David Ortiz had an eventful day at first base, being charged with an error when he failed to field a ball in the third inning.
(Gregory Smith/Associated Press)
Red Sox Notebook
All in all, you had to hand it to Penny
David Ortiz had an eventful day at first base, being charged with an error when he failed to field a ball in the third inning.
(Gregory Smith/Associated Press)
ATLANTA - When Brad Penny finished throwing a pitch to Kelly Johnson, the second batter he faced in yesterday’s 2-1 loss to the Braves, the Red Sox starter grabbed his right hand. It looked bad for a moment, as manager Terry Francona and trainer Paul Lessard jogged out to see him. But it wasn’t anything new for Penny; it was not the first time the tendon in his right thumb had been an issue.
“It just kind of popped out of the joint for a second,’’ Penny said, attributing it to gripping the ball too tightly. “I just needed a second to let it come back. It’s happened before, probably four or five times in my career.’’
So he wasn’t particularly worried. As Francona said, “He threw that pitch, we just wanted to buy him a little bit of time to let him get the feeling back. He threw two pitches and he was fine.’’
Penny got Johnson on a grounder to second base for the second out of the inning. That was when he made the first of his two major mistakes, allowing a homer to left to Chipper Jones.
Garret Anderson homered in the fourth, but those were the only runs given up by Penny in his six innings, in which he allowed six hits and no walks.
Catcher Jason Varitek summed up the mistakes this way: “Fastball middle to Garret, and we just hung a breaking ball to Chipper. But [Penny] kept the game there. [The Braves’ Tommy] Hanson had to make pitches at different times, and he did.’’
Penny was happy with his velocity, though his pitches were up a bit too much for his liking.
“I felt good,’’ said Penny, who has allowed five earned runs over his last four starts though he has gotten just one win in that span. “Didn’t have a lot of confidence in my curveball today, didn’t have good command of it. Overall, the fastball strength was there. Made a couple of bad pitches, and I got behind on one hitter, hung a curveball.’’
Asked how he felt on the mound, Penny said, “Hot.’’ It was 91 degrees at first pitch and Penny couldn’t seem to cool down even after the game was over, wiping his brow with a cloth every now and then. But as oppressive as the heat was on him, his heater flummoxed the Braves quite a bit. Not enough for the win, but enough to continue that good roll.
“He had to pitch in the stretch a little bit, but he never gave in,’’ Francona said. “He leaves giving up two runs. I thought he pitched his [behind] off.’’
Joint discussion
Mike Lowell will spend this morning in Boston getting a shot of Synvisc in his tight hip, though the Sox won’t be able to determine the efficacy of the shot for another 24 hours.“The hope is that - it’s kind of a gel-type thing - for some people it’s like the miracle,’’ Francona said. “For other people it’s not. I’ve had it done, and it didn’t do a [darn] thing for me. [Brad Mills] had the same shot and two hours later he felt like he was brand new. The good news is that if it doesn’t work, it’s not like a steroid. It’s just a gel that can really coat that joint.’’
If it doesn’t work, that’s when the Sox will have a decision to make. Lowell has been feeling tightness for about a week, and he hasn’t started in six of the last eight games.
“He’s not hurt himself, he’s just hurting,’’ Francona said. “That’s probably the best way to put it. The medical people have all assured Mikey that even if he had played [yesterday] he wouldn’t hurt himself. It just hurts.
“Because there’s a lot of the season left to go, rather than try to let him, whether you say take a deep breath or regroup, [we] just want him to be able to go out and play and not have to drag it or when he makes a move, feel it so much.’’
If the shot is not effective, “I guess [the DL] could happen,’’ Francona said. “I don’t think we want to and I don’t think he wants to. But if he doesn’t respond to this, it’s probably something we’ve got to think about.’’
Right back at it
Jed Lowrie played six innings Saturday for Pawtucket, and was taken out because he was overcompensating on his left knee, where he was hit by a pitch last week. He served as the designated hitter yesterday, and went 1 for 2 . . . The next save for Jonathan Papelbon will tie Bob Stanley for the Sox record of 132 . . . Tim Wakefield’s 1-0 win Saturday marked just the second time in his Sox career that he had won a game by a 1-0 score, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The other came in his second start for Boston, May 30, 1995, when he beat the A’s in Oakland, a stretch of 14 years 28 days. That’s the longest span for any pitcher in major league history between 1-0 wins for the same organization . . . David Ortiz now has nine hits in 34 at-bats at Turner Field, with six home runs. He singled in four trips yesterday . . . Francona, on his pregame meal: “This morning I’m working on four pieces of bacon and a Full Throttle. I hope Penny throws strikes.’’Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com. 
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