Between the trip to Japan, the 20-games-in-20-days stress test, and a parade of contenders providing the early opposition, no one expected the Sox (21-13) to come close to matching the 10-game lead they had 40 games into last season. But they opened a four-game lead in the AL East while winning five of six in the Fens last week, and stayed hot here in winning the first game of a 10-game trip.
"There are not too many outings where you can walk that many and get through it, but he did it," manager Terry Francona said of Matsuzaka, who improved his record to 5-0 on a night that he was not only wild but weak. Francona had Julian Tavarez up in the third inning because lingering flu symptoms might have KO'd the Japanese righthander.
After Matsuzaka was safely out of harm's way, David Ortiz drove in the team's final two runs with a seventh-inning single and his sixth home run, which came in the ninth off Todd Jones.
Lowell, who had been sidelined by strained ligaments in his left thumb from April 10 until last Tuesday, had not knocked in a run in 16 regular-season games since last Sept. 29, also the date of his last home run. That supposed drought is a bogus one, given that he had 15 RBIs in 11 postseason games last October.
But for a guy who had a ca reer-best 120 RBIs in 2007, especially one who has a new book hitting the stores today called "Deep Drive," it was nice to get the first one of '08 out of the way.
Wouldn't want people thinking the new book was about golf.
"I honestly wish the home run had come a little earlier," said Lowell, playing along with the suggestion that it was all a clever marketing ploy. "But it felt good. I haven't had much success against [Jeremy] Bonderman."
Try no success. Until last night, Lowell, whose home run came after Manny Ramírez led off the second inning with a double, had never gotten a hit off Bonderman (0 for 9). Neither had Youkilis (0 for 12).
But before the game, Lowell not only declared that he was feeling more comfortable at the plate after coming off the DL, but also predicted Youkilis was eminently capable of developing a home run stroke that would put baseballs in the seats with some regularity.
