Kevin Youkilis made a strong case to Dustin Pedroia last night in their friendly fight over who is faster on the base paths.

Youkilis got his first career inside-the-park home run last night — and, as he said, his first since he started playing on fields that have fences — in the bottom of the seventh inning, and even came home standing up.

“It was Fenway at its finest,” Youkilis said of his caroming hit, which went to the triangle in centerfield, bounced off the sidewall of the Boston bullpen and rolled to the front of the garage door before it was fielded by Trot Nixon. “In this park the ball hits off walls like no other.”

With Indians’ center fielder Grady Sizemore on the move, Youkilis feared the star would make a stellar play, but once he rounded second and took a look at third-base coach DeMarlo Hale, he cranked it up to head toward home. It was the first inside-the-park home run for the Sox since July 15, 2005, when Nixon had one at Fenway against the Yankees.

Youkilis admitted that he was winded after his sprint around the bases, and was spotted after the run lying down on the bench with a smile on his face.

Winded or not, he’s still faster than Pedroia (or so he says), though in this case the argument is like trying to settle that whole chicken-or-egg thing.

“Dustin thinks he’s faster than me, but the hit he had to right-center field (in the sixth), he barely got to second base. I definitely would have had third,” Youkilis said. “Pedey is not gifted with speed.”

Pedroia, who was 3-for-3 with two doubles and a walk, said of Youkilis, “it was just funny watching him run” and added with a wry smile that his legs were sore last night in explaining his slowness compared to Youkilis.

All joking aside, Youkilis has been hot at the plate this month, and last night extended his hit streak to 20 games with a fourth-inning double off Indians’ starter Cliff Lee. During his current run, which began May 5, Youkilis is hitting .438 (39-for-89) with 13 doubles, five home runs, 19 RBI and 19 runs scored. It is the 37th time in Red Sox history that a player has had a 20-games-or-better hit streak; the last was Manny Ramirez, who had a 27-game hit streak from July 15-Aug. 12 last season.

Ortiz status unclear

The Sox played without slugger David Ortiz last night and it’s not clear just when he’ll return to the lineup.

Ortiz has struggled with groin and hamstring pain for more than a week, manager Terry Francona said. Ortiz, like several other Red Sox, has also been slowed by a touch of the flu and that’s prevented him from bouncing back quickly from his aches and pains. Ortiz did not play Sunday in Texas and he met with Francona on the team’s plane ride home. Then he talked with Francona again yesterday and the two agreed that a mini-break for one of baseball’s most feared hitters could be quite helpful.

“It could be me being overly protective but I want to make sure he’s OK for the long haul,” said Francona.

Beckett to pitch today

Josh Beckett will come off the disabled list today and make his first start since May 13 against the Indians. Beckett missed his last two starts because of an avulsion, or bad cut, on his right middle finger. Beckett was a sparkling 7-0 with a 2.66 ERA before the injury.

Asked if Beckett will be held to any pitch limitations, Francona said, “We would try to somewhat use our head, but he’s fine. He could have pitched last week. We did this so there wouldn’t be restrictions and he can go out and be the pitcher he is. Now, if we get to a certain point in the game, we might cut him back an inning. We’ll see.”

Beckett will replace Manny Delcarmen, who returns to Pawtucket.

Honoring veterans

Red Sox Senior Adviser Jeremy Kapstein, of Providence, a four-year Navy veteran, hosted four Army veterans in honor of Memorial Day. Included were two Rhode Islanders, Capt. Charles Mulcahy and 1st Sgt. Kenneth Cabral, who have both served in Iraq.

smanza@projo.com