You'd think that the story of last night's Red Sox/Devil Rays series kickoff would be the glorious-yet-atypical change of character demonstrated by DR pitcher Scott Kazmir. Sure, we'll get to that, but c'mon - something huge happened.

Julio Lugo safely hit the ball! And then he did it AGAIN!

It had been a long, rough road for our offensively challenged shortstop - a road with 33 seemingly untravelable off-ramps along the way. Different spots in the lineup didn't work. Days off didn't do the trick. Monday night's seventh-inning chant of "Let's go, Lugo" didn't even buck the trend.

What served as the magical X factor? Kazmir.

We know. We can't believe it either. The pitcher seemingly put on this earth just to torment the Red Sox lineup just didn't have his usual oompf on Tuesday. Walking the bases loaded in the second inning got him into trouble before Lugo thrilled the crowd. Although he only gave up four runs over the course of his seven innings on the mound, this might prove to be quite the telling game. The Red Sox overcame one of their teamwide demons - the pitcher - the same night one of their own snapped a terribly worrisome slump. Isn't that what Sox fans should be hoping for as the All-Star break approaches? Yup, we thought so too.

Other game notes: on the day that "Music From the Mound" made its debut, maestro Daisuke Matsuzaka put in a rock solid pitching effort, going for eight innings of shutout ball (9 strikeouts, 4 hits, one walk) for his tenth win ... It was great to see Haverhill native Carlos Pena make his return to Fenway Park until he hit a ninth inning solo home run ... Lugo ended the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Of the fan support during his slump, Lugo said post-game, "That lift me up a lot. I thank everybody for that" ... Boston ended the game with seven hits, Tampa Bay had five.

-- Is Ortiz going to make the trip to San Francisco for All-Star activity? The Boston Herald makes its opinion known today with the headline "Hell no, he shouldn't go" and an article that urges the big bat to take some time off and rest the barking muscles.

-- George Mitchell ain't messing around with his steroid investigation. He wants to look at the past, present and future of 'roids in baseball.

-- The Pats payroll does have a cheap reputation, what with hearing constantly about how Tom Brady has redrafted his contract to get a new player into the lineup. But that team player mentality pays off richly in the end: Brady and Richard Seymour are on the top 10 of player pay - Seymour's right at the top with $24.7 million in 2006. The team overall is ranked 12th in the NFL.

-- Jimmy Walker's death is being mourned, his life celebrated today, the day after word came from Kansas City announcing the basketball dynamo's death of lung cancer. As Bob Ryan described the former Providence College player, "I have been rooting for sports teams since the age of 5. In all that time, the most terrifying opponent for me was Jimmy Walker when he wore that Providence College basketball uniform from 1964 through 1967." Walker was the No. 1 pick in the 1967 draft - and his son, Jalen Rose, plays today.