Rotation situation
The outing marked the sixth time in his last seven starts Pineiro has left without a decision. He remains winless since April 29 despite coming within one out of four quality starts in his last six appearances. Pineiro has a 3.50 ERA in that six-game span.
Izzy Ascending Jason Isringhausen entered a 3-3 game in Sunday's 11th inning, watched the Red Sox quickly load the bases with a double and two walks, then escaped on consecutive strikeouts of Alex Cora and Ellsbury.
The outing left Isringhausen unscored upon in four outings since exiting the disabled list June 14. It also gave him positive feedback about his improving cut fastball and curveball, pitches that abandoned him earlier this season.
"All these outings have been good for the most part. I'm just trying to build on that," Isringhausen said. "Today was a good day because of the fact that it was a big situation and I was able to not allow them to score. When I needed strikeouts, I got them. That's something I wasn't able to do the time before."
Et Cetera Adam Kennedy's ninth-inning pinch double ended an 0-for-17 drought in the role that extended to Aug. 8, 2006, when he was still with the Anaheim Angels. ... Aaron Miles' five hits Sunday left him 11 for 24 in his last five games. Sunday's game boosted his overall average from .293 to .313. ... Yadier Molina reported no problem after catching the game's final four-plus innings but could not predict whether he would be behind the plate in Tuesday's series opener against the Detroit Tigers. Sunday marked Molina's first return behind the plate since suffering a mild concussion June 15 against the Philadelphia Phillies. "I felt fine before. It's just a matter of what the doctors and trainers say," Molina said.
jstrauss@post-dispatch.com -- 314-340-8371
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