Cleveland right fielder Trot Nixon tumbles to the ground after just missing a catch of a Kevin Youkilis drive that went for a single. Youkilis eventually scored.

AP / Ron Schwane

CLEVELAND — Manny Delcarmen won’t soon forget the day his season turned around.

The Red Sox reliever’s statistics may not have improved right away, but on May 5 his mindset changed. Delcarmen has spent most of this season with the Pawtucket Red Sox and it was on that day in Buffalo two months ago that manager Ron Johnson pulled both Delcarmen and fellow reliever Craig Hansen aside and read them the riot act.

“R.J. was screaming at the both of us to change things up,” recalled Delcarmen.

The hard-throwing right-handers earned the nicknames Beavis and Butthead in Pawtucket, not a good sign for young pitchers with major-league experience. Johnson basically told them to start acting like professionals because the Red Sox have too much invested in their futures.

Delcarmen listened.

The 25-year-old began doing more running and arm-strengthening exercises and the work finally paid dividends. Entering last night’s game at Jacobs Field, Delcarmen had allowed just one run in 12 1/3 innings of work (11 games) since his recall from Triple-A on June 17. His velocity has increased and he has better command of the strike zone because of his off-field work.

“I feel strong,” said Delcarmen. “I feel good. I’m a little tired right now just because I’ve thrown the last few days, but for the most part I feel good.”

It’s to a point now where Red Sox manager Terry Francona doesn’t hesitate to insert him into a tough spot in the game.

Delcarmen struggled against the White Sox on Sunday at Fenway, allowing one run on two hits with two walks in one-third of an inning of work.

He rebounded from that with a solid outing against the Indians on Monday night when he earned his first career major-league save, working 1 1/3 scoreless innings without allowing a hit with one strikeout.

“Monday night really helped my confidence,” said Delcarmen. “He’s only going to keep throwing me into those situations.”

Francona agrees.

“It’s nice to see any reliever bounce back,” the manager said. “Then you know there’s some maturity there.”

It’s clear this is the most comfortable Delcarmen has been. The results prove that, but he’s not about to ease up because he has May 5 in the back of his mind.

Ortiz may be in lineup tonight

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who has missed the last four games due to a sore shoulder, likely will be back in the lineup tonight. He participated in the team’s batting practice yesterday and showed no ill effects.

For some reason, Ortiz first dropped down a couple of bunts without taking swings. The usual routine to start BP is the batter bunts down the first-base line, third-base line, simulates a hit-and-run and a sacrifice fly before running to first.

He’s been out of the lineup since he injured his shoulder diving head-first into second base last Friday night at Fenway Park.

“David’s doing real well,” said Francona. “I would be surprised if he doesn’t play [tonight]. You look at him today, there was a lot of improvement yesterday and again today. That’s why he’s not playing. We’re trying to get him healthy, so when he plays he can do some damage.”

Francona was keeping a close eye on Ortiz and the two had a brief discussion after the BP session with the manager slapping the Big Papi on the back.

Second rehab start for Schilling

Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling (shoulder tendinitis) is on the road with the team, but will travel to Toledo, which is a little more than an hour away from Cleveland, to make his second rehab start for the PawSox tomorrow. The veteran right-hander is scheduled to throw 65 pitches, and if everything goes as well as his first outing last Saturday in Pawtucket (three scoreless innings, 40 pitches, six strikeouts), it’s possible he could return sooner rather than later. Right now he’s slated to return to the rotation on Aug. 6 at Anaheim.

Because it’s such a short trip to Toledo, Francona said he didn’t know if Schilling would fly or drive.

“I really don’t care,” said the manager. “As long as he pitches, I don’t care how he gets there.”

When Schilling worked in Pawtucket, he had a couple of the team’s medical personnel on hand. But he’ll go it alone tomorrow. Francona said PawSox trainer Greg Barajas can handle it.

Crisp on a tear

With Ortiz out of the lineup again last night, Francona went with a different lineup because the Sox were facing the Indians’ C.C. Sabathia (13-4, 3.81 ERA prior to last night’s game). The manager said he’s just trying to get through some bumps and bruises and not have it affect the outcome of the game in a bad way.

The hot-hitting Coco Crisp was hitting fifth as he continues to get bounced around the order.

“Coco hits wherever you ask him to hit,” said Francona. “I’m not sure it matters. With the way he’s swinging the bat, he can hit 1 through 9, it doesn’t matter.”

Crisp posted a 4-for-5 night on Monday against the Indians and entered last night 10-for-13 in the last three games to raise his average to a season-high .284.

Francona said Crisp’s turnaround began when he started getting around on the fastball. Now he’s hitting the ball to all fields with “authority,” according to the manager.

“When he first got hot, you would throw him a fastball and he would whack it,” said Francona. “Now, if you throw him a slider, he’ll hit it the other way. He’s using the whole field and taking aggressive swings without having to swing hard. That’s a good feeling for a hitter.”

jmcdonal@projo.com