Darnell McDonald, who never left Florida on Tuesday just for this reason, has new life. After Jacoby Ellsbury experienced some pain in his left side before the game -- pain that seems unrelated to his cracked ribs -- a Red Sox spokesperson said the team chose to designated relief pitcher Scott Atchison for assignment and bring McDonald back to the stadium to be active for the game.

Terry Francona announced on Monday night that McDonald would be designated for assignment, but the move was not made official and would not have been until shortly before the first pitch was thrown on Tuesday night. That gave the Red Sox the flexibility to hang onto McDonald until the last possible second.

No explanation was given as to why Atchison, who should have had an option available, was designated for assignment and not simply optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket. CSNNE.com reported that the move was "procedural" and that Atchison would be optioned Wednesday.