Red Sox starter Josh Beckett, who notched his 1,000th strikeout, delivers a pitch in the second inning last night against the Tigers’ Justin Verlander. Beckett hiked his record to 4-2

AP / Duane Burleson

DETROIT — Bat him second, it’s no big deal. Put him in the seventh hole, no problem. Install him as the cleanup hitter, no sweat.

Play him at first base, sure. Move him over to third, whatever.

Just put Kevin Youkilis in the lineup.

The man has become as steady as a rock defensively, establishing fielding records at first base. And lately, Youkilis has begun to flex his muscles offensively, as he did last night in helping to power the Boston Red Sox to a 5-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

Youkilis belted a two-run homer in the fifth inning, giving Josh Beckett (4-2, 3.70 earned-run average) whatever breathing room he may have needed in easily outdueling erstwhile Tigers ace right-hander Justin Verlander (1-6, 6.56).

It was Youkilis’ fourth homer in four games in the series, of which the Red Sox won three. It also was his fifth round-tripper in five games, and boosted his extra-base-hit total to a league-leading 20. Of his last 10 hits, 9 have been for extra bases — 4 doubles, 5 homers. And he has knocked in 12 runs over his last six games, boosting his season total to 27, one behind team leader David Ortiz.

That Youkilis’ bat came to life at Comerica should have been no surprise to anyone. He now has 44 career homers — 8 of which have come in the Tigers’ home park. After a 1-for-5 game last night, Youkilis is batting .306 (15-for-49) with 8 homers and 17 RBI at Comerica.

And last night, Youkilis bashed his home run hitting out of the cleanup spot, filling in for Manny Ramirez, who was given the night off from the starting lineup.

He hardly looks like the power-hitting cleanup type, standing in at a solid 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, but Francona can put him anywhere in the order as he sometimes mixes and matches his lineup for regulars’ days off without disrupting anyone else’s batting-order comfort zone.

He knows he can do that because Youkilis is unfazed by moving around, giving the Sox quality at-bats wherever he’s penciled in.

“We gave Manny a night off and Youk hits fourth, and it’s not like they want to pitch around David to get to him,” said Francona. “He’s in a period where he’s getting a pitch and not missing it.”

“That’s a testament to how good a hitter he is,” added catcher and team captain Jason Varitek. “It doesn’t matter where he hits. He’s just on a little power surge right now. He’s just a good hitter.”

A hitter who happens to be on a home run binge, though don’t ask Youkilis to explain why he suddenly has been transformed into one of the league’s hottest long-ball threats.

“I’m not trying to hit home runs. I’m not a home-run hitter,” said Youkilis. “I’m just trying to square the ball up and get some good swings on it and I’m running into some pitches (he can drive out of the park). If I could tell you a reason behind it I would.”

And his success at Comerica? The subject brought about another shrug from Youkilis.

“There’s no explanation. It’s baseball. Maybe I’ve been swinging the bat well when we’ve come here. I’ve just had success here,” said Youkilis, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a homer while batting third when Ortiz needed a day off last Sunday against Tampa Bay.

He came close to adding another homer, but had a deep drive to right die on the warning track.

Youkilis didn’t have a perfect night.

He whiffed with runners at second and third and none out in the seventh inning, for instance.

And he wasn’t the only important offensive contributor for the Sox last night.

Varitek grounded a two-run single through the left side in the second, and two batters later Jacoby Ellsbury lofted a sacrifice fly for an early 3-0 advantage.

But on a team of more high-profile veteran offensive stars such as Ortiz, Ramirez and even Mike Lowell, Youkilis has proven himself to be quite capable and productive with the bat, and extremely versatile, as well.

Maybe he’ll blossom into a 25-homer guy down the road. Maybe he’ll continue to be a high on-base-percentage guy with occasional bursts of power. It doesn’t matter at this stage to the Sox.

“If he keeps his approach at the plate,” said Francona, “we’ll be happy wherever his career goes.”

skrasner@projo.com