You can expect Justin Masterson to make his second major league start Tuesday, when the Red Sox play host to Kansas City.

The move is not official. But assuming Masterson gets the nod, he will be joining former Sea Dogs pitcher Chris Smith in the Fenway clubhouse. Smith was called up from Pawtucket Saturday night.

Masterson, who pitched for the Sea Dogs on Thursday, would be going on his normal days' rest. There was speculation that Bartolo Colon would get the start Tuesday, with Clay Buchholz on the disabled list.

But Masterson has shown he can perform at Fenway. In his debut on April 24, he held the Angels to 2 hits and 1 run over 6 innings (4 walks, 4 strikeouts).

It's possible that Colon could still start Wednesday for the Red Sox because Firday's rainout left Boston without a starter on normal days' rest for Wednesday.

The initial idea for my Sunday column today was to write about players seemingly stuck in Triple-A. But after talking to a few people in Pawtucket, the story drifted toward one subject: Smith, the former Sea Dogs pitcher.

The story tells of Smith looking like his old self (before shoulder surgery in 2004) and nearing a call-up to Boston.

The call came late Saturday as the Red Sox sent for Smith to reinforce the bullpen. He could make his major league debut today.

Here is a look at the former Sea Dogs currently in Pawtucket (listed by name, number of games played and stats):

Sandy Madera, 18 (.328, 3 HR, 11 RBI)
Jeff Bailey, 38 (.324, 10, 30)
Dusty Brown, 26 (.289, 6, 34)
George Kottaras, 39 (.246, 8, 28)
Bryan Pritz, 7 (.214, 0, 2; currentlyon disabled list with sore arm)
Sean Danielson, 12 (.214, 0, 4)
Chad Spann, 24, (.203, 1 , 8)
Jed Lowrie, 12 (.200, 1, 6)

Pitchers
Charlie Zink, 9 (4-2, 2.77)
David Pauley, 7 (4-2. 3.06)
Edgar Martinez, 11 (1-0, 4.13)
Devern Hansack, 6 (1-4, 6.56)
Lincoln Holdzkom, 14 (3-1, 7.04)
Jose Vaquedano, 3 (0-0, 6.00)
Hunter Jones, 1 (0-0, 9.00)

And, finally, congratulations to Tommy Hottovy for making it off the disabled list and back to the Sea Dogs Saturday. He pitched the second game of a doubleheader and got the win (5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 K)

E-mail this entry to a friend