I failed to mention before that Dustin Pedroia has never won a batting title, although I have to take him at his word. (The Pac-10 stat men can expect a call.)

In his fourth at-bat Pedroia grounded out to second on the first pitch, watching his batting average dip to .325. Joe Mauer is 2 for 2 tonight, moving his average to .329.

Kevin Youkilis didn’t let Cleveland reliever Tom Mastny get a big head, however, launching his 28th homer over the left field wall. It marks his 31st multi-hit game of the year, third behind Mauer and Justin Morneau.

Here’s something to think about: Let’s stop thinking about who is going to protect David Ortiz in the Red Sox lineup and start thinking about how important Jason Bay is going to be in protecting Youkilis. In my aforementioned conversation with Brendan Donnelly, the reliever said when breaking down the potential match-up between two of his former teams, the Red Sox and the Angels, “The difference is going to be whether or not Jason Bay can win a game. He has to win a game for them.” Interesting take.

Red Sox lead 6-1 heading into the eighth.