UPTON

BOSTON — There are plenty of adjectives flying around B.J. Upton’s name these days, but no one dares call him a show-boater.

As Upton circled the bases in the third inning of Game Three of the American League Championship Series, he lapsed into a smooth trot to celebrate his monster three-run home run off Jon Lester. Not too slow, no pointing, nothing.

“I just drop my head and go around the bases. Try to keep it classy. It felt pretty good but you have to learn to move on,” Upton said.

Upton said he had no idea where the moon shot last seen headed toward the Mass Pike landed. “I had no idea but a couple of the guys let me know,” he said with a smile.

If Upton continues the torrid homer pace he’s set in the postseason, he needs to learn a superstar’s trot. In 31 postseason at-bats entering last night’s Game Four, he’s cranked five home runs. That’s the same number as Reggie Jackson pounded in his historic 1977 October run with the Yankees.

Upton hit three bombs in the ALDS win over the White Sox and has added two against the Red Sox. He took Josh Beckett deep to left in Game Two and then smoked a Lester fastball on Monday.

“He did the same thing that he did to the White Sox,” said Boston manager Terry Francona. “If you miss in an area, he absolutely covers it. It was his fifth home run and they’ve all been [where] you try to get a fastball underneath his hands. If you miss out over the plate, he is just getting fully extended.”

That Upton is shining in the playoffs is no shock. Ever since he was the high school player of the year in Virginia in 2004, scouts have predicted greatness for the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder. Upton came up as a shortstop but was shifted to the outfield in part because of an injury to Rocco Baldelli. He hit .300 with 24 homers and 82 RBI last season but was beaten out for Rookie of the Year honors by Boston’s Dustin Pedroia.

But Upton lost his home run power, and thus a proper trot, this season. He hit .273 but whacked only nine home runs due to a nagging shoulder injury. Rays’ manager Joe Maddon said the injury clearly affected Upton’s bat speed. When he’s on, he’s ripping pitches to left field and back through the box. The shoulder woes pushed his better hits to right field.

“We had this little thing in Kansas City when the weather was like 100 degrees, we didn’t take BP for a couple days on the field, and he felt stronger,” said Maddon. “So we chose to go with that game plan after that. So he’s on his own regarding how many swings he needs on a daily basis, and I really believe that he’s stronger.”

That Upton was held to nine home runs in the regular season seems almost laughable now. To the Rays, anyways. The Sox aren’t laughing.

“Right now that’s what is kind of scary,” said Francona. “As he progresses in his career, you’re not going to see nine. You might see nine in a week.”

Maddon says that the Upton he’s watching now owns a very special quality that’s reserved for truly great hitters.

“When he hits the ball well it has a different sound,” he said. “He’s a thin guy, he’s wiry strong, but he’s got this different sound when the ball hits the end of his bat. And the sound has come back. Best I can describe it is I have not heard it all year until the last couple weeks.”

kmcnamar@projo.com