ANAHEIM, Calif. - Mike Napoli made sure to welcome Brad Penny to the American League.
But even with No. 8 hitter Napoli taking two of Penny's pitches out of the ballpark yesterday, both solo shots, it wasn't all bad for the career National Leaguer (the eighth and ninth hitters he faced in the NL generally didn't have as much pop).
With help from Mike Lowell and Jason Bay, Penny got the win in the Red Sox' 5-4 victory over the Angels, and he felt healthy. That was more than Penny could say for his experience all last season with the Dodgers, for whom he pitched hurt from Opening Day on.
"Those were my fault, a couple mistake pitches," Penny said of the Napoli homers. "All three runs basically were my fault. But I just made two pretty bad pitches to the guy; he hit them out of the park.
"My command wasn't there like it normally is, but strength-wise I felt unbelievable."
Penny walked the first batter of the game (Chone Figgins), who stole second and came home on groundouts by Howie Kendrick and Bobby Abreu. Penny allowed runners in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, including homers by Napoli in the third and fifth, on "terrible pitches," as Penny said, before pitching a 1-2-3 sixth after which he bid adieu to the game.
He threw 86 pitches in a more than serviceable start for a No. 5.
"I thought he did a good job," manager Terry Francona said. "As he got into the flow of the game, he started letting it go. He made some mistakes to Napoli that he whacked every time."
Napoli is now 3 for 4 in his career off Penny, with four RBIs.
Despite some questions about the accuracy of the radar gun - Penny said in the first inning he saw a splitter register faster than a fastball on the scoreboard - the starter reached 94 miles per hour on a swinging strikeout by Torii Hunter and hit 95 later in the game. He never felt the achiness and pain that accompanied every start last season.
"It feels great," Penny said. "It's been a long time. To go out there and not feel anything on any pitch, it was awesome."
Catching on
Jason Varitek didn't strike out yesterday, marking the fourth straight game in which he hasn't recorded a strikeout. He didn't go that long without fanning all last season . . .
Kevin Youkilis went 0 for 3, breaking his four-game streak of multihit games to start the season . . . The Sox ended a nine-game regular-season losing streak to the Angels . . .
Jed Lowrie is hitting .056 with eight strikeouts after yesterday's 0 for 3. That comes after he hit .343 in spring training. "It almost never fails, but the guy that's swinging the bat the best in spring training [struggles early in the season]," Francona said. "He hit that last ball [Friday night] real good, which is good to see. He's actually had pretty good at-bats. He's gotten in deep counts."
Left in the lurch
Francona said he would like to get
Chris Carter and
Nick Green into games. Green pinch ran Thursday but Carter has not played yet. The problem is that the Sox are facing four lefties in five days, including yesterday's starter,
Joe Saunders. "Oakland is kind of messing us up on Carter," said Francona. "We've got to figure that one out." The A's will start three lefties -
Dallas Braden,
Dana Eveland, and
Brett Anderson - against the Sox . . . The Sox debuted their revamped road gray jerseys, which look like they emerged from the '80s, though with the "hanging Sox" logo on the sleeve . . .
Rocco Baldelli played right in place of
J.D. Drew because Saunders started. Because
Jacoby Ellsbury began to swing well Friday night (two hits), Francona decided to keep him in the lineup yesterday. He was rewarded immediately when Ellsbury led off the game with a line single, then stole second before being caught trying to steal third . . . Francona emphasized that Baldelli and Drew would not be platooning in right. When Baldelli replaces Ellsbury in the lineup, it's likely Baldelli will bat leadoff.
Angels adjust roster
The Angels recalled outfielder
Reggie Willits from Triple A, filling the roster opening created by the death of pitcher
Nick Adenhart. "It's very difficult. Very difficult," said Willits. "Any time you get called up, you're happy to go up. But under the circumstances, it just didn't feel right."
Jon Wilhite, a passenger injured in the car crash that killed Adenhart and two friends, was taken off the critical list yesterday but remained in intensive care at UC Irvine Medical Center.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
