Target Field is the open-air facility being built to replace the Metrodome. According to AP, the Sox and Twins will play the first game there next April 12.

The season is slated to start a week earlier, and the Twins will play their opener in Anaheim against the Angels on April 5. There is no word as to where the Red Sox will open, but if teams are on the road in the season's second week they usually spend the first week at home.

The date was contained in a draft schedule for next season that recently was sent to teams and revealed Friday to The Associated Press. It was provided by a baseball official on condition of anonymity because Major League Baseball's central office asked that the schedule not be made public before it is finalized later this year.

According to Heyman, Iglesias compares to Ozzie Smith defensively.

"His hands and arm are deluxe,'' one American League executive said. "The question is how much he'll hit.''

Click here to read the story.

With Feliz Hernandez on the mound for Seattle, Terry Francona has shuffled his lineup slightly for tonight's game against the Mariners. He says wants to avoid a long stretch of right-handed hitters and that's put David Ortiz back in the cleanup spot.

RF JD Drew
2B Dustin Pedroia
3B Kevin Youkilis
DH Davis Ortiz
LF Jason Bay
1B Mark Kotsay
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
SS Nick Green
C George Kottaras
P Tim Wakefield

Ortiz, by the way, is hitting .312 in July/June and .185 in April/May.

The Red Sox trailed by four runs entering the top of the ninth inning before they tied it. Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer, and Rocco Baldelli's pinch-hit two-run single knotted the game at 5-5.

Boston took the lead in the 11th inning and held on for a 6-5 victory.

Jacoby Ellsbury led off the inning with a double down the left-field line and moved to third on Jeff Bailey's fly out to right. With Ellsbury 90 feet away, and the Orioles infielders playing on the grass, Julio Lugo hit a chopper through the hole on the left side to push across what proved to be the game-winning run.

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon earned his 20th save of the season and his 133rd of his career to become the all-time leader in franchise history.

-- JOE McDONALD

The 18-year-old outfielder from Puerto Rico has been assigned to the Gulf Coast Red Sox of the Rookie League.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder hit .424 with 3 doubles, 5 triples, 3 homers, 14 RBI, 18 runs scored, 12 walks and 9 stolen bases in 13 games for Fernando Callejo High School.

Fuentes is the cousin of Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran.

Also agreeing to terms with the Sox are Jeremy Hazelbaker (fourth round, outfielder), Shannon Wilkerson (eighth round, outfielder), Michael Thomas (12th round, catcher) and Chris McGuiness (13th round, first baseman).

-- JOE McDONALD

Lowrie, in Pawtucket on rehab assignment as he recuperates from wrist surgery, was hit by a pitch in the back of his left knee early last week and suffered a contusion. His playing time has been sporadic since being hit, and he's missed the last couple of games because of swelling.

"He's still sore," said manager Terry Francona. "He's sore and it's slowed his progress because he can't play."

Lowrie has been on the DL since his wrist surgery in April.

-- JOE McDONALD

The Orioles erased a 10-1 deficit and won 11-10. After the game the Sox players said they would quickly put that one behind them. It was clear this morning that they have.

BOSTON

Drew, rf
Pedroia, 2b
Youkilis, 3b
Bay, lf
Ortiz, dh
Ellsbury, cf
Kotsay, 1b
Varitek, c
Green, ss

Beckett, sp

BALTIMORE

Roberts, 2b
Pie, cf
Markakis, rf
Huff, 1b
Scott, dh
Reimold, lf
Wigginton, 3b
Zaun, c
Andino, ss

Bergesen, sp

To read the rest of Schmuck's blog click here.

Baltimore Sun blogger Dan Connolly invited readers to let him know at Connolly's Corner Sports Bar when they thought the Orioles would win and where the comeback ranks in Orioles history. To read the rest of Connolly's blog, click here.

Sox Blow the Biggest Lead in the History of Earth, cries bostondirtdogs.com and advises Red Sox Nation to forget about it and that Wednesday, "It's a 1:35 start at Fenway Yards." To read more click here.

Readers commenting on various sites ripped closer Jonathan Papelbon for failing to save the night, Francona for his slow hook, Sox hitters for leaving men on base, and Sox fielders for heading to the dugout in the sixth with only two outs.

Fans taking a longer view reminded critics that it was just one game.

In the first, John Smoltz pitched exactly as the Sox hoped he would when they signed him and was backed by an unrelenting offense that built a nine-run lead through 6 1/2 innings.

In the second, the Boston bullpen -- the strength of the team through the first half of the season -- had a monumental collapse, allowing 13 runs and 10 hits in Baltimore's final two at-bats. No reliever was immune, starting with Justin Masterson and running through Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, Takashi Saito and, finally, closer Jonathan Papelbon.

It added up to a crushing 11-10 defeat at the hands of the Orioles. It was the greatest comeback in Oriole history, and the first time the Red Sox lost a game in which they held a lead of nine or more runs since June 4, 1989, when they blew a 10-0 lead to Toronto at Fenway Park.

"We just had no answer. We went through just about everybody," said manager Terry Francona. "There were balls [hit] everywhere. When you give up 13 hits, that was as bad as we've seen."

Tuesday's game was halted prior to the bottom of the fifth inning due to rain with the Red Sox holding a 9-1 lead. But when the game resumed 1 hour and 11 mintues later, the Sox' bullpen couldn't keep the Orioles at bay.

"There are games during the year that you chalk up to a fluke," said John Smoltz, who pitched four strong innings before the rains and was in position to post his first Red Sox victory. "Our bullpen is outstanding. You give credit where credit is due, and Baltimore took advantage of every opportunity.

"This one will sting a little bit, but when you have Josh Beckett going on the mound [Wednesday], he'll erase that. This is just one of those games you shake your head because you can't believe what you just saw."

"It kind of happened real fast," said second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "Seemed like the first five innings before the rain delay, we beat up on them pretty good. When we came back they beat up on us pretty good. It was a weird game and a terrible loss for us. Being up 10-1, it's upsetting."

Masterson was perfect in the fifth and sixth innings, retiring the first six batters he faced. In the seventh, however, the right-handed reliever surrendered five runs on five hits as the Orioles began to mount their comeback.

"I just missed my spots on four pitches and they stuck them well," he said. "They took some good swings and put some balls in play."

Masterson wasn't ready to throw his bullpen mates under the bus.

"There were a lot of broken bat and dink singles here and there," he pointed out. "They were able to put them together and get some runs. I don't think [any Red Sox reliever] in particular did real terrible."

Francona he wanted Masterson to get to the top of the Orioles order in the seventh, at which point he would bring in Okajima to face Baltimore's left-handed hitters, Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff. When Masterson couldn't, Francona sandwiched Manny Delcarmen in for two-thirds of an inning before bringing in Okajima.

Okajima got the final out of the seventh, preserving Boston's lead at 10-6, but gaveup four runs on five hits in a third of an inning in the eighth. Saito put the winning run on base and Papelbon allowed it to score, giving up a two-out, two-run double to Markakis that gave the Orioles an 11-10 lead.

"Nothing we did worked," Francona said.

"It was a tough night all around for us from top to bottom in the bullpen," said Papelbon. "Dealing with the weather, trying to pick each other up and nobody came into an easy situation. You have to give that team over there credit, though. They put the pressure on our bullpen tonight. We pretty much imploded. I can't think of any better word to use."

But Papelbon's not worried this loss will linger.

"These types of situations our bullpen went through tonight won't happen very often. We tried to battle through it. It wasn't our night. The good thing is, the group of guys we have in the bullpen all can take this pretty well and understand this is going to happen, but not very often. We'll move on. We're all professionals down there and you won't see anyone hanging their head tomorrow, that's for sure."

-- JOE McDONALD

The veteran right-hander made his second start for Boston Tuesday night at Camden Yards and was in the midst of a solid performance when the rains came in the top of the fifth inning with the Red Sox leading, 9-1. The delay lasted 1 hour and 11 minutes, and the Sox decided not to bring Smoltz back when play resumed.

His outing lasted only four innings and 52 pitches, and it seemed as if the rains would cost him his first victory in a Boston uniform. That point become moot, obviously, after the colossal collapse of the Red Sox bullpen led to an 11-10 defeat.

"That's a shame the weather came, because I thought as the game progressed he got stronger," said manager Terry Francona. "His slider got stronger and he felt good about himself."

But, Francona added, "After that [long a] delay, we can't [bring him back]."

Smoltz, who allowed one run on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts, agreed with the decision. In fact, once the delay passed the 45-minute mark, he told Francona and pitching coach John Farrell that he shouldn't continue.

"I tried everything I could," said Smoltz, who threw in the batting cages during the delay to stay loose. "But as I said to John and Terry, I'm no fool. It's a long season, and it's more important than a [personal] win.

"It's unfortunate the way Mother Nature played it out," he continued. "It caused a lot of changes and a lot of different things. This was one of those games where you feel like you're going to go six or seven innings because of the lead and then the rain comes and kind of resets everything. No one would have ever dreamed what was going to unfold after that. It was one of those crazy games."

It didn't start out that way. Smoltz retired seven of the first eight batters he faced and surrendered his first hit, a single to the Orioles' Robert Andino, in the bottom of the third inning. Later that inning Baltimore center fielder Felix Pie hit a RBI triple, the only run Smoltz allowed.

"I got better and better [as the game went on]," he said. "My slider is getting better. The think you're going to learn about me, I want to be perfect and there are some things I still want to work on.

"The frustration, besides the obvious, was I really could have worked on some things for the next two innings. [In baseball], they say, if you stick around you'll see everything and tonight was one of those games."

Smoltz said he struggled during his pregame warmup, but once the game started he was locating all his pitches effectively and was in control until the rains came.

"I really felt like I was going to go deep into the game," he said.

Had he been able to do so, the outcome might have been different.

-- JOE McDONALD

After recording the second out in the bottom of the sixth inning, every Red Sox infielder jogged off the field and into the dugout, thinking the inning was over. The Orioles' Nick Markakis stood at the plate with a confusing look on his face, and the 31,969 fans began to laugh and clap.

"I think Pedey was leading the charge," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "I looked up and I saw Tek standing there all by himself. I first thing I thought was, 'I must be nuts.' I've never seen that. I'm looking down at my card like, 'What the hell did I miss?' It would have been funnier to talk about under different circumstances."

Home plate umpire Tony Randazzo had to walk over to the dugout and tell the players there were only two outs and needed to take the field. Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis stood with his glove over his face and was laughing.

"We just thought there were three outs," he said. "I think it was my fault. I kind of got ahead of myself and everyone follow me."

Former major league umpire, and current supervisor, Richie Garcia, was in the press box and said he has never seen that.

BALTIMORE _ Kevin Youkilis must be saying, "Take that, Adam Jones."

The Red Sox third baseman just hit a ball 402 feet over the left-center field wall for a two-run homer in the top of the first inning.

Youkilis crushed a 1-2 offering off Orioles starter Rich Hill as the very athletic Jones sprinted back to the wall and made a leaping catch. He couldn't hold on, however, as his glove came off when slammed into the wall.

Jones robbed Youkilis of a home run on a similar play in the top of the fourth inning Monday night.

Currently three Red Sox players are in the mix, including Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay and Dustin Pedroia. Youkilis (1,915,303 votes) reclaimed the lead for A.L. first basemen over the Yankees' Mark Teixeira (1,875,256). Pedroia (2,163,270) narrowly trails the Rangers' Ian Kinsler (2,170,100) for second basemen. Bay (2,609,913) leads all A.L. outfielders and is set to make his first midsummer classic appearance.

Fans vote for the starting lineups in each league, then backups at every position is voted on by the players. Starting pitchers and relievers are also voted on by the players. The All-Star managers -- Tampa's Joe Maddon for the A.L. and Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel for the N.L. - select the remaining players. Every MLB team must have a representative. This year's game will be held July 14 in St. Louis. The winner gets home-field advantage for the World Series.

--JOE McDONALD

Lowrie was hit on the left knee last week and was pulled from Sunday's game, saying that his legs felt weak as they tried to compensate for the bruise.

He sat Monday, and will be re-evaluated on Thursday. Pawtucket has an off day Wednesday. Lowrie rode a bike in the Pawtucket exercise room Tuesday night.

"I don't want to make it sound like a big big major deal,which I don't think it is, but it's nagging, and it's big. Bruises will calcify, and all that kind of stuff, and it's irritating him," Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said.

Lowrie underwent wrist surgery in April and joined Pawtucket last week for what was expected to be a few weeks of rehab starts, bringing him back before the All-Star break. Now his timetable for a Boston return is unclear, as the team wants to make sure his knee is fully ready before they even put him into the field to work on the wrist.

"He's trying to rehab one body part, so we don't want him favoring another as he tries to come back from that," Johnson said.

-- DANIEL BARBARISI