BOSTON — Tim Wakefield's $4 million option for 2009 was exercised by the Boston Red Sox on Friday.

The 42-year-old knuckleballer was 10-11 with a 4.13 ERA in 30 starts this year, his 14th season with Boston. He is second in club history with 1,797 strikeouts and has 164 wins for Boston, 28 behind Roger Clemens and Cy Young, who share the team lead with 192.

Wakefield struggled in the fourth game of the AL championship series when Tampa Bay went ahead three games to one with a 13-4 victory. In 2 2-3 innings, Wakefield allowed three homers and five runs. He also pitched poorly in two of his last five regular-season starts, giving up a total of 13 runs in four innings in those two games.

He is working under a contract that gives the team the option to renew it on an annual basis at $4 million.