FORT MYERS, FLA. - Carl Pavano was asked Sunday if he was where he wants to be headed into the regular season.

"Are we ever?" he joked.

The righthander gave up four runs over 5 2/3 innings as the Twins lost 5-1 to Boston. Pavano threw 95 pitches but said he tired toward the end, as the Red Sox scored four runs off him in the sixth inning.

"About the fifth inning, the ball got up a little bit," he said. "I started off kind of slow, then I caught a good rhythm, caught a good groove and carried it into the fourth and fifth inning and then I got a little tired and the ball got a little bit up. That last inning, I was all over the place."

It was Pavano's first outing since reports were published about him being the target of an extortion attempt by a former high school classmate. The investigation is ongoing, and Pavano again declined to address the matter Sunday.

He did address pitching and being tabbed as the Twins' Opening Day starter on Friday in Baltimore.

"It's great," he said. "It's an honor from your organization to feel like they want you to be the guy who starts them off two years in a row. It's also my job to go out there and start us off on the right foot."

Pavano gave up eight runs over four innings on Opening Day last year at Toronto.

LA VELLE E. NEAL III