ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – After watching Carl Crawford run wild against them the last four days, the Red Sox are happy to be leaving the Tropicana Dome in their rearview mirror.

Crawford tied a modern major league record (since 1900) with six stolen bases in Sunday’s 5-3 win over the Red Sox. He racked up nine steals in the four-game series, and Crawford overtook Jacoby Ellsbury (13 steals) for the major-league lead with 17.

Crawford stole second base five times and third once. He’s swiped 19 bases in a row without being caught, dating back to last season.

“I didn’t know it was a record. I was just running,” Crawford said. “I wish I knew. I would have gone for seven. We won the game. That’s the most important thing.”

Crawford wasn’t the only Ray tearing up the basepaths. Jason Bartlett and burly catcher Michel Hernandez also stole a bag each. Catcher Jason Varitek said he thought he made two good throws on the steals and one poor one. The others were apparently stolen off Boston’s pitchers.

“Crawford was obviously able to have a big day on the bases,” said Varitek. “I made a real bad throw on the first one. Some of the other ones were good throws and some of the others I didn’t get the ball out. It was a combination of both, and I’ll take the responsibility.”

Varitek said his job is to keep the Red Sox pitchers focused on the hitter, but they clearly have to improve holding runners on base. “It’s a work in progress,” he said. “With our pitchers I can’t try to do too much. That’s what my job entails. It’s not fun to sit there and watch people constantly go and be safe, but we’ll continue to work and hopefully we’ll get our fair share.”

Crawford and Bartlett both stole third base. In the eighth inning, Bartlett moved from second to third and scored an insurance run on an infield single by Crawford. The Sox say they rarely choose to make a play at third base if there are two outs.

“The steals at third we didn’t defend,” said manager Terry Francona. “There’s two outs. We didn’t cover and we’re not throwing. He had a spectacular day, but there’s just times we elect not to defend a stolen base at third with two outs. I don’t think it puts us in a better place to stop them from scoring.”

Penny improves

Sox starter Brad Penny was coming off his worst outing of the season, Tuesday night in Cleveland. He couldn’t work through three innings, leaving after surrendering seven runs on seven hits in a game the Red Sox ultimately lost, 9-8.

Penny (2-1) bounced back and threw well Sunday. He registered a season-high eight strikeouts yet lost for the first time since last June.

“I wouldn’t say I had better stuff, just better command,” Penny said. “I was locating my fastball down.”

Delcarmen struggles

The Red Sox bullpen suffered one of its weaker games in quite a while. Manny Delcarmen replaced Penny in the seventh inning with the Sox trailing 3-1, but two singles and two hit-by-pitches cost the Sox a run. The second HBP came with the bases loaded and forced in Crawford. It was Delcarmen’s first run allowed this season.

“Not the best way to give up my first run, but I lost the feel out there today,” Delcarmen said. “As soon as I got out there, it didn’t seem like I could get a good grip on the ball. I just didn’t have it today.”

Delcarmen and fellow setup man Ramon Ramirez hadn’t allowed a run in 28 combined innings until Sunday.

“I think that’s the reason our record is what it is,” said Francona. “Our starting [pitchers’] numbers certainly aren’t what we hope they end up. We’ve been in the bullpen early and we’ve managed to not only stay in games but win a lot of them. Saying that, we don’t want to get this many innings out of our bullpen. We don’t have any aspirations on leading the league in appearances or anything like that. That’s not our goal.”

Dee to the Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins announced Sunday that they’ve hired Michael Dee as chief executive officer of the team and Dolphin Stadium. Dee has been the Red Sox chief operating officer, overseeing the team’s various business goals over the last eight years. Before coming to Boston, Dee spent eight years with the Padres. Dee will not have any football input in Miami. That job still falls in the hands of Bill Parcells.

Dee was in charge of the Fenway Sports Group, the team’s business arm that includes such entities as NESN and Roush Fenway Racing. The Sox will search for a replacement with a strong business background.

“The departure of Mike Dee marks a great loss for the Boston Red Sox, and other NESV [New England Sports Ventures] affiliates,” Red Sox owner John Henry said in a club statement. “His rare combination of imagination and ingenuity has helped this franchise reach historic milestones on and off the field. His work with Fenway Sports Group and Roush Fenway Racing were critical to the growth and success of those entities, and his work with every facet of NESV set high standards of excellence across the board.”

Around the bases

Jason Bay left Saturday night’s game with a sore ankle after hitting a ball off his foot. The move was strictly a precaution and he was back in the lineup Sunday. … Alex Ochoa, an assistant to the coaching staff, won the team Kentucky Derby pool. … The Red Sox make their first trip to the new Yankee Stadium on Monday night. Francona said he won’t be coming to the park on the team’s bus because of a TV engagement. “I don’t know where to go. I have to find out where to get into the ballpark. It’ll be a little different,” he said.

kmcnamar@projo.com