BOSTON - Five hours before he was going to take the mound, Mike Pelfrey was with the rest of the starting pitchers, taking their shots at the Green Monster, trying to loft fly balls out of Fenway Park - a feat that Pelfrey accomplished with regularity.

"It's a beer league softball swing," Pelfrey joked. For Pelfrey, the risk of changing up his regimen was worth it considering that lightening the mood seemed much more important.