Jacoby Ellsbury stole quite a few bases in the first half of the season, but none was more memorable than his theft of home against the Yankees on April 28.

Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson

BOSTON –– There are still 74 games remaining in the regular season, and if the second half of the summer resembles the first, it’s going to be very interesting.

There were mostly highs in the first 3 1/2 months of the season. There were some lows, too. Fortunately for the Red Sox, they came through it all very successfully and stand alone atop the A.L. East.

Here is one writer’s list of the top 10 story lines from the season’s first half.

Kevin Youkilis' walk-off blast gave the Sox the first of eight straight victories against New York this season.

Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson

10. Key injuries. Mike Lowell, Jed Lowrie, Kevin Youkilis and Daisuke Matsuzaka have all spent time on the disabled list.

9. The Red Sox have received important contributions from some unlikely players in the first half of the season. Pitchers Ramon Ramirez, Brad Penny, Daniel Bard and John Smoltz, along with infielder Nick Green, have been key to the club’s success. Green, especially, has proven to be a huge component for the Sox. He was the last player invited to spring training and has become the club’s everyday starting shortstop.

8. With a long and arduous schedule of 162 games, it can be easy to forget all but the most memorable ones. There were two so far this season that stand out. On May 7 at Fenway Park, the Sox scored 12 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Indians. The 12 runs were scored on nine hits before Cleveland was able to record the first out of the inning. Francona, and others, said they had never seen anything like it. The Sox’ Jason Bay produced two hits and four RBI during the romp.

The other game did not have the same sort of outcome for the Sox. On June 30, at Baltimore, Boston had a 10-1 lead over the Orioles heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Baltimore came up with 10 runs on 13 hits in the seventh and eight innings en route to an 11-10 win.

7. Both Derek Lowe and Nomar Garciaparra returned to Fenway Park for the first time since 2004. Lowe, now a member of the Atlanta Braves, was a critical component for the Sox during the club’s run to a World Series Championship in 2004. The right-handed pitcher clinched the deciding game in all three postseason series that October. He returned to Fenway and on June 20 and lost to the Sox’ Josh Beckett, who pitched a complete-game shutout.

Garciaparra was part of a four-team deal at the trade deadline on July 31, 2004, and ended up with the Cubs. Since then the former Red Sox shortstop has played for the Dodgers and the Athletics. He returned to Boston on July 6 and received a heartfelt standing ovation from the Fenway Faithful.

6. Daisuke Matsuzaka gets his own category, too. The Red Sox pitcher has spent two separate stints on the disabled list with shoulder problems, stemming from his participation in last spring’s World Baseball Classic. The right-hander earned MVP honors and helped Japan defend its title, but the international phenom hasn’t done much for the Red Sox in 2009. Dice-K is rehabbing in Fort Myers and is 1-5 with a 8.23 E.R.A. in eight major-league starts. His worst outing came April 14 at Oakland, where he allowed five runs on five hits in only one inning of work.

5. For the first two months of the season, Red Sox slugger David Ortiz lost his stroke. There was zero pop in his bat, forcing manager Terry Francona to move Ortiz out of the No. 3 spot in the order and drop him lower in the lineup. It took Ortiz until May 20 to hit his first homer of the season. Very slowly he started to come around, and at the All-Star break it appears he’s returned to his once-dominant self. He posted his 300th career blast on July 9 against the Royals and now has 12 homers and 47 RBI in 2009.

4. When the Red Sox traded Coco Crisp to Kansas City during the offseason in exchange for reliever Ramon Ramirez, it cleared the way for Jacoby Ellsbury to take over as the sole occupant of center field for Boston. And he’s run away with it –– literally. At the break, he has 40 stolen bases and is 14 shy of the franchise’s single-season mark of 54, set by Tommy Harper in 1973.

His most impressive swipe came April 26 against the Yankees’ Andy Pettitte. In the bottom of the fifth inning at Fenway Park, Ellsbury stole home.

3. The streak continues. There were some doubts the Red Sox could keep their string of consecutive sellouts alive during the brutal months of April and May, but The Nation answered and the club celebrated its 500th consecutive sellout on June 17. Boston now stands with 514 consecutive home sellouts, the longest in baseball history. The Sox’ streak is the fourth-longest in U.S. professional sports history, behind the Chicago Bulls (515 from 1987 to 2000), the Celtics (567 from 1980 to 1995) and the Portland Trailblazers (744 from 1977 to 1995).

2. Tim Wakefield is having a career year. The veteran knuckleballer is 11-3 in 2009, his 15th season with the Red Sox. He was four outs away from a no-hitter on April 15, in Oakland, and he’s been a cornerstone of the rotation all season. As a result, the 42-year-old (who turns 43 on Aug. 2) was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. And he’s doing it all with a torn labrum.

1. What rivalry? The Red Sox are 8-0 this season against the Yankees. Sure, New York did not have Alex Rodriguez in its lineup for the first five games against Boston, but A-Rod’s return didn’t matter in the last three.

It all started on April 24, at Fenway Park, when Kevin Youkilis crushed a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Sox a 5-4 victory.

The eight straight wins over the Yanks at the start of a season are the most since 1912, the year Fenway Park was built, when the Red Sox won their first 14 meetings with the then-New York Highlanders.

It’s very possible the tide could turn, since there are 10 games remaining between the clubs for the regular season. Is it too early to predict an ALCS matchup?

jmcdonal@projo.com