MINNEAPOLIS - In the sixth inning of yesterday's 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins, the Red Sox lost a run that very nearly cost them the game.

Dustin Pedroia was on third base and Alex Cora was on first with one out when David Ortiz lofted a fly ball to left. Pedroia tagged from third and trotted home, but as he did, Cora broke for second.

Left fielder Jason Kubel, knowing he had no chance to get Pedroia at home, threw to second and Cora was out. Home plate umpire Tim Tschida ruled that Cora was tagged out just before Pedroia crossed the plate, nullifying the run.

"That was heads-up baserunning, as always [by Cora],'' said Terry Francona. "But you've got to remember that he's probably faster than Dustin and when you see the throw coming in [to second], he probably should turn around. But he's thinking all the way. He's always trying to do the right thing."

At the time, the Sox were comfortably ahead, 4-0. But when the Twins rallied for three in the bottom of the seventh, the base-running snafu loomed larger.

"I spent a lot of time in the late innings trying to figure a way to get that run back on the scoreboard, said Francona.

Tweaking Matsuzaka

Daisuke Matsuzaka had a lengthy bullpen session yesterday morning under the watchful eye of pitching coach John Farrell.

"I think I was able to have a good session today, said Matsuzaka. "I felt good about my pitches."

The Sox and Matsuzaka are attempting to find the proper between-start workload, one that prepares him for his next outing without taxing him physically.

"I don't think these adjustments are going to lead to huge, dramatic changes, said Matsuzaka. "But there are situations I hope to avoid. And hopefully, those adjustments will pay off. I don't think [the problems] are too specific. I'm just focusing on a few little things.

Pedroia in the groove

Pedroia had his second multi-hit game, going 3-for-4. Saturday night, Pedroia went 2-for-2 with a walk, meaning that by the time he drilled a double to left in the sixth inning yesterday, Pedroia had successfully reached base in six consecutive plate appearances.

Pedroia has boosted his average from .180 before Saturday's game to .239. He's had three doubles in the last two games.

"You could see him relaxing a little bit [the last few days], said Francona. "He's taking the kind of swings we thought he could."

Meanwhile, Cora, starting at shortstop in place of the slumping Julio Lugo, was 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch, reaching base three times.

Cora is hitting .455 (10-for-22) with six RBI over the last nine games. For the season, he's at .405.

Youkilis hit by pitch, again

Kevin Youkilis was hit in the hip by a pitch from Glen Perkins in the seventh, and an inning later, left the game.

The Sox moved Eric Hinske, who started in left in place of Manny Ramirez, to first base and inserted Wily Mo Pena in left.

"It tightened up real bad on me," Youkilis said afterward. "I felt like I had to get out there because I didn't want to be in a position where I couldn't get to a ball in the infield and hurt the team.

Through the first 30 games of the season, Youkilis has been hit four times, the most on the Sox. Going into yesterday's action, only Kansas City's Alex Gordon (seven times) and Detroit's Gary Sheffield (five) had been hit more.

Ramirez gets his first day off

Ramirez was given the day off, the first game this season in which he was not in the starting lineup. Francona had been consulting with Ramirez for the last week to select the most advantageous day for the day off. Ramirez decided that, with the off-day today giving him two consecutive days to rest, the timing was good…. Jon Lester, who joined the club here Saturday, will play catch tomorrow in Toronto, then do so again Wednesday before being cleared to throw off a mound later in the week. Lester has been sidelined by a forearm cramp, which cut short his last scheduled rehab appearance for Pawtucket last Wednesday. … A scoring change from Saturday's game resulted in a hit for Youkilis. Originally, the official scorer had ruled that Youkilis had reached base because of an error by third baseman Nick Punto.