Published: Dec. 7, 2011 at 10:32 PM

BOSTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) — The Boston Red Sox announced Wednesday designated hitter David Ortiz had agreed to arbitration, which will keep him with the team for at least another season.

An arbitrated contract means Ortiz will likely make more than the $12.5 million he earned last season. The Red Sox and Ortiz could still work out a multiyear deal before the arbitration hearing is held.

Ortiz, 36, has been in Boston since 2003. The Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007 with him in the lineup.

Although his power numbers have diminished, he hit 29 home runs with 96 RBI last season.

Ortiz has hit at least 25 home runs for Boston eight times, putting him second on the team’s all-time list behind Ted Williams (14).

There have been recent reports the Red Sox have offered Ortiz a two-year contract worth $9 million a season. Ortiz has reportedly asked for more than twice that monetary amount over two years.

By MATT KALMAN

BOSTON – A few weeks off the diamond might’ve been just what Kevin Youkilis needed with the September stretch run here and the postseason just a turn of the calendar page away.

Before they hosted Texas at Fenway Park on Friday night, the Red Sox activated the third baseman from the disabled list. Youkilis was back in his customary fourth position in the batting order, a spot he vacated after his lower back strain forced him to the sidelines Aug. 18.

In addition to his back injury, Youkilis was battling other bumps and bruises that accumulated over the course of the season’s first four months. Now he’s refreshed and ready to be a mainstay in Boston’s lineup again.

“I think it was needed to go on the DL. It wasn’t something, ‘Oh, let’s just put you on the DL.’ I needed it,” Youkilis said prior to the Sox’ game with the Rangers. “Probably would have done worse damage to myself if I kept playing. It was a good move on everyone’s part to do it. Hopefully, I won’t have more problems the rest of the year.”

The Sox were eager to welcome back the slugger who carried a .266 average, 17 home runs and 78 RBIs into his return to the lineup. Manager Terry Francona was looking forward to having his projected starting lineup pretty much intact, with David Ortiz batting behind Youkilis and Jed Lowrie in the six-hole.

“I hope having him back is really nice. The hope is it pays off (Friday). But over the course of a bigger sample size, having him right smack in the order is huge,” Francona said. “(Friday) Jed can hit sixth off a lefty. That’s a little bit of a luxury. (We can) protect David but not have him (Lowrie)] hitting fifth. It’s good. One big hitter in the middle makes everybody better.”

Francona could tell that Youkilis was wearing down a bit when the infielder finally went on the DL. The skipper said that both the hard-nosed approach Youkilis has to the game, plus Youkilis’ full-time stint as the team’s third baseman (as opposed to his former, pre-Adrian Gonzalez role as the first baseman) were taking their toll.

“Sometimes a forced break because of one thing helps the rest of your body,” Francona said. “He was so beat up, he was hitting balls off of both ankles, and the way he attacks first base when he runs over it. I just think maybe, I’m sure he doesn’t feel like it’s the first game of the year, but I’m sure it will do him some good.”

Dustin Pedroia was a solid fill-in for Youkilis as the clean-up hitter. The star second baseman in 20 starts this season as the fourth hitter, including most of the games during Youkilis’ recent absence, has hit .346 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. However, Francona avoided the temptation to leave Pedroia in that slugger’s position.

“I think Youk’s been good in the middle of the order,” Francona said. “There may come a day or days where we flip flop Youk and David a little bit just as we get closer to the playoffs. Who knows? But I don’t think we’d want … Pedey’s a good 2 hitter. He does so many things with the bat, manipulates the bat … And I think he actually likes hitting there. I know what he’s done as a clean-up hitter, but you put Pedey in any number in the order, there’s going to be times that he just goes off because he’s that kind of a player.”

The Sox were 9-5 in Youkilis’ absence and they carried a half game lead on the Yankees for first place in the AL East into Friday night’s action. Youkilis was looking forward to fitting back in.

“The team did really well, we’re in first place and hopefully we can stay in first place even with me in the lineup,” Youkilis quipped.

BOSTON (AP)—Designated hitter David Ortiz(notes) was a late scratch from the
Boston Red Sox lineup for the first game of Tuesday’s day-night doubleheader
with Tampa Bay because of illness.

Ortiz, batting .300 with 24 home runs and 79 RBIs, was in the original
lineup, but the change came as Jon Lester(notes) was facing the first batter of the
game.

Jed Lowrie(notes) replaced Ortiz in the lineup, and there was no word on Ortiz’s
status for the second game.

The Red Sox were already without shortstop Marco Scutaro(notes), who was out with
back stiffness. Mike Aviles(notes) started at shortstop, and it was unclear whether
Scutaro would be available as the day wore on.

SEATTLE (Sports Network) — John Lackey has recorded 10 or more wins in each of his last nine seasons since 2003. During that time he has faced the Seattle Mariners on several occasions and will try to pitch the Boston Red Sox to a series-opening victory tonight at Safeco Field.

The Red Sox are in town for three games and are counting on Lackey to keep them supplanted in first place in the AL East. They own a slim one-game advantage over the despised New York Yankees for division bragging rights and hope Lackey can keep his unbeaten streak intact. He is 5-0 with a 3.58 earned run average over his last six starts and defeated the Yankees his last time out in a 10-4 victory on Saturday at Fenway Park.

Lackey permitted three runs, scattered six hits and struck out five over six innings to run his 2011 mark to 10-8 in 19 starts. He still has a lofty 6.14 earned run average, but appears back on track since a personal three-game losing streak from June 22-July 4. The righty and former Angels ace defeated Seattle at home on July 22 in a 7-4 victory, as he allowed one run over seven frames to improve to 14-10 with a 3.53 ERA in 29 starts in this matchup.

“You get behind and he steals a strike with an off-speed pitch,” Seattle shortstop Brendan Ryan said of Lackey. “It appears he feels confident pitching behind because he can throw all his pitches for strikes, especially the off- speed stuff. That’s where he got himself back into counts.”

Boston had won four in a row and was aiming for a three-game sweep in Minnesota, but dropped a 5-2 decision on Wednesday at Target Field. Jon Lester was dealt the loss for giving up four runs and eight hits in 7 1/3 innings with five walks and four strikeouts. David Ortiz homered and Marco Scutaro drove in a run for the Red Sox, who have still won 14 of their last 21 games. Ortiz owns three homers and six RBI in his last six games for a Boston club that has gone deep a major league-high 75 times on the road this season.

Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is one home run shy of joining the 20/20 club for the season. He owns 19 homers and 31 stolen bases. The Red Sox are playing the fourth game in a stretch of 14 of 17 contests on the road, and sport the best road ledger in the majors at 35-22.

Seattle is back in the Emerald City for a six-game residency versus Boston and Toronto, and ended a three-game slide with Wednesday’s 4-3 win at Texas in the finale of a three-game series against the defending AL champions.

Mike Carp finished 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a pair of runs scored, while Casper Wells added two hits and an RBI for the Mariners, who had lost four of five games before squeezing out a win over the Rangers. Jason Vargas earned the win and was reached for three runs and six hits in seven innings. Jamey Wright tossed a scoreless eighth before Brandon League registered his 27th save in the ninth inning.

“We hit the ball well today, a lot of base hits, left some runners on, but we made some hard outs, too,” said Mariners manager Eric Wedge. “I think if you look at the quality of our at-bats, they’re much better than they were a couple of weeks ago.”

Wedge opted to hold infielder Adam Kennedy out of the lineup with a sore left heel and fellow infielder Jack Wilson was scratched from the lineup prior to the game with what Wedge described as “physical exhaustion”. Both players could be back in the lineup tonight.

The Mariners current roster has 11 rookies and starting pitcher Blake Beavan is one of them. The right-hander gets the call Friday hoping to secure his third straight winning performance. Beavan defeated Oakland on August 1, then delivered eight innings of one-run ball in a 5-1 win at the Angels last Saturday. He improved to 3-2 with a 2.83 ERA in six starts.

Beavan, a right-hander, lost to Boston in a 3-1 decision on July 23, when he gave up three runs and nine hits over 6 2/3 innings. Beavan is 2-1 with a 3.10 ERA in three starts at Safeco Field and is facing Boston for the first time.

Boston has won four of six meetings with Seattle this season and is 12-5 in the previous 17 matchups between the two ballclubs.

The Sports Network

 The Boston Red Sox are aware of how little wiggle room there is in the competitive AL East, especially as they try to stay ahead of the Yankees for first place 

“We’ve been playing good ball. We just have to keep it rolling. We don’t have that big of a lead in the division, so we have to play good baseball,” Dustin Pedroia said Sunday after the Red Sox wrapped up one of the best months of July in team history by beating the Chicago White Sox 5-3. 

The Red Sox (66-40) finished July 20-6, a .769 winning percentage that beats their previous franchise record for the month — .741 (20-7) set in 1993. 

Pedroia, whose 25-game hitting streak was snapped in Friday night’s opener won by the White Sox, had a two-run, go-ahead single in the seventh Sunday. And the Red Sox bullpen was stellar with 3 1-3 innings of one-hit relief. 

“I’m excited to hit with guys on base, I was just trying to drive the ball to the outfield to get one run, so I was lucky we got two,” Pedroia said after the Red Sox won 2 of 3 at U.S. Cellular Field. 

Jason Varitek had a two-run homer and the relief trio of Alfredo Aceves (7-1), Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon shut the White Sox out after they’d taken a 3-2 lead in the fourth. 

“Aceves comes in like he’s been doing, Bard came in and got four outs on not a lot of pitches and Pap came in and sewed it up. The extra run was nice to have,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. 

Adrian Gonzalez provided that with a ninth-inning double. 

Boston, which added utility infielder Mike Aviles in a trade from Kansas City on Saturday, bolstered its starting staff by acquiring lefty Erik Bedard from the Mariners in a three-team deal Sunday. The Red Sox’s rotation has been missing injured Clay Buchholz. 

“Oh, right on. Awesome. He’s got great stuff,” Pedroia said of Bedard, who once pitched for the Orioles.  

“We’ve had some injuries on our pitching staff, so we need a guy to come in here and help. Hopefully he does a great job for us. We’re excited to have him. It’s going to be a fun rest of the season.” 

White Sox star Paul Konerko left the game with a bruised calf after being hit with a pitch by Boston starter Andrew Miller in the bottom of the fourth inning. Konerko initially stayed in the game and took his base, but left after the inning ended. X-rays were negative. 

With the Yankees coming to town for four games, the White Sox can ill afford to lose Konerko (.305, 25 HRs, 76 RBIs) for an extended stretch. They trail Detroit by four games in the AL Central. 

“I don’t expect him to be in the lineup to be honest with you. When PK took himself out of the game, it’s not a concern but I know that guy was hurt,” Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said.  
“When I went to the plate, I’ve managed him for a little while, I knew this guy can tolerate some pain and tough it out. When I got back to the dugout, I told JP (Juan Pierre) to get loose because I don’t think he’s going to make it.” 

Pierre went into the game in left field and Brent Lillibridge switched from left to first.  
Chicago starter Mark Buehrle pitched six innings, giving up five hits and two runs, both coming on Varitek’s seventh homer in the second.  The lefty departed with a with a 3-2 lead. But the White Sox couldn’t add on and had 12 runners left on base. 

After Buehrle left, the Red Sox threatened in the seventh against reliever Jesse Crain (5-3) as Marco Scutaro singled, Jacoby EIllsbury got an infield single off the mound before backup catcher Tyler Flowers’ passed ball allowed both runners to move up. 

Pedroia then hit a two-run single to center to put the Red Sox ahead and finish Crain. Chris Sale struck out David Ortiz with runners at second and third to end the inning.  

Bard pitched 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief and Papelbon struck out the side in the ninth for his 24th save in 25 chances. 

Alexei Ramirez’s RBI single, Chicago’s third hit of the inning, gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead in the fourth. Miller then hit Konerko in the left calf with a pitch to load the bases. Konerko stayed down for a couple of seconds and then was able to walk it off and stay in the game. And the White Sox couldn’t keep their rally going. 

“You get to the point when you might snap. We’ve got two months, a month and half, hopefully our offense will pick it up from now on and make it easier for the pitching staff,” Guillen said. “And for me.”  

Varitek hit a two-out, two-run homer in the second to give Miller a quick lead. 

But Chicago got one back in the second on Brent Morel’s two-out RBI double over center fielder Ellsbury’s head and another in the third when Carlos Quentin, Adam Dunn and Alex Rios hit two-out consecutive singles. 

Miller gave up 10 hits and three runs in his 5 2-3 innings with one walk and a season-high eight strikeouts. 

Notes: The White Sox honored former slugger Frank Thomas by unveiling a statue of the two-time MVP on the outfield concourse.  … Bard has not allowed a run in his past 26 1-3 innings. … The White Sox inserted DH Dunn into the lineup at first in the ninth.  

 

Ozzie Guillen knew Paul Konerko was in pain just from the look on his best player’s face.

When Konerko got plunked in the calf by a pitch from Andrew Miller in the fourth inning of Sunday’s game against the Red Sox, everything seemed to crumble for the White Sox.  

They couldn’t score after loading the bases, they ended up leaving 12 runners on base, they lost Konerko for the final five innings — and maybe for Monday night’s opener of a four-game series against the Yankees — and they lost the game to Boston 5-3.  

Konerko actually stayed in the game and took his base, but had to leave after the inning ended with the bases loaded. The White Sox had taken a 3-2 lead in the inning on Alexei Ramirez’s RBI single but didn’t score again.  

“I don’t expect him to be in the lineup to be honest with you. When PK took himself out of the game, it’s not a concern but I know that guy was hurt,” Guillen said.

“When I went to the plate, I’ve managed him for a little while, I knew this guy can tolerate some pain and tough it out. When I got back to the dugout, I told JP (Juan Pierre) to get loose because I don’t think he’s going to make it.”

Pierre did come in and play left and Brent Lillibridge switched from left to first where he made his first major league appearance at the position.  

“We’ve got two lineups tomorrow just in case he can’t play,” Guillen said of Konerko, batting .305 with 25 homers and 76 RBIs. The White Sox, who trail Detroit by four games in the AL Central, are facing Yankees ace CC Sabathia.  

Earlier in the week, the White Sox dealt away starter Edwin Jackson and backup infielder Mark Teahen but did not make another deal at the deadline. Now they’re 52-54 and must somehow get it together with two months left.  

“I would never have guessed we would have been in this spot that we’re in right now,” said starter Mark Buehrle who allowed five hits and two runs in six innings and left with a 3-2 lead.  

“I can’t see the future. I thought going into spring training we had a good team and a good chance, but obviously we’re not in a good spot right now.”

After getting 10 hits and three runs off Miller in his 5 2-3 innings, the White Sox were shut out by Boston’s bullpen that used three relievers, Alfredo Aceves, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon.  

“When you don’t score runs in the American League, it’s going to be hard to win games,” Guillen said. “The pitchers can take you so far.”

Ramirez’s RBI single, Chicago’s third hit of the inning, gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead in the fourth. Miller then hit Konerko in the left calf with a pitch to load the bases. Konerko stayed down for a couple of seconds and then was able to walk it off and stay in the game. And the White Sox couldn’t keep their rally going.

“You get to the point when you might snap. We’ve got two months, a month and half, hopefully our offense will pick it up from now on and make it easier for the pitching staff,” Guillen said. “And for me.”

Jason Varitek hit a two-out, two-run homer in the second inning to give Miller a quick lead.

But Chicago got one back in the second on Brent Morel’s two-out RBI double over center fielder Ellsbury’s head and another in the third when Carlos Quentin, Adam Dunn and Alex Rios hit two-out consecutive singles.

NOTES: The White Sox honored former slugger Frank Thomas by unveiling a statue of the two-time MVP on the outfield concourse. … Bard has not allowed a run in his past 26 1-3 innings. … The White Sox inserted DH Dunn into the lineup at first in the ninth.