BOSTON — Coco Crisp is hoping to cause a problem for the Red Sox, one that could be a touchy yet also pleasant situation for manager Terry Francona.

Crisp, who had been out with a hamstring problem since April 15, had a successful return to the lineup yesterday. He ripped a ground-rule double in the fourth, a shot that landed in the track in front of the Boston bullpen. The hit, as well as the next pitch, showed that Crisp is healthy again.

The speedy outfielder flew around second base on the hit and would have had a triple had the ball stayed in the field. As it was, he took off from second on the first pitch to Kevin Cash and stole third. He scored when Cash ripped a long double to right-center that bounced into the stands.

Crisp added another double in the sixth, a drive that hit off the wall in left-center, inches short of being a home run. Once again, he took off and stole third.

“I saw the ball well. I felt good,” Crisp said. “I haven’t been playing every day anyway so it was like taking a few days off and playing again. I feel fine. I got some pitches to hit.”

Crisp would love to play every day. But with the other outfielders playing well, that is unlikely. Jacoby Ellsbury has taken the job in center.

“He’s playing well. I’m playing well. J.D. [Drew] and Manny [Ramirez] are playing well. I wish it was softball,” Crisp said joking about having four outfielders play at the same time. “Hopefully, we’ll all continue to play well and give them a tough decision. … This is a good ball club. We hope things can work themselves out.”

Francona spoke about how Crisp was held back until he was fully ready to go.

“We said we didn’t want to play him until he was ready to play. It looked like his legs felt good. It was good to see,” he said.

Cash doing ‘a great job’

Cash also came in for praise from the manager.

Cash has carried the catching load since Jason Varitek went out with the flu five games ago. Varitek is improved, to the point where he spent yesterday’s game in the bullpen helping to warm up pitchers rather than in the clubhouse. He could have played if needed. Cash, though, has handled the job.

“He’s got to be feeling it,” Francona said. “We’ve asked a lot of him and he’s done a great job. Today a day game after a night game and he hasn’t been catching that much. He puts a lot of energy into caring about running the game correctly, which is part of the reason we respect him so much.”

Toughest ticket in town

Wednesday night marked the Red Sox’ 400th consecutive sellout, the second-longest such streak in major league history, trailing only the 455 straight sellouts notched by the Indians in the 1990s. Francona said he hopes his players don’t take the packed houses for granted.

“I hope they appreciate it,” he said. “You see the crowds we get now and you figure it has always been that way. We’ve been very fortunate to play in a place where everything you do there’s interest, where every game is important.”

Around the bases…

Bryan Corey, who had been released April 17 and then re-signed, will have his contract purchased and join the team in Tampa, taking Justin Masterson’s spot. … Dustin Pedroia singled in the third inning, extending his hitting streak to 13 games, matching the longest in the American League this season. … David Ortiz was presented with his Silver Slugger Award and Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell were presented Golf Gloves in pregame ceremonies.

skrasner@projo.com