Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Houston Astros last night.

AP / Pat Sullivan

HOUSTON — Coco Crisp was hoping that he could get his seven-game suspension reduced to four games after an appeal hearing earlier this week.

Yesterday, he learned that Major League Baseball had cut the suspension down to five games.

“I guess,” Crisp shrugged, “that’s pretty good.”

Curiously, MLB has mandated that the suspension start today, rather than last night, as is customary when rulings are made following hearings. The likely reason for the delay is that the five-game sit-down covers the upcoming three-game series against Tampa Bay.

It was against Tampa Bay, on June 5, that Crisp charged James Shields, resulting in a bench-clearing brawl that saw eight players get suspended.

“I didn’t think anything was going to happen in Tampa if I played in those games,” Crisp said. “(But) for precautionary reasons, I guess this lets everything cool down.”

Regarding the lingering ill-will that stemmed from the brawl, Crisp thinks the passage of time has helped.

“I think everybody is going to go out and play baseball,” he said. “This is a whole new series.”

Outfielders at a premium

Manager Terry Francona planned to have Jacoby Ellsbury in the lineup last night, but with the news that Crisp would be sitting the next five, opted to play Crisp last night in center, hitting leadoff.

Starting today, the Sox will have to get through the next five games with four just only outfielders — Manny Ramirez, Ellsbury, J.D. Drew and Brandon Moss. That’s particularly worrisome given that Ramirez has been bothered by a tight hamstring the last few weeks, but Francona said Ramirez told him he was fine to return to left field last night.

Ramirez had been limited to DH duty while the Sox enjoyed a six-game homestand. With only Moss as a backup, Francona acknowledged that he would have to be a little circumspect when it comes to replacing Ramirez late in games. Were he to do that and something happened to one of the remaining three outfielders, Francona would have to shift Julio Lugo or Kevin Youkilis to the outfield.

Meanwhile, first baseman Sean Casey, who finished serving his three-game suspension at the end of the homestand Wednesday, was eligible to play again last night though he was not in the starting lineup.

Ortiz gets in swing

David Ortiz, sidelined since the end of last month, is on the road trip and took some more swings off the batting tee yesterday afternoon.

Ortiz remains on the DL after damaging the sheath that houses a tendon in his left wrist.

“We’ll have him increase volume and aggression,” said Francona.

The hope is that next week, Ortiz can graduate to swinging at soft tosses, then move onto live batting practice and, eventually, a rehab assignment before joining the Sox in another two weeks.

Draft choice signs

The Sox announced that they had signed pitcher Bryan Price, their second pick in the First Year Draft, held earlier this month.

Price starred at Rice University and was the 45th selection in the draft, a supplemental pick the Sox earned when Eric Gagne signed with Milwaukee in the offseason. Price was 4-4 with two saves and a 3.72 ERA for Rice in 30 appearances — all but one of them in relief.

Price will join the Lowell Spinners of the New York-Penn League.

The Sox also announced the signing of right-handed pitcher Pete Ruiz (10th round) and right-handed pitcher Dustin Mercadante (41st round). They’ll begin their pro careers with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in Fort Myers, Fla.

Reunion time

There were plenty of Red Sox connections at Minute Maid Park last night.

Starting for Houston was Runelvys Hernandez, who pitched briefly for Pawtucket last season. In the dugout was former Red Sox first baseman Cecil Cooper, who played for the Sox from 1971 to 1976 and on the bench was utility man Mark Loretta, who played second for the Sox in 2006.

Also former Sox pitcher Pat Rapp, who lives in the area, was on the field during batting practice. Rapp pitched for the Sox in 1999.

Extra bases

Bartolo Colon (back spasms) is on the trip, but has not been given clearance to start throwing again. … Last night marked the first regular-season game for the Sox in Houston. The Sox have played three spring training games here over the course of two seasons — 2001 and 2002. … The Sox went into last night 2-10 in indoor games. … Francona renewed acquaintances with Astros GM Ed Wade before last night’s game. Wade was attacked by pitcher Shawn Chacon earlier this week, resulting in the pitcher being put on waivers. Wade was the GM of the Philadelphia Phillies when Francona was fired as the team’s manager, but the two have remained friendly.

smcadam@projo.com