Nomar Will Play Shortstop Tonight -- In Boston. The wait is over. Nomar Garciaparra will play shortstop in the Red Sox's 58th game of the season. ... Last night, he played six innings in Pawtucket, going 0-for-3.

Pedro: "The way the weather is going, and the way I'm feeling, I don't see why I can't build on this. ... I'm going to look at video, go down to the bullpen between starts, and work even harder to be even better." That is a good sign. The Herald reported last Saturday that Martinez had not pitched even once between starts since April. However, after noticing a flaw in his delivery -- Dave Wallace: "It was one of those idiosyncrasies you see sometimes, a very slight mechanical thing the average person wouldn't see" -- he worked on it during a bullpen session.

And he pitched brilliantly last night, showing off a nasty curve in the early innings and a fastball that consistently hit 93/94, even in the 7th and 8th innings. ... I'm sure that correcting the flaw in his delivery helped, but it also seems like the bullpen session played a part. ... Game story from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Scott Williamson (DL since May 19) says the tendinitis in his pitching elbow has disappeared. "Right now, I'm at about 90 to 95 percent. All it needed was rest." He may be activated this weekend. ... Trot Nixon made his rehab debut with Sarasota last night; he hit a run-scoring single to center in the first, lined to short in the second, and doubled to right in the third (and later scored). Nixon played right field for five innings. ... Byung-Hyun Kim returns from Korea this weekend and will eventually report to Pawtucket. ... Ramiro Mendoza -- remember him? -- may pitch for Sarasota on Monday.

Bronson Arroyo gets the ball at 7:05. Tim Wakefield, whose start was pushed back to Saturday so he avoids pitching in Colorado, is expected to come out of the bullpen tonight.