BOSTON — Communication, or the lack thereof, helped cost the offensively challenged Red Sox a game yesterday.

Right fielder J.D. Drew wasn’t on the same wavelength with rookie center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, playing only his second big-league game, and as a result was unable to grab a fly ball in deep right-center in the fourth.

Drew was charged with an error, the ball glancing off his glove as he pulled up a bit, worried that he and Ellsbury might collide. A run scored as a result of the misplay, and the Sox lost to the Rangers by a run, 2-1.

“It was a situation where I had a long run and I could feel the center fielder pressing on me a little,” said Drew. “I took a peek to see where he was and that took me a half-step off. I didn’t have the extension I needed. I lunged for the ball and it went off the tip of my glove.”

Drew, naturally, is more familiar with Coco Crisp as his center-field partner. He knows, for instance, that on such a ball, Crisp is more likely to take a different angle, an angle that wouldn’t affect Drew’s concentration. Ellsbury, though, told Drew later he was going to back up Drew in case the ball went to the triangle, which accounted for the angle he took on the play, an angle that Drew said affected his concentration.

‘The element of surprise’

When runs are at a premium, as they have been recently for the Red Sox, managers have to find ways to manufacture runs.

Of course, the right people have to be on base for a manager to try something other than to just watch his batters take their hacks.

The right circumstances presented themselves for Boston manager Terry Francona in the fifth inning with the Sox losing, 1-0.

Alex Cora was at first base with one out and Dustin Pedroia was at the plate. On the 1-and-0 pitch, Francona put on the hit-and-run. Cora took off and Pedroia tried to hit the ball through the vacated right side. Pedroia got the bat on the ball, but grounded it just foul down the first-base line, so Cora had to go back to first base.

On the 3-and-1 pitch, Cora again was sent. This time Pedroia pulled a grounder foul. Now, with the count full, Cora again took off on the pitch, and Pedroia slammed this one through the left side of the Rangers’ infield.

Cora was at full steam as he got to second base. He saw the ball, quickly mentally calculating the time it took left fielder Frank Catalanotto to get to the ball and factoring in his own baserunning speed.

Having done that, Cora rounded the bag without hesitation and steamed toward third, making it safely without a throw because he put pressure on Catalanotto, who took his eye off the ball as he was about to glove it to see where Cora was.

Cora scored when the next batter, Kevin Youkilis, lined a single to left, tying the game at 1-1.

“The element of surprise,” said Cora of his baserunning dash to third. “The ball is in front of you. He probably didn’t think I’d be going. You have to take chances sometimes, especially when you’re swinging the bat the way we have been struggling to score runs.”

Ranger pitcher spiked

You want your players to be aggressive on defense.

But Texas first baseman Brad Wilkerson was overly aggressive in the eighth, costing the Rangers a pitcher and putting their 2-1 lead in jeopardy.

With a runner at first and two outs, Jason Varitek hit a roller several feet to Wilkerson’s right. Second baseman Ramon Vazquez had the play lined up for an easy 4-3 in your scorebook, but Wilkerson ranged so far, he not only was unable to field the ball, he was too far away from the bag to get back for Vazquez’s throw.

So pitcher Akinori Otsuka raced over. He caught Vazquez’s throw, but Varitek beat him to the bag. They spiked each other on the play. Varitek stayed in the game, but Otsuka had to leave.

Eric Gagne replaced him and took Wilkerson off the hook, retiring Cora on a bouncer to Vazquez.

Varitek regains his focus

Varitek is one of the game’s best competitors, priding himself on his mental and physical toughness. And after Saturday night’s game, he wasn’t the least bit satisfied with himself.

Varitek went 0 for 4, but the failed at-bat that stuck in his craw came in the fifth. The Sox, trailing by 5-4, had a runner at third with one out. He whiffed on three pitches. The first was a called strike. Varitek didn’t agree with the call. Then he flailed and missed a pitch in the dirt and couldn’t check his swing on another pitch out of the strike zone.

“I took myself out of that at-bat,” said Varitek Saturday night. “I didn’t regain my focus after that first pitch. I’m better than that.”

Yesterday was a new day. And Varitek, predictably determined because of his competitiveness, had better focus at the plate. He smacked a single to center in his first at-bat.

Varitek hit the ball well his second time, too, but with a runner at third and two outs in the fourth, Texas pitcher Kameron Loe robbed him of an RBI single with a slick defensive play on a hot grounder headed up the middle. He finished the day 2 for 4.

Lofton hitting streak at 9

Kenny Lofton is a hot hitter right now, as evidenced by his first-inning at-bat.

The Rangers’ center fielder fell into a 1-and-2 hole in the count leading off the game.

Then Red Sox starter Julian Tavarez threw him a tough changeup, a ball that was sinking as it moved away from Lofton, toward the outside corner.

But Lofton somehow managed to go down and get the ball, flicking the bat head at the baseball, making solid contact with it, sending the ball on a line into center field for a single. The single extended Lofton’s hitting streak to nine games. He wound up 2 for 5 yesterday and is 8 for 13 in the series.

Manager’s strategy fails

Texas manager Ron Washington had a quick decision to make.

The Rangers had runners at first and second with none out in the first inning. The count ran full on Michael Young, the team’s second-leading RBI guy.

Should Washington put on the hit and run? There were two factors that would tend to make him put on the play. The Rangers had speed on the bases and the Sox had a sinkerballer (Tavarez) on the mound, so the hit-and-run could keep Texas out of a double play.

But countering that thinking was that Young strikes out a fair amount — 42 times heading into yesterday’s game, including three punchouts in the first two games of the series.

Washington opted not to start the runners. Young hit a ground ball to shortstop Alex Cora, who stepped on the second-base bag and turned a double play, deflating Texas’ early threat.

Washington tried to play some small ball in the eighth after a leadoff double by Marlon Byrd and with Texas holding a slim 2-1 lead. He had Brad Wilkerson sacrifice, which moved the runner to third with one out. But that didn’t work for Texas, either, as Manny Delcarmen stranded Byrd.

skrasner@projo.com