09:27 AM EDT on Thursday, June 15, 2006

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS -- Manager Terry Francona shuffled his lineup at the top yesterday, dropping leadoff hitter Coco Crisp to eighth in the batting order and returning Kevin Youkilis to the No. 1 spot.

Youkilis had hit leadoff for most of the first two months as Crisp recovered from a fractured finger. When Crisp returned, with the exception of one game, he hit first, with Youkilis shuffled to other spots.

But Crisp went 0-for-6 in Tuesday night's extra-inning loss to the Twins here and, while he brought a six-game hitting streak into this series, was just 2-for-15 in his last three games.

At the same time, Youkilis went into last night's game fourth in the American League in on-base percentage at .434 and has shown an ability to reach base from any spot in the order.

"This actually isn't a big deal," insisted Francona. "I just think our team plays out better this way -- who knows for how long? It depends on how we play. We'll see. I think Coco has been moving his feet a little bit and he might be trying too hard."

The Sox have been reluctant to turn Crisp loose on the bases -- he has just four steals in six tries -- in part because they don't want to risk him making outs with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez due up.

"Maybe," said Francona, "we can let him run a little bit more without the big boys coming up (behind him)."

Asked about the switch, Crisp waved off a group of reporters outside the clubhouse, saying that he was "fine" with the move, but wanted to relax before the game.

Something about hitting lower in the order must have agreed with him -- in his second at-bat, in the fifth inning, Crisp homered to right. Youkilis, meanwhile, was 2-for-4 with a single and a double. It was Youkilis' 22nd multihit game of the season.

An unlikely hero

In the eighth inning, play was interrupted when two fans ran onto the field at the Metrodome.

After eluding a few seasoned security guards, one of the trespassers decided he was going to round the bases and slide headfirst into home plate.

But after reaching home, the fan was tackled by the visiting bat boy and clubhouse attendant, Nate Reese, who subdued the fan until security arrived to cart him off the field.

"It wasn't hard at all," said Reese of his heroics.

For his troubles, Reese got a standing ovation from the Red Sox players in the dugout.

Shining light

Even in defeat Tuesday night, closer Jonathan Papelbon sparkled, contributing two scoreless innings of relief before Julian Tavarez lost the game in the 12th.

Papelbon, who is 20-for-21 in save opportunities, lowered his E.R.A. to a microscopic 0.28, lowest in the majors among pitchers who have pitched at least eight innings.

It's also the lowest figure for any major league pitcher with 20 or more innings through June 13 of a season since Anaheim's Brendan Donnelly sported a .026 E.R.A. in 2003.

Mirabelli in a funk

Doug Mirabelli will be behind the plate tonight to catch Tim Wakefield. Although Wakefield's performance has improved since Mirabelli returned, the catcher has not hit. In 10 starts -- and 15 games total -- Mirabelli is hitting just .154 with one homer and four RBI. He has just three extra-base hits (two doubles and a homer) in 39 at-bats with 13 strikeouts.

His on-base percentage is just .214 and his OPS is a meager .496.

Around the horn

Alex Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to five consecutive games with a second-inning single. Gonzalez is now hitting .240, the highest his average has been since April 7, after the fourth game of the season. Over his last 15 games, Gonzalez is batting .355 (22-for-62). . . The Sox are 0-2 in extra-inning games this season and are one of three major league clubs without an extra-inning victory. The Florida Marlins (0-4) and Los Angeles Dodgers (0-2) are the others. ... The 10 walks allowed by Red Sox pitchers tied a season high, accomplished twice previously.

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