"The Red Sox were just getting started in New York late Thursday after an interminable rain delay when first baseman Adrian Gonzalez provided the dugout with a surprise update from San Diego.

Gonzalez always will have fond feelings for his hometown team, and Thursday he was particularly proud, because one of the prospects the Red Sox traded to acquire him had just tripled for his first big league hit.

"I heard Gonzie talking about it in the dugout," manager Terry Francona said yesterday before the Red Sox visited the Blue Jays, "and I had no idea what he was talking about."

The cause of Gonzalez' excitement was 21-year-old first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who made his big league debut with a bang, walking twice, lacing the aforementioned triple and scoring a run in San Diego's 7-3 win over the Nationals.

"It's great," Gonzalez said. "He's a guy that's going to be there a long time and it's good for him to get started the right way and for them to get a win. I'm excited for him and the team, too. They've been playing really well, but a guy like him can get the crowd going and help put more people in the stands."

Though right-hander Casey Kelly was considered the centerpiece of the deal that brought Gonzalez to Boston, Rizzo may end up being the shining star. What he did to Triple-A pitching during the first two months bordered on criminal: .365-16-63 in just 52 games.

The Padres finally had no choice but to call him up, and the Red Sox were thrilled to see him deliver right away, particularly given his history in Boston. Selected in the sixth round of the 2007 draft, he was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2008 and back on the field the following spring."