BALTIMORE - A month shy of the one-year anniversary of his arrival in Boston, Jason Bay finds himself in the midst of his first actual slump as a member of the Red Sox [team stats].

Bay set a career high with five strikeouts yesterday, leaving him 0-for-15 with nine strikeouts for the series and capping a forgettable three-city road trip that saw him go 6-for-36, dropping his average to .262 - the lowest since the fourth game of the season, when he was at .250.