He aggravated the injury, and will almost certainly miss his next scheduled start, at third base in tomorrow's regular-season finale. And now the question concerns his availability for the AL Division Series against the Angels.
"I would defer to we'll see what time says," Lowell said. "By no means do I think I'm owed a roster spot just because I've played here. If I'm not going to do anything that can help the team win . . . but in the short series it's a little different. You don't have to carry as many pitchers. Maybe pinch hitting is an op tion. We'll see. I'm not ruling out anything yet, but obviously I was disappointed today."
So were the Sox, who lost this one, 19-8. It seemed worse, as an announced crowd of 37,301 had little opportunity to cheer other than when when Gil Velazquez and George Kottaras each recorded his first major league hit. With rain threatening to interrupt the game, the Sox scratched Daisuke Matsuzaka - as they had done earlier with David Ortiz - and started David Pauley instead. Even with weather problems forecast for today, Matsuzaka is scheduled to start.
It was ugly, especially by the end when the stands had emptied and the last train had pulled out of Kenmore Station with the game mired in the top of the eighth inning. That was after the September call-ups had taken over.
The Sox learned after the game that they will face the Angels in Game 1 Wednesday and Game 2 Friday in Anaheim, Calif. And that might help Lowell. With the series spaced out, the Sox will need to use only three starting pitchers, which could open up a spot for Lowell.
Still, the news on Lowell was disappointing. He checked his swing in the first inning, aggravating the injury. It happened on the pitch before he flied to left field, and after making contact he appeared to be having difficulty running to first.
