Crisp returns to center field; Plans for Ellsbury up in air.

Byline: Jennifer Toland

COLUMN: RED SOX NOTES

BOSTON - Center fielder Coco Crisp returned to the Red Sox lineup last night after missing four games with a sprained thumb.

Before suffering the injury diving for a ball last Wednesday in Seattle, Crisp was swinging a hot bat, going 25 for 68 (.368) in his last 18 games.

The Red Sox are obviously hoping that trend continues.

"Coco's felt good about himself," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "As long as his thumb is OK, he'll be OK."

Crisp went 1 for 3 with a fifth-inning double and a walk last night. With hits in 13 of his last 14 games (a .449 clip), Crisp has raised his average from .221 to .263.

"I'm fine," Crisp said. "I felt fine (Monday) in batting practice. I felt fine (yesterday)."

Crisp's return meant exciting rookie Jacoby Ellsbury was out of the starting lineup. Since making his major league debut on Saturday, Ellsbury has impressed with his speed. He scored from second base on a wild pitch Monday night.

Francona said he didn't know exactly what the plan for Ellsbury is yet, but he could certainly be seen in games as a late-inning pinch runner. Last night, he replaced Manny Ramirez in left field in the eighth.

Also back in the lineup was Kevin Youkilis, who sat out Monday with a sore left quadriceps. Youkilis had a single and a walk and scored twice.

Tito has a plan

Francona said he has the rotation set for after the All-Star break, but is holding off on announcing it.

"We need to get through all the turns," he said. "Rest one way or another is good for everybody. We're trying to get it as even as we can, where guys get enough and not too much."

Josh Beckett will make his last start before the All-Star Game tomorrow night. Beckett is expected to pitch, if not start, next Tuesday in San Francisco.

"I'll give him a huge lecture about not trying to throw 105 (mph)," Francona said. "There will be a lot of emotion."

Catching lots of Rays

Last night's Red Sox-Devil Rays game was the first of 18 to be played between the clubs over the second half of the season.

Since division play began in 1969, this marked the longest the Red Sox had gone to start a season (in a non-strike year) without meeting a team from its division.

By contrast, the Red Sox have already played the Yankees 12 times.

Knuckling down

Tim Wakefield (8-8, 4.31) goes against Edwin Jackson (1-8) in today's 1 p.m. start.

Last Friday against the Rangers, Wakefield won for the third time in his last four starts, allowing one run over 6-2/3 innings.

In seven of his 16 starts this year, Wakefield has allowed one earned run or less.

At 15-2, Wakefield is second all-time in wins against Tampa Bay, behind only Mike Mussina, who has 16 wins against the Rays.

Another duel for Dice-K

Daisuke Matsuzaka had his first major league matchup with countryman Akinori Iwamura last night, but the at-bat didn't quite pack as much excitement as Dice-K's first showdown with Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki did back in April when thousands of flashbulbs illuminated Fenway Park.

The result was good, though. Matsuzaka struck Iwamura out looking on a cut fastball. Dice-K struck out Iwamura twice more.

Matsuzaka and Iwamura faced each other in three games in Japan. Iwamura was 2 for 8 with a single, home run and four strikeouts.

Diamond Dust

The Red Sox have had 20 straight non-losing series against the Rays at Fenway Park. Going back to May 5, 2000, Boston has won 16 series and split four. ... Manny Ramirez entered last night's game ranked first all-time among Tampa Bay opponents in home runs (39), RBIs (124) and slugging percentage (.653). However, after going 0 for 2 against Scott Kazmir last night, Ramirez is hitting just .129 against the Rays lefty. ... David Ortiz, 0 for 4 last night, also continued his struggles against Kazmir. Ortiz has just five hits in 29 at-bats (.174) against Kazmir. ... Sox pitcher Brendan Donnelly turns 36 today.

NAME: BOSTON RED SOX

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Boston's Julio Lugo gestures between innings after hitting a two-run single against the Devils Rays to break a 0-for-33 slump - his first hit since June 14th.

PHOTOG: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS