01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, April 30, 2006

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Whether or not Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez thought his fly ball to deep right field in the seventh inning was out of the ballpark -- fair or foul -- he still ended up with a triple.

Ramirez has had a tendency in the past to fall back on the Manny-being-Manny routine of quirky episodes. Last night could have been one of them.

When the ball came off his bat, it appeared it would slice foul, so Ramirez barely moved from the batter's box. When it stayed in and hit the 322-foot mark just inside the foul ball, he began his sprint. If he had hustled, he could have easily had an inside-the-park home run. Instead, Ramirez had to settle for a triple, and fortunately for the Red Sox, he eventually touched home plate on Nixon's sacrifice fly that tied the game 5-5.

"I don't think so," said Francona, when asked if he thought the ball was going foul. "I was hoping it would go out. We caught a big break there. That ball hit, whatever it hit, a door or pad, and he ends up on third. I think Manny got caught watching it, too. Fortunately, he kicked it into gear and got to third."

Could he have had an inside-the-park homer?

"There was a chance," said the manager. "But that wasn't bad intent on his part, he got caught watching it. He was blowing on it and pushing it."

When approached after the game and asked if he thought it was going out, Ramirez replied: "I don't know."

No matter, his teammates didn't want to see him get hurt attempting to score.

"No, thank God," said Kevin Youkilis. "I like 'Oh, no. Just get to third and stop.' I don't want him to pull a hamstring or anything like that."

one line

Despite the no-decision, Boston starter Lenny DiNardo also made an impact.

As the 1-1 curveball broke into Tampa Bay Devil Rays' Carl Crawford's backside in the third inning last night, DiNardo made his point loud and clear.

His teammate, Alex Cora, was drilled in the top half of the inning, and DiNardo was only abiding by the unwritten, time-honored tradition of returning the favor. Despite his a no-decision -- his second in three starts in place of the injured David Wells (knee) -- the southpaw proved to his teammates he's a standup guy.

Of course DiNardo, like any other pitcher, denied he was throwing at Crawford.

"There's no way I was throwing at Crawford in that situation," said DiNardo. "It was a curveball that I didn't reach out on, but it's part of the game. It's part of the game and I'm going to live with it."

Because of the melee history between the clubs -- at least four brawls since 2000 -- home-plate umpire Mike Winters issued warnings, which brought Red Sox manager Terry Francona out of the dugout and pitching coach Al Nipper was irate from the top step.

"There wasn't going to be trouble," said Francona. "That was a 68 mile-per-hour curveball. We weren't mad at them, and I don't think they were mad at us. That [pitch] wouldn't have hurt me."

Baldelli out

Tampa Bay Devils Rays center fielder Rocco Baldelli was scheduled to make his first rehab appearance for Double-A Montgomery yesterday but he did not make the trip. He's been battling a hamstring injury since spring training and recently experienced some soreness, so he's been shut down for now.

"I thought I was going to be out there playing again," said Baldelli. "It's not in the cards, and I'm not one to get too bent out of shape . . . I really don't have a frustration meter anymore; I threw it away. I just need to give it time to heal, and the only thing that will heal a hamstring is time."

The Cumberland native and former Hendricken standout said he felt pretty good during the extended spring training games, but the day after his second game the hamstring was sore.

"We're just going to wait until it feels a little bit better," he said. "We postponed the trip, but there's no timetable."

Baldelli, the Rays' first-round selection (sixth overall) in the 2000 draft, missed all of last season because of knee and elbow injures. He had Tommy John surgery last June, and was ready to make his much-anticipated comeback this season. He has missed the first 24 games this season after suffering the hamstring strain during spring training.

Baldelli said he has no idea when he'll be able to return to the lineup, and said the latest setback is not serious. He'll continue to work out with the club's trainers at Tropicana Field. Prior to this season, he signed a new six-year contact with the Devil Rays.

One-day respite

Boston manager Terry Francona gave second baseman Mark Loretta the game off last night. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are the only Red Sox players to have appeared in all 24 games to this point. The manager said Loretta has been trying a little too hard to snap his current 0-for-9 slump.

"It can be beneficial from time to time," said Loretta. "You never like to come out of the lineup for any reason, but every once in a while it's okay."

In his last eight games, he's batting .139 (5-for-36), dropping his season average to .219, with one homer and 11 RBI.

"One day is not a lot of time to think about it," he said of his slump. "You've got to boil it down to each individual at-bat, each pitch, really. I'm just trying to put a good swing on a good pitch, and after that you can't control it."

Crisp on the mend

The results are in. The x-rays injured Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp had of his fractured left index finger Friday showed significant improvement. Francona said a mid-May return to the lineup is possible. Crisp still can't perform any baseball activities, and will need to have one more x-ray early in the week before he's given the go-ahead. The manager said yesterday that Crisp likely will make a rehab appearance -- probably six or seven at-bats -- for the PawSox. He has been on the DL since injuring the finger while sliding into third base on April 8 in Baltimore.

Around the bases

It was 20 years ago yesterday that Roger Clemens set the major-league record with 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game. The Rocket fanned 20 Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park and tied his own record on Sept. 18, 1996, at Detroit . . . Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett threw a side session here yesterday as he prepares for his start against the New York Yankees Tuesday night at Fenway. He watched the NFL Draft yesterday afternoon, and said he enjoys it because it reminds him of when he was drafted by the Florida Marlins as the second overall pick in 1999. . . . Red Sox backup Josh Bard will catch Tim Wakefield when the club faces the Yankees tomorrow night. Bard has 10 passed balls in six games this season. . . . Ortiz, who was hit on the elbow by a Casey Fossum changeup Friday night, showed no ill effects yesterday. The Sox slugger wears a protective elbow pad, and said he got hit in the one spot where there's no protection.

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