Touch 'Em All: Pedroia slam one for the books

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has always had a flair for the dramatic. He flashed that style again on Friday night, notching his 100th career homer with a grand slam that all but secured Boston's 7-1 over the A's.

Afterward, he was aw-shucks about it.

"That's weird, man. Crazy. I'm not much of a power hitter," Pedroia said.

The homer pushed him past 500 career RBIs, to 503, and made him only the second player in franchise history to hit 100 home runs and steal 100 bases, with the great Carl Yastrzemski.

Joining Yastrzemski in the 100-100 club, he said, "is crazy. I guess I'm getting old. Having your name said anywhere with his is an accomplishment."

It wasn't a no-doubter by any stretch. In fact, the A's challenged whether or not it cleared the Green Monster. Nonetheless, it was a feel-good moment for Pedroia, not just because of the milestones: It was his first blast of the season and his first dating back to Sept. 17. That's 52 games, including Boston's entire postseason run.

Having a large payroll gives the Dodgers the kind of depth other teams can only dream about, which will come in handy this month inasmuch as the most expensive team in baseball got good news and bad news.

First the good: Ace Clayton Kershaw, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, is due to come off the disabled list Tuesday.

The bad: He'll have to win right away because lefthander Hyun-Jin Ryu on Friday went on the 15-day DL on Friday with shoulder inflammation. Ryu is 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA, but he has yet to allow a run in four road starts. His home ERA, however, is 9.00 over three starts.

Despite the statistical oddities, Ryu's firmly entrenched as one of the Dodgers' top three starters along with Kershaw and Zack Greinke.

The Brewers on Saturday put disgraced outfielder Ryan Braun on the 15-day disabled list with a strained oblique in his right side.

Braun had missed the last six games because of the injury. Since he hasn't played, the move was made retroactive to April 27. He will be eligible to return May 12.

The Brewers, who have the best record in the majors, were hopeful that Braun could be back in less than two weeks, but finally decided it was better not to rush him.

"I think for a lot of reasons it makes the most sense - for me, for the team, just looking out from a long-term perspective," said Braun, ever a team player.

- Inquirer wire services