``I was sound asleep. He had to bang on the door, I didn't hear the phone at all. It was pretty funny actually,'' said Jones.

Unable to fall back asleep, he began his coffee intake then before catching a connecting flight to New York for a connecting flight to Oakland only to be stuck there by a flight delay. By the time the plane left around noon, the Red Sox were just 3 1/2 hours away from first pitch.

Though Jones was called up as bullpen insurance, starter Tim Wakefield pitched a dominating complete game. Jones then was not even needed, and that's a good thing. By the time he showed up at Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, the game was over and he was nevertheless conducting postgame interviews before catching the team bus back to the airport for the flight home.

``Wakefield threw a great game, I heard,'' Jones said. ``I didn't get to see it.''

Said manager Terry Francona of Jones' sojourn: ``It's going to be an interesting day for him. Heck of an effort. He'll get a good steak on the way home.''

Lowrie injury confirmed

According to Francona, shortstop Jed Lowrie, on the disabled list with a left wrist sprain, got good news after a visit with Baltimore wrist specialist Dr. Tom Graham.

``It confirmed our original diagnosis,'' Francona said.

Lowrie received a cortisone injection the two areas of discomfort and responded almost immediately with an increase in strength. The plan is for Lowrie to be in a splint for the next five days before beginning a strengthening program, followed by a resumption of Baseball activities in a couple of weeks. If all goes well, he could be ready to return to action in 3-4 weeks.

A Green monster

Wakefield had a no-hitter for 7 1/3 innings, and as no-no bids usually go, there were examples of fine defense. None yesterday was finer than shortstop Nick Green's twisting, turning, backpedaling catch on Jack Cust's fisted shot into shallow center field for the second out of the seventh inning.

``I didn't know if I was going to catch it. The angle I had, it happened too fast, it was just one of those things like, `just catch it,' '' said Green. ``Everything happened so fast. The thought does go through your head that `you have to make the play.' ''

Said Francona: ``It was a very athletic play.''

The other shortstop on the DL, Julio Lugo, was the designated hitter in extended spring training in Fort Myers yesterday. He will play shortstop tomorrow and then report to Boston on Monday. . . .

Rocco Baldelli was going to be in the starting lineup, but a sliding catch he made in Anaheim over the weekend left him with a sore left leg.

``After playing on it a couple of days later, it was kind of lingering,'' Baldelli said. ``I'm just trying to give it a little time to heal up. I'll be fine, I'll just take a little break.''

Masterson on deck

With Clay Buchholz dealing with a tweaked hamstring in Pawtucket, Justin Masterson is a likely candidate to take Matsuzaka's spot in the rotation on Monday. He threw four innings and 60 pitches in relief of Matsuzaka on Tuesday night.

``Like I told (pitching coach) John (Farrell), really, whenever or wherever they need me,'' Masterson said yesterday. ``I just want to pitch well. I got into a rhythm (Tuesday), that's the biggest thing, starting the season.''

He said he could be good for 75-80 pitches in a start. . . .

J.D. Drew hit a three-run home run in the eighth off of Jerry Blevins, shortly after a high-and-tight pitch from Blevins.

``That ball was a lot closer than anything I've seen in a while,'' said Drew. ``In this case, it was not real exciting. It got me a little fired up.''

Read the Clubhouse Insider at bostonherald.com.