Varitek's May 20 HR Streak At 5 Years

Fun Fact: Jason Varitek has homered on May 20 in each of the past five seasons.

2001 - at KC: 4-for-4, 3 HR, 7 RBI
2002 - v CWS: 3-for-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 RS
2003 - v NYY: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI
2004 - at TB: 2-for-4, HR, RBI
2005 - v Atl: 2-for-4, 2B, HR, RBI

He is 1-for-9 with a walk and two strikeouts against Phillies' starter Brett Myers.

When Big Papi talks, Wily Mo Pena listens.

Pena:

He talks to me a lot. During the game, before the game, after the game, when we go back to the hotel, we just talk about baseball. If I do something wrong in the ballgame, he tells me. ... Just be patient. Wait. Wait. Wait for the pitch. [Ortiz] told me that every time. I was trying to do everything in one at-bat.

Ortiz:

We talk a lot because this game is more mental preparation than anything else. He talks, he asks questions, he watches, then he tries to bring it to the field. He's ahead of the game. Way ahead. ... He has the outside of the plate covered pretty good, which takes some time for a hitter to figure that out. Now he has to keep working on the other side of the plate.

Matt Clement singled in the fifth, took second on an error and scored on Ortiz's home run: "I used Trot's batting gloves and Dustan's bat. Last year, I tried a different mixture. I used Bellhorn's bat and I don't remember whose gloves, but it didn't work out."

Ortiz will play first base again tonight before getting Sunday off: "I've got a 1.000 fielding percentage right now. But don't get too happy, OK? I got a couple more games coming up, so don't get too excited."

Kevin Youkilis will start at third tonight. On Sunday, Youkilis and Lowell will start, giving Ortiz his first day off and giving Boston its best fielding infield behind Lenny DiNardo.

Philly Press:

Red Socked (Daily News)
Boston's Ortiz has some NL fun (Inquirer)
Red Sox fans show up in force (Inquirer)
Phillies can't find their way home (Daily News)

Frank Thomas on Barry Bonds:

He's just a tremendous hitter. He hits lefties. He hits righties. He's the best all-around player to ever play the game. He's got over 500 stolen bases. All of those Gold Gloves. There's nothing he hasn't done.

I may be a bit biased, but Babe Ruth won 94 games as a pitcher with a career ERA of 2.28 (ERA+ 122), including a 1.75 mark in 1917. ... There's no shame in being among the Top 10 all-time.

Beckett / Myers at 7 PM. (Pedro faces the Yankees at 1:20 PM).