Dustin Pedroia does not worry about his home run total, but for now he can't help notice it. He hit a home run in his first at-bat of the season, a towering drive over the Green Monster. In his next 127 at-bats, Pedroia has hit zero.

Pedroia will sit out tonight's game against the Los Angeles Angels with a strained groin, an injury that forced him out of Sunday night's victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. He likely will return tomorrow. When he does, he'll have the same amount of home runs he's had since his second at-bat of the season: one.

But the drought, by Pedroia's standards, really isn't one. Pedroia had only one home run after 189 at-bats last season and still managed 17 for the year. When he started hitting home runs last season, they came in a flurry. Seven were hit in a stretch of 104 at-bats, or one every 14.8 at-bats.

``At least the past two years, I've hit with more power as the season went on,'' Pedroia said. ``A lot of guys are like that.

``I'm not trying to go deep every time I'm up. But home runs will happen. I know everyone knows I'm not a home run guy by any means. I'm a doubles guy.

``It's getting that pitch to drive. If I don't get it, don't swing. That's been the case so far.''

That pitch has been coming less frequently this season. Pedroia's enhanced reputation and patient approach, coupled with David Ortiz's power decline behind him in the batting order, has deprived Pedroia of pitches that might become homers. But it's also enhanced his ability to get on base, which is what Pedroia really cares about.

Pedroia's lack of homers has correlated with an abundance of walks. When he hit his second homer last season, his on-base percentage was less than .350. Pedroia's on-base rate this season is .409, and his 18 walks put him on an early pace for 91, which would dwarf his total of 50 last season.

``I think a little bit is getting a little bit more offspeed, not a lot of pitches middle-in to drive,'' Pedroia said. ``I think that's me maturing as a hitter a little more.

``It's a combination of things. If they're not throwing me a pitch I can drive, I'm not really swinging at it. If that happens, you're going to walk more. That's part of my job - I've got to get on base.''

Opponents once underestimated Pedroia, something impossible now given his crowded trophy case. For much of 2007 and early last year, pitchers tried blowing high fastballs in past him ``because they couldn't figure out that he was actually getting to it,'' manager Terry Francona said. ``Now they know. So they're trying to do different things.''

They still haven't found a consistent way to get him out. Pedroia has 34 hits in his last 89 at-bats, a stretch that's lifted his average to .320. If he keeps hitting like that, he figures, home runs will not be a concern.

``When I hit them, they come two, three at a time,'' Pedroia said. ``That's why I don't get stressed out about home runs. I know that's not really my job, anyway.

``I just figure if I'm getting my hits and getting on base and scoring runs, that's the biggest thing. I just look at runs scored, RBIs, on-base percentage. That's my biggest thing. If I'm doing that stuff, then I'm being a good offensive player.''

Okajima is A-OK

Hideki Okajima saved the drama for Jonathan Papelbon Sunday night, but the five consecutive outs Okajima recorded in the seventh and eighth innings made Papelbon's heart-pounding save possible. Okajima continued a recent string of flawless performances with perhaps his best yet.

Okajima has not allowed a run in 8 2/3 innings, a span of six appearances. During that stretch, opponents are batting .107 against him with 10 strikeouts. The Red Sox are 12-4 when Okajima pitches this year.

``He's locating the fastball, both sides of the plate, to both types of hitters,'' Francona said. ``He's real confident in his command right now. If he falls behind, he still throws the ball to the location he wants to.

``I think that 87 or 88 looks like a lot harder. It's a lot of swings and misses. He's given us four, five, six outs more than once in games where, if somebody stumbles, we're going to get to guys before we want to. He's really been important for us.''

Double trouble

The Red Sox have grounded into 35 double plays, tied with the Mariners for most in the American League and one behind the Dodgers for most in the majors. Mike Lowell and Pedroia each have eight GIDPs. ``First of all, if you're very fast, I think you're not going to hit into some double plays,'' Francona said. ``If you're slow, that doesn't help. If you put the ball in play, I mean, Mikey Lowell is a great example right now. He's not striking out. He's not the fastest guy on the team. He's also got a ton of RBIs. That's just a byproduct.''

Adam Kilgore can be reached at akilgore @globe.com