Alex Rodriguez is always taking the heat, which is the price for collecting the biggest paycheck in baseball, and no World Series rings in a town that expects them.

A-Rod went 0-for-5, including two strikeouts and a rally-killing double-play (against Justin Masterson). And, yes, he heard it in the Bronx. See the Mike Lupica column.

Boston closed to 3 1/2 games behind the Rays. And now the Red Sox may be adding outfield insurance in the form of former Sea Dogs outfielder Mark Kotsay (in Portland, the front office staff was busy making a Kotsay jersey to hang with the jersey of other former Dogs' now in Boston - just in case).

Also in Portland, the Sea Dogs moved closer to a playoff berth with a doubleheader sweep. Several players starred, including shortstop Argenis Diaz. See today's story

Other stories in the minors:

Bartolo Colon started for Pawtucket (3 IP 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K). He gave up a 3-run homer in the second inning, and struck out the side in the third ... Chris Smith (3.09) got his 15th save (2 IP, 1 H, 3 K) ... both Jeff Natale (.260) and Chris Carter (.299) went 4-for-5.

Lancaster shortstop Yamaico Navarro (.301) remained hot, going 3-for-5 ... catcher Jon Still hit his 22nd home run.

Lowell outfielder Luis Sumoza (.301) was 3-for-4 ... interesting to see first-round draft pick Casey Kelly, 18, promoted to Lowell, despite hitting .173 in the GCL.

In previous blogs, we spoke of two 18-year-olds in the Gulf Coast League, outfielder Wilfred Picardo and shortstop Carson Blair. They enjoyed a doubleheader Tuesday. Picardo (.295) went 5-for-8, and 3-for-4 in stolen base attempts. He now is 42-of-51 attempts in 51 games ... Blair (.444) went 3-for-7.

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