"On June 9, Dustin Pedroia was absent from the Red Sox' lineup for the finale of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. He had returned to Boston to have his balky right knee examined in a state-of-the-art procedure conducted by team physician Dr. Tom Gill.

Cue the hysteria.

But Pedroia received the reassurance he needed that his knee problem wouldn't worsen if he continued to play. He hasn't missed a game since, and including his opposite-field home run in the seventh inning yesterday, he has been the Red Sox' hottest hitter.

In 30 games since getting his knee checked, Pedroia is batting .375 (45-for-120) with nine homers, 24 RBI, 31 runs scored, 20 extra-base hits, a .469 on-base percentage and a .714 slugging percentage. His batting average is up from .247 to .291.

"My knee feels great, my foot's feeling good," Pedroia said, referring to the pin inserted last season after he broke the navicular bone in his left foot. "I'm not doing as much rehab stuff, which is great. It takes some pressure off you. It's been good."

Said manager Terry Francona, "Pedey has the rare ability to get hotter than anybody I've ever seen, almost. Fortunately, it looks like he's wanting to do that. He can go on these runs where it doesn't matter what you throw him. He looks like he's starting to get to some balls he didn't earlier."

Jenks to DL ... again

For the third time in as many months, reliever Bobby Jenks is on the disabled list.

According to Francona, Jenks experienced a recurrence of stiffness in his mid-lower back, an injury that kept him sidelined for 17 games last month. The back pain flared while Jenks was warming up in the bullpen here Friday night."