Hanley Ramirez, fan favorite?

It seems so. Ramirez didn’t have a hit in Monday’s 9-7 loss against the Baltimore Orioles but was cheered throughout by the crowd of 37,160 for his defensive play and accompanying exuberance.

“I really had fun today,’’ Ramirez said. “The people were with me.’’

Ramirez made a nice scoop in the first inning, snapping up a one-hop throw from Xander Bogaerts to save a run. When the crowd behind the dugout cheered, he playfully tipped his cap while coming off the field.

In the second inning, Ramirez did a Keith Hernandez-like split to snag a throw from Dustin Pedroia ahead of J.J. Hardy coming down the line.

Ramirez also made a nice over-the-shoulder catch of a popup in the fifth inning, then made an accurate throw to third to hold a runner.

“First base isn’t easy but I feel like I have good instincts,’’ Ramirez said. “I know the infield.’’

Ramirez, who had a sacrifice fly and drew a walk, was the first player on the field before batting practice, inspecting the dirt around first base.

“That’s my home,’’ he said.

No place for Sandoval

Pablo Sandoval was the only Red Sox player booed during introductions. Then he stayed bolted to the bench.

If there was a time to use Sandoval, it was in the seventh inning. With two on and two out against hard-throwing righthanded reliever Mychal Givens, the Sox had righthanded-hitting Chris Young coming to the plate in a 6-6 game.

Young was signed primarily to face lefties. But he stayed in the game and struck out on five pitches to end the inning.

If the switch-hitting Sandoval has any use off the bench, it would be to pinch hit against a righthander. He has a much better lefty swing and over his career has shown an ability to handle high-velocity fastballs.

“The way the wind was blowing, the way the ball was carrying, looking for spots for Chris Young against a lefthander, and that was it,’’ manager John Farrell said.

Farrell said he would have used Sandoval as a pinch hitter if needed against Baltimore closer Zach Britton, a lefty.

Sandoval has not batted righthanded this season, although he did in spring training.

Infield shift

After Fenway Park hosted football games and a snowboarding and ski jumping event over the winter, the decision was made to install a new infield.

The team and senior director of grounds Dave Mellor took the opportunity to consult with the coaching staff and several players about what changes they recommended. Pedroia offered the most input.

“We reached out to them and said, ‘Hey, is there anything that you’d like to see different, the way it plays,’ ’’ Farrell said.

As a result, Fenway has a slightly different look with a little more grass on the infield and less dirt. The cutouts around first base and third base are smaller. The dirt circle around home plate also shrank.

“Typically this has been an infield where there’s so much expanse of dirt,’’ Farrell said. “We looked around Major League Baseball, saw some different styles and just wanted to put a little more grass in for continuity of a ground ball.’’

The Red Sox also added two televisions to each dugout that are connected to a camera in the respective bullpens. The coaches requested that.

“Just to be able to see more clearly who’s getting loose rather than calling upstairs or try and figure out who in fact is the next guy getting ready,’’ Farrell said.

Many other parks around the majors have monitors that show the bullpens.

Schedule for Rodriguez

Lefthander Eduardo Rodriguez, who is on the disabled list, threw 36 pitches over two innings in a simulated game on Sunday in Fort Myers, Fla. He is scheduled for three innings on Wednesday.

That will be the start of a five-day routine for Rodriguez. If he follows that schedule, Rodriguez could be ready to return to the majors on or around May 3.

Rodriguez injured his right knee Feb. 29 when his spikes caught in the grass. His knee has healed but Rodriguez needs the time to build up arm strength.

Rodriguez would likely start a minor league rehabilitation assignment on April 18.

Obey the law

In accordance with a new city law, signs were posted in both clubhouses saying that the use of smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes is prohibited. The sign included a number to call to report any violations.

Similar signs are in other spots around the park.

MLB and the MLB Players Association have encouraged players to obey the law or risk being ticketed. On Monday, both clubhouses had tins of coffee pouches available to the players as an alternative along with the usual gum and sunflower seeds.

Some players planned to use the tins to hold their tobacco and avoid suspicion.

Climbing the charts

David Ortiz’s double gave him 291 at Fenway, one behind Wade Boggs for third most. Only Carl Yastrzemski (382) and Ted Williams (319) have more. Ortiz has 1,110 career extra-base hits. He needs seven to match Williams and Jimmie Foxx for 17th all time. In his first home game of the season with the Sox, Ortiz is 17 of 50 (.340) and has reached safely in all 14 games . . . Koji Uehara has retired 12 of the 13 batters he has faced this year . . . The Sox are 29-47 against Baltimore the last five seasons, 15-24 at Fenway . . . All-Star center fielder Adam Jones was out of the Baltimore lineup for the fourth straight game with a rib cage strain. He came in to play center field in the ninth inning . . . Left fielder Brock Holt was back in the Sox lineup after missing Sunday’s game with a bruised right foot, the result of a foul ball on Saturday. Holt twice went first to third on singles and made a diving catch in left field . . . As was the case in previous stops, Craig Kimbrel warmed up to “Welcome to the Jungle’’ by Guns N’ Roses.

Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @peteabe.