pedroia when he doubled Monday in the clinching game of the Division Series to end an 0-for-15 drought. He was concerned about what the three-day layoff between series would do to his gathering momentum.

"It's good to get back into a rhythm," he said. "When you take a few days off and jump back into it, it's tough. Your timing is off. I know a couple of guys here said that. The best thing to do is get a good pitch and try to hit it hard."

Pedroia's 1 for 3 last night hinted that he could be building toward a repeat of last year's post-Angels turnaround in the postseason.

In last season's Division Series against the Angels, Pedroia went 2 for 13 with a miserable .214 on-base percentage and .308 slugging percentage. That all changed in the next two rounds.

Against Cleveland in the ALCS and Colorado in the World Series, he turned into a radically more productive hitter. He batted .319 with two homers and nine RBIs to go with a .385 on-base percentage and .532 slugging percentage for the 11 games.

Pedroia insisted the parallels never entered his mind, even during the repeat of his struggles against the Angels.

"The biggest thing I'm thinking about is doing all I can to help this team win," he said. "Going 1 for 17 in the Division Series was the best thing that ever happened to me, because we won.

"I'll go 1 for 17 in this series if we win, without a doubt. That's what we're all about here, winning."

Against the Angels, Pedroia did not take his offensive frustrations into the field. He handled 20 chances at second base without an error in the Division Series, continuing what infield coach Luis Alicea said has been a season of marked defensive improvement.

Pedroia handled six more chances without a problem in this funky domed stadium. That included fielding a scalding grounder by Carlos Peña in short right field to get an out in the sixth. The Red Sox employed a shift for Peña that put Pedroia about 25 feet into right field.

That Pedroia has continued to field well does not surprise manager Terry Francona. He said that while Pedroia gets mad at himself for failures, he never falls into frustration or panic.

If Pedroia did that, Francona said, he would not meet his prime responsibility.

"He likes to play a big part in having us win," Francona said before this series. "He's been that way his whole life."

Dustin Pedroia was that way again in this win.