TORONTO –– With a group of Red Sox beat writers around him, J.D. Drew simply got up from his locker and walked away without acknowledging their presence.

The Sox had just dropped the finale to the Blue Jays, 3-1, and Drew went 0-for-4 from the leadoff spot on Sunday and finished the series 0-for-12. It was obvious he didn’t want to discuss his slump.

Since returning from the All-Star break, Drew’s at-bats haven’t been at all productive in the top spot of the order. Red Sox manager Terry Francona was asked after the game if he thought about moving Drew from the leadoff spot.

"You can shuffle it up, but if we hit J.D. fifth or sixth [Sunday] and he does that [0-fer], we just need to have guys swinging the bat," said Francona.

In his last 13 games in the leadoff spot, Drew’s average is .161 (10-for-62) with nine walks.

When the Sox begin their three-game set against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Monday night, there could be a change in the batting order.

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 Fans watching Jon Lester’s last two starts may have noticed something different about his uniform, specifically with his spikes.

Instead of wearing his normal black spikes with a red Nike swoosh, the Red Sox’ left-hander has been sporting black and yellow spikes with a yellow No. 31 on them. On the flap covering the laces, it reads: "Livestrong." The slogan was made popular by cancer survivor and Tour De France champion Lance Armstrong.

Lester, also a cancer survivor, was asked by Nike to wear the new spikes to honor Armstrong’s return to the tour and he gladly agreed.

Major League Baseball is strict when it comes to players being uniform, but as long as the spikes are 51-percent black, Lester is able to wear them. He will wear them for the remainder of July.

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Before and after games, Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek is a virtual walking ice pack.

 The 37-year-old backstop is covered from head to toe and it’s because of his tireless work behind the plate, including a play he made in the bottom of the second inning on Sunday at Rogers Centre.

With two on and one out, the Jays’ Kevin Millar hit a pop up in foul territory near the Toronto dugout. Varitek quickly made it to the area near the top step, and slid on his knees to make the grab for the second out.

Varitek also passed Dom DiMaggio for ninth place on the Sox’ all-time games played list with 1,400. DiMaggio passed away earlier this season. Rico Petrocelli is No. 8 on the list with 1,553. Carl Yastrzemski leads the category with 3,308.

Varitek will need a lot more ice packs to move up the list.

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Red Sox pitcher John Smoltz will start for the fifth time this season when he faces the Texas Rangers Monday night in Arlington.

The veteran right-hander is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA since making his debut with the Sox on June 25. He’s continually said his stuff has been better than his statistics.

After his first three starts were just so-so, Smoltz finally earned his first victory with the Sox on July 11 over the Kansas City Royals. He struck out seven in five innings, allowing only one run on four hits.

It’ll be nine days between starts and he hopes the progress he made before the All-Star break isn’t effected in his first career start against the Rangers.

"It was a long break. It’s a good and bad thing. It’s good because it gave me some more rest, but the bad is like I’m starting over again," said Smoltz. "I’ll have my hands full with those hitters in Texas. I just have to do what I did in my last three of four starts and good things will happen."

Smoltz spent 20 years with the Atlanta Braves and had shoulder surgery in June of 2008. After the Braves did not want him back in 2009, the Red Sox quickly took a chance on him and signed him during the offseason and he believes his acquisition is about to pay dividends.

"Almost," he said. "I need to get into that five-day cycle and want those five days go by faster than they have been going. I’m there. I’m really close."