01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, July 10, 2004

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Although Johnny Damon's been on a tear at the plate lately for the Red Sox, the outfielder wasn't sure his hot streak was going to continue last night.

For one thing, he experienced two poor rounds of batting practice before the series opener with the Texas Rangers. For another, during his first at-bat last night, he "felt awful. I kept looking back at Mark Bellhorn (in the on-deck circle), telling him, 'My bat is so slow today.' I couldn't catch up to a good fastball to save my life."

Obviously, something changed along the way. Before the Red Sox' 7-0 thrashing of the Rangers was complete, Damon had two homers, a single and a double, with four RBI and three runs scored.

The night extended his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest for a Red Sox player this season. For the four games of the homestand so far, Damon is a blistering 14-for-22 (.636).

Over the course of his hitting streak, Damon is hitting .448 (30-for-67) with 19 runs scored and five homers. He's scored at least one run in every one of those games but one, and has at least two hits in each of his last six games.

"I've been swinging the bat good of late," said Damon in typical understatement.

His current run is, according to Damon, his best since the 2000 season, when he played for Kansas City. That year, Damon was named the American League Player of the Month for July when he hit .436 and scored 20 runs in 27 games. In one four-game stretch, he collected 15 hits.

Always a streaky player, he's on one of his patented rolls.

"I wish I knew (what was behind it) so I could bottle it up," he said. "I'm just going up there trying to have good at-bats."

His recent stretch has seen him left his average from .290 last Saturday to its current .319, the high point of the season.

"What he's done (to his average) with the amount of at-bats he's had is amazing," said manager Terry Francona. "He's given us a big lift. He's pretty hot. Even on the bases, he looks like he's getting better jumps. A lot of good things are happening for him. (Consequently), a lot of good things are happening for us."

Indeed, Damon's hot streak has coincided with the Sox' four-game winning streak, which has vaulted them back into the middle of the wild-card fight and kept them within striking distance of the first-place Yankees.

"It's a whole team effort," insisted Damon.

Still, the sellout crowd at Fenway demanded a curtain call from Damon following his second homer. He obliged by coming to the top step of the dugout and doffing his cap. When he took his position in center in the top of the ninth, another ovation greeted him from the bleachers.

No one seemed disappointed that Damon had missed out on a cycle when he homered in his final at-bat rather than collecting a triple.

"That was great for the fans to do that," he said. "Usually, it's Manny (Ramirez) and David (Ortiz) having those kind of nights."

But these days, no player is hotter than Damon.