BOSTON — Ramon Ramirez may be unavailable to pitch Sunday, and possibly for the next few days, after he accidentally hit his throwing hand on a table.

The 28-year-old pitcher said the injury is minor and shouldn't be an issue long term. He expects it might affect him for two or three days, he said.

Ramirez left the team's pregame stretch to go into the clubhouse and get his hand examined. It was taped up as he left Fenway after Saturday's game.

Ramirez has a 2.25 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP this year, and both right handers and left handers are hitting below .200 against him.

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Jacoby Ellsbury and Julio Lugo pulled off a successful double-steal in the second inning. They were eventually stranded on base when J.D. Drew struck out to end the inning. The steal by Ellsbury was his 35th of the season, second to Carl Crawford (40) in the American League.

 Ellsbury is now the first American League player to steal 35 or more bases in the first half of a season in consecutive years since Rickey Henderson did it three years in a row (1988-90) . He's also the third Red Sox player to total 35 or more steals in back-to-back seasons. The last to do so was Tris Speaker in 1912-13-14. Speaker stole 52 bases in 1912, second in club history to Tommy Harper's 54 in 1973.

Ellsbury said he's not paying much attention to the numbers midseason, though he'll certainly take stock of where he ends up once the season's done.

"You look at the end of the season, see how many you can compile, and see where you stand on the records," he said.

He probably could have more steals if he played for a different kind of team, he said, but with the bats in this lineup, he only steals when the situation calls for it.

"I know I could steal more if I really pressed it, but with this team, and the guys in this lineup, there's no need to force it," he said.

Ellsbury worked hard in the offseason to strengthen his body to withstand the rigors of playing a full season, and attacking the basepaths. He came into camp noticeably thicker, and said it's made a huge difference in his stamina so far.

"Body feels pretty good. I think it almost feels like day one," Ellsbury said.

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Jason Varitek belted his 12th home run of the season Saturday when he crushed a Garrett Olson pitch to deep left field in the second inning. The 12 homers leaves the veteran catcher only one behind his season total of 2008. He hit his 12th home run last year on Sept. 1.

Varitek had 43 RBI in '08 and already has 34 this season.

Varitek certainly enjoys hitting off Olson. He's now batting .438 (7-for-16) with four homers and eight RBI against the lefty in his career. Varitek also enjoys hitting on July 4. He is batting .351 (13-for-37) with three home runs and nine RBI in nine career games on Independence Day.

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Jeff Bailey rolled his ankle in the fifth inning when Ronny Cedeno ran into him as he tried to cover first base. Francona said Bailey was sore but nothing appeared serious. Bailey was 0-for-3 and is now hitting .208 in limited at-bats with the Red Sox . . . David Ortiz, who was held out of the starting lineup with a left-hander (Olson) starting for Seattle, pinch-hit for Rocco Baldelli in the eighth inning. He lined a hard shot right at second baseman Jose Lopez, who was perfectly positioned in a shift to the right side of the infield. "I'm all done with that," said Ortiz of the frustration of losing hits to the overshift. "They've been taking my (hits) for years. It's not new."

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The popular Red Sox message board Sons of Sam Horn (SoSH) is holding its annual online auction from July 6-19, with all proceeds going to the Massachusetts chapter of the ALS Association. SoSH will partner with Curt's Pitch for ALS, which was founded by former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling in 1993.

"I am proud to join with the members of the Sons of Sam Horn in their efforts to raise money for ALS patients and their families," Schilling said. "The goal of Curt's Pitch has always been to help improve the quality of life for those living with the disease and their loved ones, and fundraisers like the online auction run by SoSH go a long way toward helping meet that goal."

Last year's SoSH's online auction raised more than $63,000 for the Massachusetts Chapter of the ALS Association.

For more information, go to sonsofsamhorn.com or sonsofsamhorn.net.

dbarbari@projo.com

kmcnamar@projo.com