01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, April 19, 2006

BY STEVEN KRASNER and CAROLYN THORNTON
Journal Sports Writers

BOSTON -- Although his performance last night did not earn him a victory, Matt Clement's third start was still a marked improvement over his previous appearance.

After winning his season debut April 7 at Baltimore, the Red Sox right-hander was shelled for seven hits over four innings en route to an 8-6 loss to Toronto last Thursday.

Boston was leading, 4-2, last night when he made his exit in the eighth after walking Travis Lee to start the inning. He gave up eight hits, recording six strikeouts and walking two.

"After a rough game, you always want to come back and get yourself back into rhythm and get back on track where you need to be," Clement said. "And fortunately, everything worked out well. I was able to attack the zone and I am glad we won the game."

Sox manager Terry Francona hoped Clement's solid outing would not go overlooked.

"He was crisp," Francona said. "With a team like Tampa Bay where speed is so much a part of what they do, his ability to hold runners and not let them run crazy was very important."

Bad blood

The last time these two teams met, there was a brawl, which was in keeping with the hard feelings that have been brewing between the Red Sox and the Devil Rays over the last several seasons.

It was a spring-training game, with Boston pitcher Julian Tavarez, who tangled with Tampa Bay outfielder Joey Gathright in a play at the plate. Tavarez wound up punching Gathright, prompting the benches to clear.

Tavarez was suspended for the first 10 days of the season because of his role in the incident. Gathright, deemed the innocent victim, went unpunished.

Despite the past -- and Tampa Bay has a new manager (Joe Maddon) and coaching staff -- Boston manager Francona said he hadn't heard from the league relative to any pre-series warnings. Nor did Francona think there necessarily would be a Tavarez-Gathright rematch.

"[Julian] got himself in a predicament where he felt threatened and he took the offensive," said Francona. "He paid the price. It happened. It's over."

Crisp ready to be x-rayed

Coco Crisp likely will have the splint taken off his left index finger tomorrow, the 10th day after it was placed on the digit because of a fracture.

The plan is for the finger to be x-rayed to see how well the fracture is healing.

Crisp will stay behind when the team heads out for a 10-day, nine-game road trip after tomorrow night's game against the Devil Rays. Crisp will work out, doing some running and weight work to keep himself in shape as the finger heals.

"It feels like it's getting better," said Crisp, "but it's still sore.

"It's kind of hard to accept the frustration [of being out of the lineup since April 9], but you have to roll with the punches. Everybody wants to be out there, but you just have to wait it out," said Crisp, who was batting .333 (8-for-24) before suffering the injury in an awkward slide.

Record performance

Jonathan Papelbon threw 34 pitches in last night's save performance, which included a 9-pitch at-bat to Jorge Cantu and 10 pitches to Travis Lee.

In securing his seventh save in as many tries, the right-hander set a Red Sox rookie record for saves in a calendar month, surpassing Jeff Gray, who posted six saves in August of 1990.

With 11 games remaining in April, he is now two saves away from matching Tom Gordon's club record of nine, which he set in 1998.

Around the bases

Rhode Island's Rocco Baldelli (left hamstring) isn't expected to return to the Devil Rays' outfield until at least early May. . . . Trot Nixon (groin) felt fine yesterday, a day after returning to the lineup. He didn't start last night because the Devil Rays were starting a left-hander. Nixon is expected to start tonight. . . . Rookie Adam Stern, who started in center field, is required to stay through tonight's game, as per Rule V draftee rules. He could remain with the team, or the Sox, looking out for his long-term development, could send him down to Pawtucket should they feel he would be playing more on an everyday basis in the minors than he would in Boston. . . . David Riske (back) is progressing well. It's possible he could be sent out on a rehabilitation assignment when his DL time is up tomorrow. . . . Lenny DiNardo, who was solid in his first start on Monday, is being rewarded with another start, Sunday in Toronto. . . . After having just two hits (.095) and no RBI or runs scored to show for his 21 previous at-bats, Manny Ramirez has gone 5-for-11 (.455) with four RBI in his last three games. . . . Mike Lowell has collected six doubles in his last seven games. . . . Although Mike Timlin gave up his first run of the season against the Devil Rays, he earned back-to-back wins on back-to-back days for the first time in his career.

Wells e-mails an apology

David Wells said yesterday he was wrong to criticize commissioner Bud Selig for ordering the New York Yankees to remove a sign apologizing for the absence of star players who were at the World Baseball Classic.

The Yankees put up a sign in early March at their spring-training ballpark, apologizing to fans for the absence of players who were at the WBC. Major League Baseball then directed that the Yankees remove the sign.

Wells was quoted as saying, "Bud Selig needs to resign. That's what he needs to do.

"He needs to resign and bring someone in who's capable of communicating with the players association and the owners, as well as the players, because there's so much hatred against Bud right now. It's a joke. Nobody likes him."

Wells sounded a more conciliatory note in yesterday's statement.

"I wish to apologize for my comments of a few weeks ago regarding commissioner Bud Selig," the Sox left-hander said in a statement e-mailed from the office of his agent Gregg Clifton.

"While I disagreed then and still disagree today with commissioner Selig's response to a sign posted at the Yankees spring-training stadium regarding the World Baseball Classic, my remarks were overly harsh and should not have been directed personally at the commissioner.

"Mr. Selig's job subjects him regularly to close scrutiny by all who work in and follow the game," the statement said. "That job should not be made even more difficult by unwarranted personal attacks."

Selig has not received the apology, baseball spokesman Pat Courtney said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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

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