Wells Returns; Crisp 0-For-5

David Wells makes his return tonight, matched up against fellow lefty Scott Kazmir. Wells will not be on a strict pitch limit.

In an article about the solid performance of the bullpen, Karen Guregian notes: "The Sox now are 25-0 when leading after eight innings, 23-1 when leading after seven, and 21-2 when leading after six."

That sounds good, but is it unusually good? ... A random sampling from around the majors:

          Season  Aft 6  Aft 7  Aft 8
Red Sox    27-18   21-2   23-1   25-0
Yankees    26-19   21-1   21-1   22-1
Blue Jays  25-21   21-1   23-0   22-0
Tigers     33-14   25-1   26-1   30-1
White Sox  31-15   24-4   25-2   26-1
Mets       28-17   19-2   22-2   22-2
Cardinals  30-16          27-1   28-0
Royals     10-34           8-4    9-2

Matt Clement says his right ankle is fine and he should make his start on Monday in Toronto. "As far as mentally, when I came out of the game [Wednesday night], all I was thinking was, 'What the heck is wrong with me?' ... It's frustrating because I feel pretty good."

In an extended spring training game last night, Coco Crisp went 0-for-5; he struck out twice, walked (stole second), lined out to third, popped to short and grounded to short. Crisp did not play in the field.