TORONTOSecond baseman Dustin Pedroia is out of the lineup again on Sunday, the sixth straight game he has missed because of a tear in the abductor muscle in his right thumb.
Manager Bobby Valentine said Pedroia is expected to get treatment on the injury Monday, a scheduled off-day, and he may also do some work at Fenway Park.
Hell probably do something tomorrow, Valentine said. Hell definitely get a treatment. I dont know, Ill bet he swings a little somewhere.
Asked if there would be a meeting tomorrow to discuss Pedroias health, Valentine replied:
I hoped tomorrow would be an off-day personally, but well probably talk about it tomorrow.
After Saturdays win over the Blue Jays, Valentine said he was ready to put Pedroia into the game when it appeared shortstop Mike Aviles was injured, indicating Pedroia could be close to a return.
When Mike got hit he was ready to go out and field, Valentine said Sunday morning. I wasnt really hesitant, so well see.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are 5-1 in Pedroias absence.
After each of the last two games, Valentine had said he would consider giving Daniel Nava a day off the following day. But each day Nava has been in the starting lineup, as he is Sunday, playing left field, batting second.
Im going to give him tomorrow off, Valentine said, Sunday morning, of Mondays scheduled off day.
I looked at him in the training room. Hes young and strong, feeling good, resting. I think the last thing he needs is two days away from making good contact.
Nava, batting .315, has a six-game hitting streak, in which he is 9-for-24 (.375). He has reached base safely in 21 of his 23 games since being called up from Triple-A Pawtucket on May 10.
Outfielder Darnell McDonald, on the disabled list since May 12 with a right oblique strain, went a combined 3-for-8 with two runs scored, two doubles and an RBI in a doubleheader Saturday in Lehigh Valley while on a rehab assignment with the PawSox. He has played five games with Pawtucket on his rehab and is expected to play today.
Outfielder Ryan Kalish continued his rehab assignment with Double-A Portland Saturday, in the first game of a doubleheader in Altoona. He went 0-for-2 with two walks.
Outfielder Cody Ross, on the DL since May 19 with a fracture of the navicular bone in his left foot, is eligible to be activated today. He is expected to be reexamined when the team returns to Boston.
Ross has yet to do any baseball-related activities that would put stress on his foot.
He seems to be OK, Valentine said. I havent seen him do anything stressful . . . So, I think there has to be a diagnosis and determination from the medical staff and then we can start talking about baseball.
Valentine said there has been nothing significant in Jacoby Ellsbury's recovery from right shoulder subluxation. But, Ellsbury is progressing.
So every step is significant, because its all in the right direction, Valentine said.
Mark Prior made his first appearance of the season Saturday. Pitching one scoreless inning for the PawSox against Lehigh Valley, he gave up one walk with one strikeout. Prior, the Cubs first-round pick (second overall) in the 2001 draft, has not appeared in the major leagues since 2006.