By Maureen Mullen
CSNNE.comFollow @maureenamullen
BOSTONWith road interleague games starting this weekend in Pittsburgh and continuing on a nine-game trip to Philadelphia and Houston, Red Sox pitchers have begun taking batting practice.
Not the bat on the shoulders, Francona said of his philosophy. We do that in spring training for obvious reasons. Weve actually started these guys in BP back longer than that. We try to do it in a systematic approach where they start off off the tee, then in the cage.
"The last thing we want is guys pulling intercostals and that kind of stuff. Then we hit on the field the last road trip. A couple of them came out early, and then the last few days here. What were trying to do is when they can help us offensively let them be hitters. When theyre leading off an inning or something like that, try to see a few pitches. Dont take the bat out of the next guys hands.
Francona continued, "Being honest, these guys havent hit very much. But when the game calls for it . . . John Lackeys a pretty good hitter. Josh Beckett will run into one, Jon Lester. But the main thing is getting a bunt down because thats what theyll be asked to do more than anything."
Swinging and running the bases are of equal concern to Francona. Last season in San Francisco, Clay Buchholz ended up on the DL after straining his hamstring running the bases.
We saw what happened to Buck, Francona said. Its just something they havent been asked to do so its a little bit of a worry. We pinch-ran Buck a couple of years ago in Texas and he almost ran the wrong way.
The Red Sox outhit the Padres, 13-7, the major league-best 35th game with 10 or more hits. They have at least 10 hits in four of their last five games, batting .352 (64-for-182) with an average of 8.4 runs per game.
Boston Red Sox
A bet you probably wouldnt make too often: David Ortiz stole second base in the game, while Jacoby Ellsbury was thrown out attempting to steal second. For Ortiz, it was his first stolen base since Aug. 3, 2008, against Oakland, and the 11th stolen base of his career
Dont ask me about that, I dont know, Ortiz said. "Things happen. Better enjoy, aint gonna see that many.
It was not the cleanest of steals, though, as Ortiz got a few steps from first, stopped, and broke again for second.
Not sure what he was doing, Francona said. Once he went, I wasnt sure if he was gonna come back or not.
For Ellsbury, who leads the American League with 24 steals, it was the 10th time hes been caught this season, a 71 percent success ratio. With one out, Marco Scutaro on third and Dustin Pedroia at the plate, Ellsbury broke for second.
If he stayed at second and third with Pedey up, were in great shape, Francona said. He ran on a slide step and against a perfect throw. Padres catcher Nick Hundley did a perfect job. He had a great pitch to throw and got him. Try to not second-guess when guys get thrown out. Base-stealers are going to get thrown out.
Pedroia has a seven-game hit streak, matching the longest of the season for him, batting .385 (10-for-26) with five RBI in that stretch. He went 1-for-2 with three walks, tied a career high in walks for the fifth time, first since Oct. 3, 2009, against the Indians.
Dan Wheeler took the loss, his first decision with the Sox. He gave up one run in 1 13 innings. It was just the second run hes allowed in 10 13 innings since coming off the disabled list on May 20, with a 1.74 ERA since. Overall, he has 6.53 ERA.
Carl Crawford, on the DL with a strained left hamstring, has been playing catch and doing other activities to help him stay in baseball shape.
Hes doing okay, Francona said. I think its realistic that when his two weeks are up hell be ready, but we'll be in Houston Crawford's hometown and we all know how he feels about playing there, so we might have to sit on him a little bit.
Kevin Youkilis tied his career high with four hits, going 4-for-5 with a double and one RBI. It was the fourth time hes had four hits in a game, the first since Aug. 1, 2009.
He's now hitting .276 with 11 home runs and 53 RBI for the season. In Interleague play, though, he leads the majors with 13 RBI and a slugging percentage close to 1.000.
Despite assorted dings and dents this seasonincluding an ankle that he recently tweaked when he hit first base awkwardlyhe has appeared in 68 of the Red Sox 73 games this season. Before the game, Francona said hed prefer not to give his third baseman a day off, unless Youkilis really needs it.
He hasnt lately. Youkilis has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games, batting .362 (17-for-47) with 17 RBI. In his last nine games he has three home runs and 15 RBI.
The only blemish of the night for Youkilis came in the sixth inning. With two outs, the score tied, and two runners on, Padres reliever Chad Qualls got Youkilis to pop out to second baseman Orlando Hudson to end the inning.
Youk has been swinging the bat good, though, David Ortiz said. Been hitting a lot of rockets right at people. What can you do about it, you know? Just look at his numbers. Power-wise and RBI-wise hes bringing them in.
Maureen Mullen is on Twitter at http:twitter.commaureenamullen