--3B Mike Lowell exited the game after feeling pain in his right hip during an at bat in the first inning of his first game action since Sept. 16. Lowell was in the starting lineup at designated hitter while attempting to grind through a partially torn labrum in his right hip, but he was noticeably favoring the injury while running down the first base line on a flyball out to left. Lowell will be re-evaluated on Saturday, but he is all but certain not to play again before the playoffs. "I kind of want to prove to myself and to them I can play in the field," said Lowell. "I don't want to particularly try something that's going to be a failure. I'm not classifying it as that. I'm not writing it off yet."
--OF Jacoby Ellsbury stole second base in the second inning for his 50th stolen base of the season. Ellsbury became only the third Sox player in franchise history to steal as many as 50 bases and joined Tommy Harper and Tris Speaker in that exclusive club. The rookie also extended his career-high hitting streak to 17 games, during which he's hitting at a .377 (29-for-77) clip. --SS Gil Velazquez and C George Kottaras both collected their first major league hits and Velazquez knocked in his first big-league RBI when he rapped a run-scoring single off the Green Monster in left field. Velazquez and Kottaras both spent the bulk of their seasons at Class AAA Pawtucket (R.I.), and were brought up to the Sox in September to give the ballclub some positional depth.
--RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka was scratched from Friday night's start after two rain delays pushed back to the start of the game, and instead RHP David Pauley made his first big-league start since pitching April 22 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Pauley ended up giving up a career-high six earned runs in the shortest start of his brief major league career. Manager Terry Francona is planning on starting Matsuzaka Saturday afternoon if the weather cooperates. "I know (Saturday) may be iffy, too, but we'll go ahead and try to let him pitch uninterrupted," said Francona. "We didn't think tonight was a very good chance of that happening."
--DH David Ortiz was originally penciled into the starting lineup at first base, the first time this season that Big Papi was going to man a defensive position. Ortiz hasn't played first base since Game 4 of the World Series on Oct. 28, 2007. When the torrential Friday night downpour delayed the game, Ortiz was removed from the lineup and replaced by 1B Sean Casey.
BY THE NUMBERS: 1-8 -- Red Sox's record against their Division Series opponent, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, this season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think everyone in this organization takes a lot of pride and is really personally happy for him and what he's been able to accomplish. He's obviously come through a bumpy road, but you see the diligence and the work ethic and he really just has a genuine interest in learning. He's really just a very humble guy. There isn't a lot of braggadocio and he doesn't draw a lot of attention to himself, and he's a guy you can very easily root for. I think many people that have come across him along the way share that very same pride." -- Pitching coach John Farrell, talking about the pride associated with Jon Lester's 16-win season.
