Carl Crawford played in his first game in Fort Myers as he continues to rehabs his injured wrist.
Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury appears in the dugout at Fenway Park Tuesday with his arm in a sling. By JON COUTURE
When the Red Sox acquired Mark Melancon from Houston for Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland, the hope was he’d play a pivotal role in a bullpen rebuild.
Four appearances into his season, the Sox would settle for a clean inning.
The disastrous start to Melancon’s 2012 hit a new low in last night’s 18-3 loss to the Texas.
Summoned to pitch the eighth inning of an 8-2 game the Sox had little hope of winning, Melancon eliminated all doubt.
Facing six batters, the righty – who had 20 saves and a 2.78 ERA for the Astros last season – not only failed to record an out, but allowed four extra-base hits and three home runs, including a Josh Hamilton shot that rivaled any hit at Fenway in recent years.
In 26 pitches, Melancon got just one swing-and-miss strike: on a changeup to Hamilton four pitches before he hit another nearly halfway up the bleachers. Nelson Cruz and Adrian Beltre each sent down-the-pipe fastballs into the center-field seats, while Ian Kinsler opened the inning sending another for a double.
“It seems that it’s gotten out of hand quickly,” Melancon said. “I think it’s close to coming back; I just have to figure out what it is.”
Combined with two walks, Melancon’s ERA more than doubled, jumping to 49.50.
Asked whether a minor-league rehab assignment would be out of the question, manager Bobby Valentine simply said “at this time, you have to consider everything.”
“It’s tough when you don’t pitch on a regular basis, and I was hoping the two innings tonight could maybe straighten him out,” Valentine said. “He had a bullpen session earlier in the day with (pitching coach) Bob (McClure) where they tried to work something out. Guess it wasn’t the right thing.”
Melancon’s teammates remain supportive – Jon Lester spoke of seeing him almost overworking to get himself right, and Adrian Gonzalez has twice publicly offered his support.
For his part, the pitcher’s putting on a brave face, saying he’s confident the solution is close at hand.
“It wasn’t like things were getting out of hand mentally,” Melancon said. “I feel that it’s something small that will click here, sooner or later. I’m working hard and keep trying to figure out what it is. Once I get that I think we’re good.”
YOUKILIS HAS HAD ENOUGH: The best way to turn the page is to keep writing the story, and Kevin Youkilis returned to the Red Sox lineup last night hoping talk of his public spat with manager Bobby Valentine is a thing of the past.
Youkilis was back at third base in the opener against Texas, batting fifth against righty Colby Lewis after missing Monday’s 1-0 loss to Tampa with a sore groin.
One day of fallout and peacemaking following Valentine’s comments that the Sox veteran isn’t “as physically or emotionally into the game” this year was enough for Youkilis, who made clear he’s done discussing the topic publicly.
“I said what I said yesterday and that’s all I got for you,” he told a throng at his locker before last night’s game. “Hope it’s a one-and-done type thing and we’re all good and we’re all going to be one big happy family and play some ball.”
Youkilis has been better lately than the .200 batting average and one extra-base hit he carried into last night would imply, but Lewis had him in knots early. Coming off hits in four of five games prior to Monday, Youkilis fanned twice in the first three innings, watching a pair of fastballs go by and swinging over Lewis’ stellar offspeed stuff.
It’s been an April of adjustments for the 33-year-old, on whom the team holds a $13 million option for next season. Youkilis had offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia that cost him the end of 2011 and continues working to resurrect hitting mechanics he used in 2008. That remains Youkilis’ finest season, when he batted a career-best .312 with 29 home runs and finished third in AL MVP voting.
Youkilis has maintained his renowned plate discipline through the struggles, swinging at fewer balls outside the zone than any other Sox regular. His durability remains in doubt after consecutive injury-plagued years, but at least there’s no question that his teammates have his back.
“That’s what we do for each other,” Youkilis said. “After a first four games like that, you have to stick together. We’ve done a good job of that.”
INJURY UPDATES: Three months to the day after having arthroscopic surgery on his left wrist and roughly six weeks after being shut down due to soreness from overzealous rehabbing, Carl Crawford played his first game of 2012. Crawford walked, attempted a stolen base and made contact three times as the designated hitter in an extended spring training game in Fort Myers, Fla. “(He) felt great after the game,” Valentine reported ... Daisuke Matsuzaka also saw action in Fort Myers, tossing four innings as he continues his recovery from last June’s Tommy John elbow surgery. Fellow 2011 Tommy John alum Rich Hill, already with four successful rehab outings at Single-A this year, is scheduled to throw for High-A Salem (Va.) tonight ... Famed orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum viewed the MRI of Jacoby Ellsbury’s shoulder and came to the same conclusion as Sox doctors, both on the diagnosis of a subluxation and that rest – not surgery – is the course of action. Valentine said the center fielder, injured on Friday, underwent some slight range-of-motion work yesterday ... Catcher Luis Exposito, whom the Sox designated for assignment in the roster shuffle following the Ellsbury injury, was claimed off waivers by Baltimore.
REMEMBERING TONY C.: Tuesday marked the 48th anniversary of Tony Conigliaro’s major-league debut and his first home run. (The 19-year-old sent the first pitch he saw from Chicago starter Joel Horlen on April 17, 1964, onto Lansdowne Street.)
The Sox honored the occasion before the game, presenting members of Conigliaro’s family – including his brother Billy, himself a Red Sox player from 1969-71 – with a No. 25 placard from the left-field scoreboard.