BOSTON -- A few quick hits prior to Sunday night’s game between the Red Sox and Yankees, the Sox trying to avoid their first sweep this season:
• Manager John Farrell said newly acquired Luis Jimenez, the infielder claimed off waivers from Milwaukee, is expected to arrive Monday. The Sox are expected to activate him and send a pitcher back to Pawtucket, to give them a 13th position player. Farrell said Jimenez will give the Sox a right-handed utilityman off the bench, but with Shane Victorino coming off the DL soon, Jimenez appears to be a stopgap.
• The Sox are holding off on sending Victorino on a rehab assignment until this weekend, most likely to Double-A Portland, with an eye to activating him next week in Oakland. The Sox don’t want to activate Victorino this weekend in Toronto, in part because of all the negative reviews the new artificial surface in Rogers Centre is receiving.
• Mike Napoli comes into the game batting .160 overall, and is 1-for-10 on the homestand. Napoli has just 7 hits in 58 at-bats against right-handed pitchers, a .121 clip. Asked if Napoli is having any physical issues, Farrell said:
"No. There really isn't. For all that he went through last year and the laundry list of things that he dealt with, that's not involved right now."
Napoli was out for early work Sunday, with infield coach Brian Butterfield hitting one-hop grounders from shortstop so he could work on digging balls out of the dirt. Friday afternoon, it was second baseman Dustin Pedroia who was out for early work, taking ground balls at second.
Here are the lineups:
YANKEES
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Brett Gardner, LF
Alex Rodriguez, DH
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Brian McCann, C
Carlos Beltran, RF
Chase Headley, 3B
Stephen Drew, 2B
Didi Gregorius, SS
Adam Warren, RHP
RED SOX
Mookie Betts, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Hanley Ramirez, LF
Pablo Sandoval, 3B
Mike Napoli, 1B
Daniel Nava, RF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Joe Kelly, RHP
