OAKLAND -- Dustin Pedroia is out of the lineup in the road trip finale, advised by the training staff to not swing a bat, having jammed his thumb in Tuesday night's walkoff loss to Oakland.
The soreness is in a different area than the spot that has bothered Pedroia since early May and forced him to miss a week's worth of action earlier this season.
"It's pretty frustrating," said Pedroia, who's expected to be examined Thursday when the Sox return from the West Coast. "It was fine during the game (Tuesday night), and then I was sore after the game and today Im pretty sore. Maybe its from when I dove for that ball in right field. I dont know what happened.
"I just think he needs these two days (Wednesday and the day off that follows)," said Bobby Valentine. "And so does he. He's a little stiff here and there."
With Pedroia sidelined, Nick Punto is playing second, with Mauro Gomez at third for the first time in the big leagues.
Gomez was signed as a third baseman, but hasn't played much there above Single A, where he made 39 errors in 71 games. And with sinkerballer
Aaron Cook pitching for the Red Sox, Gomez is likely to get plenty of action at an unfamiliar position.
"It is what it is," shrugged Valentine. "What are we going to do?"
Boston Red Sox
Will Middlebrooks is not an option for Wednesday. He's missed three games now with a strained left hamstring, suffered Sunday in Seattle.
"Will felt better, a little better than yesterday," said Valentine.
The Sox are still hopeful that they can avoid placing Middlebrooks on the DL.
Valentine has to hope that Wednesday's makeshift lineup can do better. Over the first six games of the trip, the Sox have scored just 12 runs -- and five of those came in one game.
In the five other games, the Red Sox have scored two runs or fewer.
"I think we're ready to break out," said Valentine. "The bad news is we haven't hit. The good news is we will."