Gabe Kapler’s whirlwind tour of the Northeast reached its final destination when the California native started in right field for the Red Sox at Fenway Park Saturday night.

Kapler signed a minor league deal on Tuesday, played for short-season Lowell Thursday and appeared in the first game of Friday night’s Sea Dogs’ doubleheader at Hadlock Field before heading to Boston.

The excursion was something Kapler couldn’t have imagined when he began the season with the Colorado Rockies.

“My mom says, ‘You make plans and God laughs,'” said Kapler. “I had plans to have a really good season and to play every day and have everything go real smooth. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Kapler was dealt to the Rockies last July in a four-player deal that saw Todd Hollandsworth go to Texas.

He finished strong, hitting .311 in 40 games.

But Kapler faltered coming out of the gate this season, hitting just .224 in 39 games before being sent to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

He was released on June 19.

“I don’t have any key as to what happened,” said Kapler. “Guys struggle. You can look around the league at any time and find a list of guys who are struggling and a list of guys doing everything right.”

The Red Sox are hoping Kapler can regain the form he showed while hitting .272 over four big league seasons.

“He can play all three outfield positions and hits left-handers well,” said Red Sox assistant general manager Josh Byrnes, who accompanied Kapler to Portland. “He’s a good fit for our club.”

One of Detroit’s top prospect’s, Kapler was sent to the Rangers by the Tigers prior to the 2000 season as part of the blockbuster deal for two-time American League Most Valuable Player Juan Gonzalez.

Primarily a corner outfielder, Kapler played center field and first base for the Sea Dogs to prepare for a utility role with the Red Sox.

“He’s a good enough athlete that there’s no reason he can’t play some first base,” said Sea Dogs manager Ron Johnson. “I’m sure he’s going to help us out.”

A number of other teams expressed interest in Kapler, but he was willing to accept a more limited role with the Red Sox hoping for the chance to get to the postseason.

“I’ll be happy to play for a winning team,” said Kapler. “I can certainly promise I’ll bring a lot of energy to what I do.”

Tough times

Josh Stevens ended a personal three-game losing streak against Akron on Wednesday night.

The right-hander had started the season 7-1 before being roughed up for 16 runs (13 earned) in 15 1/3 innings in the three outings.

The stretch is something every pitcher can expect to go through according to Sea Dogs pitching coach Bob Kipper.

“If you think you’re going to go through a season and not struggle at all, it’s not even realistic,” said Kipper.

Kipper pointed to New York Yankees’ right-hander Mike Mussina as an example.

Mussina went 7-0 to start the season before dropping four straight decisions. He then bounced back with two dominating performances.

“You find out about yourself when you go through those times,” said Kipper.

Pitching in

The Red Sox signed pitcher Tim Kester hoping he would eat up innings.

The Sea Dogs’ right-hander has done that and more. Kester (4-4, 2.97 ERA), who will start today’s series finale against Altoona, is leading the Eastern League with 94 innings pitched.

“He’s given us that consistent start every time out and gone deep into the game,” said Johnson.

Kester trails only Akron’s Fernando Cabrera with 75 strikeouts.

Short on arms

The Sea Dogs pitching staff continues to be hobbled.

Reliever Jake Chapman was put on the disabled list Friday with a sore shoulder.

He joins starters Junior Herndon (groin) and Chris Elmore (elbow) on the sidelines.

Greg Montalbano, who went on the DL with shoulder tendinitis last month, was roughed up in his first appearance in the rookie Gulf Coast League.

The left-hander gave up three runs, three hits and walked two in two innings.

Brett Rudrude joined the team from Class-A Sarasota on Friday. The right-hander was 4-6 with one save in 19 games for the SaraSox.

Swinging and missing

Jeremy Owens led the Eastern League with 89 strikeouts in 73 games heading into the weekend.

But the Sea Dogs’ center fielder has a long way to go to catch Albuquerque Isotopes slugger Rob Stratton.

Stratton fanned 108 times in his first 242 at-bats. He also led all of the minor leagues with 26 home runs.

Around the minor leagues

Pawtucket outfielders Anton French and Lou Collier were named to the International League All-Star team. They’ll be joined on the squad by former Sea Dog Ross Gload, who now plays for the Chicago White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte….Four other former Sea Dogs, infielder Drew Niles, catcher Brandon Harper, outfielder Chris Aguila, and pitcher Sean Fesh, have been named to the Eastern Division All-Star team in the Southern League. The quartet play for the Carolina Mudcats….When Gonzalez decided to nix the trade that would have sent him to the Montreal Expos it had a direct effect on the Sea Dogs. When Portland travels to Harrisburg for a five-game series beginning Monday, the Senators will have second baseman Josh McKinley, who was part of the proposed deal. McKinley was hitting .307 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI heading into Saturday night’s game against Bowie.

Bill Foley is assistant sports editor. He can be reached by e-mail at bfoley@sunjournal.com

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