FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – Chris Carter walked into the clubhouse of City of Palms Park early on Sunday morning. The first thing he checked was the lineup.

“Am I playing today?” Carter asked, scanning the lineup posted on the clubhouse bulletin board.

Obviously disappointed at not seeing his name, Carter found the silver lining.

“Not today? Oh, well, that’s OK. Maybe I’ll get in tomorrow,” he said.

He played all nine innings the day before, against the Orioles in Fort Lauderdale, about a five-hour round trip from Fort Myers. But Carter is one of those guys who wouldn’t mind playing every game of the season.

“First of all, I love baseball,” he said. “And, second, I want to make sure I show them what I can do.”

Carter was in the starting lineup Monday in Dunedin facing Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays. He went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Boston’s 6-4 win.

Carter, 26, a 17th-round pick in 2004 by the Diamondbacks out of Stanford, was acquired by the Sox in August 2007 in a three-way trade with the Nationals for Wily Mo Pena.

Since joining the Red Sox, Carter has been intent on showing what he can do. Before the trade, Carter hit .324 with 18 home runs and 84 RBI in 126 games playing first base, left field and serving as the designated hitter for Triple-A Tucson. After the trade he hit .234 with a home run and four RBI in 12 games, playing first base for Triple-A Pawtucket.

Sox hammer Halladay

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) – Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston is so used to watching Roy Halladay pitch well that Monday’s rocky start by the right-hander surprised him.

Halladay gave up three homers in Toronto’s 6-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox, allowing four runs and eight hits over five innings.

Jeff Bailey went deep in the second, Jed Lowrie homered in the third and Chris Carter connected in the fifth against Halladay, whose nine-inning scoreless streak ended when Lowrie doubled in a run in the first.

Justin Masterson pitched three-plus innings for Boston, allowing three runs and six hits.