Projo Sox Blog

BY KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - J.D. Drew wasn't in the starting lineup Wednesday, but his sore quad muscle felt strong enough for him to pinch-hit against the Indians. He had to run hard down the line to beat out a ground ball and passed that test, so he's in the lineup Thursday night against the Rays.

"He's better than he thought he'd be, so that's good news," said Francona.

Kevin Youkilis also returned to the lineup after a one-day rest. Julio Lugo is playing, too, though it remains to be seen if he's capable of playing two straight days at this point; Nick Green thus will remain ready.

Jason Varitek sat in place of George Kottaras, in part due to the late travel night from Cleveland to Tampa. Francona knew Varitek would skip Saturday's game because Tim Wakefield is pitching, so he didn't want his captain to sit both Friday and Saturday.

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Rocco Baldelli continues to respond well in his rehab from a hamstring injury. Francona confirmed that Baldelli will likely need a minor-league rehab game before he returns, but when that happens is unclear. What isn't is that the Cumberland native is progressing nicely. "He'll probably need a couple at-bats," said Francona, "but he looks great. He's absolutely crushing the ball in B.P."

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The Red Sox came into this series with 12 wins in the last 13 games but Francona didn't sound as if he's taking much time to appreciate the run at this early point of the season.

"I get a little leery about talking about a run, or whatever," he said. "I say it all the time, if you just stay in the moment and do things right, you can look up a week later and things have gone right. If you give yourself a chance every night and get into the grind, you look up and hopefully you're where you should be."

 Tags  Boston Red Sox

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