01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, April 8, 2006

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

BALTIMORE -- Thanks to the lopsided nature of last night's win, the point was moot, but Terry Francona indicated yesterday that the Red Sox' closer situation is in flux.

Asked before the Sox' one-sided victory over the Orioles about his choice to close out the ninth inning last night, Francona responded candidly: "I don't have the answer right now."

The question is likely to remain in play for the time being while the Sox wait for Keith Foulke to return to form. Wednesday night, Francona raised eyebrows by calling on Jonathan Papelbon to protect a ninth-inning, one-run lead against the Texas Rangers.

"I feel a responsibility to win every game we can," explained Francona. "I feel a responsibility to Foulke, and to the organizationThe whole idea behind this is to win every game you can -- and to get the most out of every guy you can. I think Foulke understands that."

Francona again hinted that Foulke isn't yet throwing at 100 percent, and until that occurs, it should surprise no one if Papelbon continues to get the ball with one- or two-run leads.

"I want him to be able to go out there with all his weapons," Francona said. "I want to make sure he's ready to tackle every situation he's put in."

He emphasized that Foulke is throwing better than he did last season, when he was hobbled by two bad knees and seldom got his fastball over 85 mph.

"The aim," concluded Francona, "is to get back to where every time we get to the ninth, we hand him the ball. This isn't a passing of the torch."

Leading by six in the bottom of the ninth, the Sox got Foulke an inning of work. He gave up a hit, and threw 10 pitches, nine of them strikes.

On the wild side

Daniel Cabrera's wild streak wasn't unprecedented; it just seemed that way.

Cabrera, the Orioles' starter, walked seven of the first 14 hitters last night -- six in the first inning and another in the second.

It marked the fourth time since the start of the 2000 season that a major-league pitcher had pitched no more than 1- 1/3 innings and walked as many as seven hitters.

The others: The Chicago Cubs' Kerry Wood, against the St. Louis Cardinals, on Sept. 22, 2000; Victor Zambrano, then of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, against the Cleveland Indians on May 15, 2004; and Russ Ortiz, then of the Atlanta Braves, against the Milwaukee Brewers, also on May 15, 2004.

According to research by the Red Sox, until last night no opposing pitcher in the team's history had ever walked that many hitters in such a short span.

Cabrera dropped to 1-4 with a 9.26 ERA in six career appearances against the Sox.

Pena gets first start

Baltimore has lefty Bruce Chen scheduled to start this afternoon, so Wily Mo Pena will get his first start of the season in right field, with Trot Nixon sitting out.

Pena got a pinch-hitting appearance Wednesday night in Texas.

Once Pena gets in the starting lineup, every position player will have started a game except for outfielder Adam Stern.

Francona elected to stay with shortstop Alex Gonzalez last night over Alex Cora, despite Cora's history of success (6-for-13) against starter Daniel Cabrera.

Gonzalez, by contrast, had never faced Cabrera. But Francona kept him in the lineup.

"I don't want Alex looking over his shoulder," the manager said. "He's our shortstop."

Gonzalez was 1-for-5 with a run scored.

Bird feed

The Sox won their sixth in a row against the Orioles dating back to last season. The Orioles issued 14 walks, one shy of their team record, set Sept. 19, 2000 against Oakland.

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340