Second walk over Jays

Home runs by Julio Lugo, Manny Ramírez, David Ortiz, and Mike Lowell were the body blows in the second consecutive pounding administered by the Sox, who have outscored Toronto, 18-5, in the first two games of this series.

Ohka, with a rare chance to show his native fan base that he is deserving of respect he's never gotten back home, denied that he felt under extra pressure last night. But he went to six three-ball counts, threw ball one to seven of the first 11 batters he faced, uncorked a wild pitch, and committed an error -- all in the first two innings.

By then, the Red Sox had a 3-0 lead, and though that would be all they would score against Ohka, who lasted just 4 2/3 innings, it was enough to ensure him second-banana status to Matsuzaka.

"No, not too much pressure pitching and playing them," said Ohka, who had just one win in Japan before coming to the Red Sox as a minor leaguer, and thus doesn't have the notoriety enjoyed by Matsuzaka, even though his 50 big-league wins are the most by any Japanese pitcher except Hideo Nomo. "I saw that a lot of media came to Toronto, following Matsuzaka, not for me. Maybe three or four people came to see me."

But no, he insisted, he wasn't bent on proving anything.

"No, my job is pitching," he said. "I don't care if Japanese people are watching, American people, Canadian people. Baseball's not only for the Japanese. I'm OK. I don't care about that. My friends and my family know how I'm doing. I can't change everything. Maybe if we go to the playoffs, maybe."

Not that there was much chance Ohka would let anyone in on what he was feeling after the game. Joe Siddall was the catcher the night Ohka threw a perfect game in Pawtucket, R.I., only the third in the history of the International League. That was June 1, 2000, and in a cinematic touch, Siddall retired after the game and returned to his native Windsor, Ontario.

Never mind that Siddall, a journey man who had made big-league cameos with the Expos, Marlins, and Tigers, had decided before the game that he was retiring to spend more time at home with his doctor wife and their four kids. "It was like riding off in the sunset," he said last night by telephone.