FORT MYERS, Fla.–The Red Sox mounted a dramatic late-inning rally in their 9-8 exhibition loss to the Reds, nearly erasing a 9-2 deficit with three runs in the seventh and eighth innings. But Boston fell short of avenging its loss in the seventh game of the 1975 World Series, and now is left to mull over the Grapefruit League defeat over the course of Wednesday’s off-day. That, or contemplate the beach.

A few observations from the game, aside from the fact that Jon Lester enjoyed a couple of quick, crisp innings in his second outing of the spring:

–Junichi Tazawa, whose first two appearances both came against college teams, got into a game against professional competition for the first time in his life. (Tazawa, you might recall, came to the Sox by way of the Japanese amateur industrial leagues.) It wasn’t exactly the Big Red Machine, but Tazawa continued to impress with another three-up, three-down inning against Wes Bankston (groundout), Danny Richar (groundout) and Luis Bolivar (strikeout on a slider).

Tazawa, who needed 15 pitches to get through his inning, told Japanese reporters afterwards that he was overly cautious pitching inside, where he consistently missed low, and that he was told by pitching coach John Farrell and consultant Denney Tomori that he will need to emphasize pitching inside in his next outing. Tazawa also informed Japanese reporters that the atmosphere was a little different than in his previous outings against college players, and that he was a bit nervous based on the improved caliber of opponent. Even so, in his appearances this spring, he has allowed just one baserunner on a walk.

–Paul McAnulty, who drove in four runs with a two-run double and a two-run homer to right, offered a reminder about how he earned the nickname “Chauff.” Worth reiterating: McAnulty was the first player ever drafted and signed by Jason McLeod, now the Red Sox director of amateur scouting.

Of course, the Red Sox are aware of McAnulty’s pedigree as a hitter. They’re trying to determine how well he can play defense at first base and the outfield corners. McAnulty is competing with Brad Wilkerson, Chris Carter (who homered yesterday, and is hitting .417 this spring) and Jeff Bailey (0-for-1 yesterday, now hitting .500 this spring) to serve as the fill-in for injured first baseman/outfielder Mark Kotsay in the first month of the season.

“(The competition for that spot) is wide open,” said manager Terry Francona. “Some of it is going to depend on Mikey Lowell‘s health. What you’re looking for out of that right now is need, and then you’d like to see some guys do well. We’ll make our decisions based on what helps our ballclub best. We’d like to see three or four guys in a position where we have a tough decision to make.”

A few items in handicapping that race:

• Wilkerson, McAnulty and Carter are all, like Kotsay, left-handed. All things being equal (and presuming that third baseman Mike Lowell is healthy), the team would likely prefer a left-handed bat, since Rocco Baldelli should be a right-handed option as a fourth outfielder.
• Wilkerson, McAnulty and Bailey are all signed to minor-league contracts, while Carter is on the 40-man roster but has options remaining.
• Wilkerson is clearly the best defender of the bunch, someone who could even be considered for spot duty in center field. That ability is not insignificant.
  “We’ve told all of them–all those guys fighting for that spot–that they need to catch the ball,” said Francona. “We think we have good pitching. They need to catch the ball. And they’re going to be asked to do a few different things: play first, play the outfield.”
  That being the case, Francona seemed slightly chagrined by McAnulty’s fourth-inning error. Though it seemed as if umpire Randy Marsh should have ruled Jay Bruce out, as McAnulty appeared to catch a foul pop-up and then lose the handle on it when transferring it from glove to hand, Francona suggested that the responsibility was at least partly with the player. “When you do that, you open it up (to an umpire’s judgment),” said Francona.

–Mark Wagner unloaded for a two-run homer. That was almost as impressive as the fact that the catching prospect has caught Nolan Ryan.

–Wes Littleton was roughed up badly. The sidearming right-hander gave up three hits, hit a pair of batters and gave up a grand slam to former Rays outfielder Jonny Gomes while recording just two outs. The opposite-field grand slam by Gomes was a particularly poor outcome for a pitcher whose delivery is meant to permit him to dominate right-handers. Though Littleton seemed a fringe candidate for the bullpen–especially if Justin Masterson ends up in the rotation to start the year–he has done little to advance that goal.

Though Littleton’s outing was a poor one, it did inspire some good pressbox banter about an effort by Dock Ellis to prove to the Big Red Machine that he was not intimated. On May 1, 1974, Ellis hit the first three batters of the game (Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Dan Driessen) and then narrowly missed hitting Tony Perez, whom Ellis walked to force in a run. Ellis had some choice, colorful and extremely profane comments about his intent while on the mound, so consider yourself duly warned if you want to read more through this link.

–Jed Lowrie continues to impress with his consistent hard contact while batting left-handed this spring. He had a single to right in the first and a double in the fourth. He also grounded hard to first base.