BOSTON – If Mike Lowell’s name was written on the lineup card Friday night, the veteran third baseman was confident he could’ve played. That’s good news for the Red Sox.

 Lowell was in the clubhouse and reported that his right hip was feeling as good as it has in months. He received a Synvisc shot on Monday after fluid was extracted from his hip area. He’s responded very well to the procedure but the Sox still felt he should rest through the All-Star break and placed him on the disabled list on Tuesday.

 “The fact that the doctor told me that it was a lot of fluid justified that I was hurting,” he said. By that afternoon, I felt a lot better. I figure we took the junk out and put good stuff in so we had a good oil change.”

 Asked if he agreed with being placed on the D.L., Lowell said “I’m really looking forward to a good second half,” of the season. “I think this was more of a precautionary D.L. than a necessary D.L. but under the circumstances I think it’s going to be the best thing for the second half and long term.”

 After struggling through the final month of the 2008 season, and especially in the playoffs, Lowell had off-season surgery on his hip. Instead of easing into this season, Lowell played in 65 of the Sox’ first 67 games before the discomfort in the hip flared up. He’s hitting .282 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI but he does not expect to be an ironman when he rejoins the team for the start of the season’s second half.

 “I don’t really think I’m going to play 59 out of 60 in the second half but that doesn’t mean I can’t do well or produce,” he said. “I have to defer [to the medical staff] in this situation. I don’t want to be ignorant just to grind out one day. I just don’t want to go through September like I did last year.”

 Lowell took one at-bat in a game in Atlanta on June 27 before leaving. Now he’ll have 19 days to rest, rehab with therapist Scott Waugh and prepare for his return. He said he may not need any at-bats in a minor league rehab and hopes to “do everything I do to play in a game,” beginning this Monday.

Wakefield’s odds improving

 Tim Wakefield’s chances to pitch in the All-Star Game improved greatly with the news that Major League Baseball is adding a 33rd player to each All-Star team. The extra player will be a pitcher with the understanding that managers could use the extra arms if the game runs over into extra innings.

 It would make sense that the 33rd player is an innings-eating pitcher like Wakefield. He’ll take his final start of the first half this Wednesday but won’t pitch for another nine days if he does not make the All-Star Game.

Ortiz back batting fourth

 For the first time in weeks, David Ortiz was back in the cleanup spot in the batting order. Ortiz replaced Jason Bay in the spot, with the recently-struggling Bay batting fifth. Manager Terry Francona said he lined his power hitters up that way to keep Seattle starter Felix Hernandez from seeing a string of right-handed hitters. “He’s that good,” Francona said. “We’re just trying to make it as difficult as we can.”

 Bay came into the night riding a 0-for-17 slump that’s included five strikeouts in a single game last Wednesday in Baltimore. The skid lowered Bay’s average to .262 and has put a damper on what has been an outstanding (19 homers, 69 RBI) first half of the season.

 “Everything was going real well early on, real well, but I knew it wouldn’t go on all year,” Bay said. “You have to take the good with the bad.”

 Bay’s struggles ended with a sharply-hit, first inning double that carried over the rightfielder’s head and took one hop into the stands for a ground-rule double. Dustin Pedroia scored the game’s first run on the double.

 Bay was surprised with the strong reaction he’s received in recent days over the news that he’s become an American citizen. He says he’s heard from friends, teammates and fans. “It’s a very big deal but it’s just that I didn’t realize how big a deal it was,” he said.

 He said he’ll always consider himself a Canadian but since he lives in America and his wife and two daughters are citizens, it made sense to join them. One friend from home sent a sharp message, texting Bay “What a way to celebrate Canada Day. Become an American.” July 1 is Canada Day.

 Bay said he took the citizenship test, which consisted of 100 questions on the USA’s history and current events. During a recent rain delay, he queried some of his teammates. When asked to name a war fought in the 1800s, “everyone got the War of 1812, imagine that,” he said.

Sox to christen Twins field

The Associated Press reports the Red Sox will play the Twins in the first game at Target Field in Minneapolis next April.

Target Field is the open-air facility being built to replace the Metrodome. According to AP, the Sox and Twins will play the first game there next April 12.

The season is slated to start a week earlier, and the Twins will play their opener in Anaheim against the Angels on April 5. There is no word as to where the Red Sox will open, but if teams are on the road in the season’s second week they usually spend the first week at home.

The date was contained in a draft schedule for next season that recently was sent to teams and revealed Friday to The Associated Press. It was provided by a baseball official on condition of anonymity because Major League Baseball’s central office asked that the schedule not be made public before it is finalized later this year.

Cuban player, Sox in talks

 Sports Illustrated magazine reported Friday that the Red Sox are in contract talks with Jose Iglesias, a Cuban shortstop who defected last year during the World Junior Championship in Canada. Iglesias, 19, could earn as much as $8 million, according to the report. Iglesias is regarded as an elite defensive shortstop who some scouts compare to Ozzie Smith.

‘Rhode Island Day’ Sunday

 This year’s “Rhode Island Day” at Fenway Park will be extra special for a group of Providence youths who could use a day in the Fenway sun. Sunday, the youngsters of the St. Mary’s Home for Children will be the honored guests of the Sox, receiving all the perks of VIPs, and taking part in the pre-game ceremonies.

 The children will have the honor of collectively kicking off the game, uttering the words “play ball” en masse to get the night started. The Sox adopt an official group home in each state and will make a $5,000 donation to St. Mary’s, according to Meg Vaillancourt, executive director of the Red Sox Foundation.

 “This year, we are delighted to host St Mary’s Home for Children, which has been an island of security, care and love for children in Rhode Island since its beginnings as an orphanage in 1877. In addition, the Red Sox Foundation will make a $5,000 donation to St, Mary’s in honor of the legions of loyal Red Sox fans from Rhode Island and in celebration of the Red Sox official Rhode Island Day at Fenway Park,” Vaillancourt said.

 All of the pre-game ceremonies will feature Rhode Islanders and the team has set aside a number of seats exclusively for Rhode Island residents and raffled off access to them via an online drawing