OAKLAND -- Alex Cora got his first start of the season and made his presence felt.

Filling in for Julio Lugo at shortstop, Cora came up to bat four times and reached base each time — singling to right in the second, walking in the fifth, being hit by a pitch in the sixth and singling to left in the eighth. He also scored a run.

“We’re fortunate we have him,” said manager Terry Francona. “We know that he knows how to play the game and we don’t lose anything when he plays. That’s huge.”

The only two position players who haven’t gotten a start in the four games are catcher Kevin Cash and first baseman Sean Casey.

Cash will catch batterymate Tim Wakefield tomorrow night at Rogers Centre and Francona said he would give Casey a start sometime in the three-game series against the Blue Jays.

-SEAN McADAM