NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is headed back to Boston on Thursday to have his sore right knee examined, and his status is uncertain.

It was the latest piece of bad news for the Red Sox on a painful day. Boston reliever Bobby Jenks was placed on the 15-day disabled list again Wednesday with tightness in his back and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was sent to the hospital because he was feeling sick.

Jenks left Tuesday night’s game against the New York Yankees after throwing only four pitches in the seventh inning and said it was a flare-up of an injury he had early in his career, though he didn’t think he would be sidelined long.

The right-hander had an MRI exam Wednesday and Boston put him on the DL before the 7:05 p.m. game.

Jenks was on the disabled list from May 2-30, missing 27 games with a strained right biceps. Since being activated, he had put together four scoreless outings.

The former White Sox closer has struggled in his first season with Boston, going 2-2 with a 6.57 ERA in 15 appearances. He has 11 walks and 14 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings, and opponents are batting .340 against him.

Jenks signed a two-year, $12 million contract in the offseason to be Jonathan Papelbon’s setup man.

Boston recalled catcher Luis Exposito from Triple-A Pawtucket to provide insurance behind the plate. Saltalamacchia began feeling ill Wednesday and was sent to the hospital to make sure he has nothing more than the flu, manager Terry Francona said.

“They ruled out anything besides intestinal turmoil, which is good news,” Francona said after his team’s 11-6 victory over the Yankees. “He might have had food poisoning. He was just good, old-fashioned sick.”

Jason Varitek started behind the plate, teamed with knuckleballer Tim Wakefield for the first time since 2005. Varitek has caught Wakefield in relief outings during that span, but the Red Sox captain had not started a game with Wakefield on the mound in six years.

Boston shortstop Jed Lowrie also had an MRI on his sore left shoulder. Francona said he hopes Lowrie can play Thursday night against CC Sabathia.

“We’ve got a lot going on right now,” the manager said before the game. “We’re kind of scrambling here a little bit.”

Marco Scutaro started at shortstop Wednesday for the second consecutive game. Scutaro was activated from the disabled list Tuesday after missing 26 games with a strained muscle on his left side.

Francona also said left-hander Franklin Morales “did really well” in a 35-pitch side session Monday and was slated to throw again Wednesday. He could start a minor league rehab assignment soon.

Morales, acquired last month from Colorado, is on the DL with a strained left forearm.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is headed back to Boston on Thursday to have his sore right knee examined, and his status is uncertain.

It was the latest piece of bad news for the Red Sox on a painful day. Boston reliever Bobby Jenks was placed on the 15-day disabled list again Wednesday with tightness in his back and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was sent to the hospital because he was feeling sick.

Jenks left Tuesday night’s game against the New York Yankees after throwing only four pitches in the seventh inning and said it was a flare-up of an injury he had early in his career, though he didn’t think he would be sidelined long.

The right-hander had an MRI exam Wednesday and Boston put him on the DL before the 7:05 p.m. game.

Jenks was on the disabled list from May 2-30, missing 27 games with a strained right biceps. Since being activated, he had put together four scoreless outings.

The former White Sox closer has struggled in his first season with Boston, going 2-2 with a 6.57 ERA in 15 appearances. He has 11 walks and 14 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings, and opponents are batting .340 against him.

Jenks signed a two-year, $12 million contract in the offseason to be Jonathan Papelbon’s setup man.

Boston recalled catcher Luis Exposito from Triple-A Pawtucket to provide insurance behind the plate. Saltalamacchia began feeling ill Wednesday and was sent to the hospital to make sure he has nothing more than the flu, manager Terry Francona said.

“They ruled out anything besides intestinal turmoil, which is good news,” Francona said after his team’s 11-6 victory over the Yankees. “He might have had food poisoning. He was just good, old-fashioned sick.”

Jason Varitek started behind the plate, teamed with knuckleballer Tim Wakefield for the first time since 2005. Varitek has caught Wakefield in relief outings during that span, but the Red Sox captain had not started a game with Wakefield on the mound in six years.

Boston shortstop Jed Lowrie also had an MRI on his sore left shoulder. Francona said he hopes Lowrie can play Thursday night against CC Sabathia.

“We’ve got a lot going on right now,” the manager said before the game. “We’re kind of scrambling here a little bit.”

Marco Scutaro started at shortstop Wednesday for the second consecutive game. Scutaro was activated from the disabled list Tuesday after missing 26 games with a strained muscle on his left side.

Francona also said left-hander Franklin Morales “did really well” in a 35-pitch side session Monday and was slated to throw again Wednesday. He could start a minor league rehab assignment soon.

Morales, acquired last month from Colorado, is on the DL with a strained left forearm.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

NEW YORK — David Ortiz on Wednesday night had a message for New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who had said he didn’t care for the way the Boston Red Sox slugger had flipped his bat after hitting a home run Tuesday: “Take it like a man.”

Ortiz was in no mood to revisit the flap stirred the previous night by Girardi, who made his comments after the designated hitter took Yankees rookie Hector Noesi deep in Boston’s win.

He crushed another home run Wednesday night in the first inning off Yankees starter A.J. Burnett, then set his bat down on the ground gently. He saved the fireworks for after the game, which the Red Sox won 11-6.

“

I don’t care what Joe Girardi says. Take it like a man. I’m done with that.

”
– David Ortiz on Girardi’s reaction to his bat flip

“I don’t care what Joe Girardi says,” Ortiz said to a New York writer. “Take it like a man. I’m done with that.”

Ortiz said he did not flip his bat Wednesday so he could avoid being on the “national news.”

“I don’t want to have you guys asking me the same questions. I got almost 370 bombs in the big leagues and everybody wants to make a big deal because I bat-flip one of them. (Expletive) that (expletive), man. If I have to make that video on my (expletive), let’s see how many bat flips I got on this (expletive). Good night.”

The first-place Red Sox will try for the series sweep over the second-place Yankees in the Bronx Thursday night.

Ortiz has hit 364 home runs in his career. Thirty-four have come against the Yankees, a total against one opponent exceeded only by the 39 he has hit against Toronto. And that doesn’t count the five home runs he has hit against the Yankees in the postseason, including one of the most dramatic in club history — the 12th-inning walkoff home run in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS.

Ortiz has homered in each of the team’s past three games against the Yankees, all at Yankee Stadium. The last Red Sox player to hit home runs in three straight games in the Bronx was Mo Vaughn, back in 1994, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The last Boston player to hit home runs in three straight games against the Yankees, home and away, was Manny Ramirez in 2006.

On Tuesday night, he had been amused more than upset when asked about it.

“I mean, it’s not my first time, it’s not going to be my last time,” Ortiz said of the way he airmailed his bat. “Big deal. I enjoy the game. I’m a home run hitter. It’s not like I do it all the time. It’s part of the excitement, you know what I mean? What can I tell you?”

For his part, Girardi also downplayed his comment, suggesting before Wednesday’s game that the media had given it a “Full Monty” treatment he hadn’t intended. Nor did he believe Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester hitting two Yankees batters Tuesday night — Mark Teixeira and Russell Martin — was an invitation for the Yankees to engage in any retaliatory target practice.

“I didn’t hear our guys talk about it at all,” Girardi said. “It seems like it’s been talked about more in the media than our guys. I didn’t hear anything about our guys being upset.”

Red Sox manager Terry Francona thought it all much ado about nothing. Asked if he’d ever been rankled by the actions of an opposing hitter the way Girardi had been rankled by Ortiz, Francona said: “What’s rankled? My pants are rankled.”

“I don’t think I get too upset with stuff. I personally choose to hope we win a game and expend my energy doing that. Dave’s a big boy, he can handle himself. I actually didn’t even notice.”

Information from ESPNdeportes.com reporter Adry Torres and ESPNBoston.com Red Sox writer Gordon Edes was used in this report.

NEW YORK – The Boston Red Sox are in first place, and David Ortiz is hitting a homer a day.

Is everybody happy? Not exactly.

Ortiz’ pleasant mood changed after Wednesday’s game when a New York reporter brought up questions about Joe Girardi’s comments of the previous day. The Yankees manager took exception to what he considered a grandiose flip of the bat by Ortiz after Big Papi’s home run off New York’s Hector Noesi.

“I don’t care what Joe Girardi said. I come to play the game every day,” Ortiz said.

“I’m done with that (expletive). That’s it.”

Ortiz had earlier been more easygoing in his response, simply saying that this was his style and he had not meant to offend anyone. But he made it clear after Boston’s 11-6 win on Wednesday that anyone bringing it up Thursday, the final day of this series, would not be greeted warmly.

He said he was not worried about getting hit a pitch in response to his bat-flipping.

“Why should I?” Ortiz said.

His home run Wednesday did show some regard for the situation. After going deep on A.J. Burnett in the first inning, he put down the bat carefully and without flamboyance, an apparent attempt to show respect for his opponent.

That said, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said before the game that he didn’t see the big deal.

“I didn’t really notice it. David has hit a lot of h home runs; I don’t know what the difference was,” Francona said.

The Sox manager had no interest in getting involved in a war of words.

“David is a big boy. He can handle himself,” Francona said.

After Wednesday’s game, in an apparent attempt to defuse the suddenly testy atmosphere, the writer who had brought up the subject asked Ortiz what he had hit off Burnett.

He was looking for a pitch description. He didn’t get one.

“A bomb,” Ortiz retorted.

“I’ve hit 370 bombs in the big leagues, and now it’s a big deal because I bat-flip one of them.”

It has been an unwelcome distraction for Ortiz, who has 15 homers and is hitting .323, more than 40 points higher than his career average.

Girardi has not retracted his comments, though he said on Wednesday that his observation had been overblown by the media. Come on, that never happens in a Red Sox-Yankees series, right?

Francona said he has only been bothered by flamboyant or attention-grabbing reactions by his players to home runs in games the Red Sox were losing. He cited a particular instance with Manny Ramirez, who homered for the Sox in a game at Cleveland where Boston was being beaten.

Francona was asked if he had such memories in Philadelphia, where he managed for four losing seasons from 1997-2000.

“We didn’t hit any home runs in Philadelphia,” he deadpanned.

The media has made numerous references to possibly retaliation in the Red Sox-Yankees series, though the teams have yet to become involved. Ortiz’ bat-flipping was prominent, but references were also made to Jon Lester’s two hit batsmen in the first inning on Tuesday.

One was Mark Teixeira, who left the game grimacing in pain after being plunked on the right knee. Teixeira was back in the lineup Wednesday.

The notion of Lester throwing at batters intentionally, in the first inning of a series opener, seemed pretty illogical to say the very least. The pitcher said after he simply “yanked a couple of cutters,” while trying to pitch inside, and was certainly not looking to hit any batters.

NEW YORK – Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is headed back to Boston on Thursday to have his sore right knee examined, and his status is uncertain.

It was the latest piece of bad news for the Red Sox on a painful day. Boston reliever Bobby Jenks was placed on the 15-day disabled list again Wednesday with tightness in his back and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was sent to the hospital because he was feeling sick.

Jenks left Tuesday night’s game against the New York Yankees after throwing only four pitches in the seventh inning and said it was a flare-up of an injury he had early in his career, though he didn’t think he would be sidelined long.

The right-hander had an MRI exam Wednesday and Boston put him on the DL before the 7:05 p.m. game.

Jenks was on the disabled list from May 2-30, missing 27 games with a strained right biceps. Since being activated, he had put together four scoreless outings.

The former White Sox closer has struggled in his first season with Boston, going 2-2 with a 6.57 ERA in 15 appearances. He has 11 walks and 14 strikeouts in 12 1-3 innings, and opponents are batting .340 against him.

Jenks signed a $12 million, two-year contract in the offseason to be Jonathan Papelbon’s setup man.

Boston recalled catcher Luis Exposito from Triple-A Pawtucket to provide insurance behind the plate. Saltalamacchia began feeling ill Wednesday and was sent to the hospital to make sure he has nothing more than the flu, manager Terry Francona said.

“They ruled out anything besides intestinal turmoil, which is good news,” Francona said after his team’s 11-6 victory over the Yankees. “He might have had food poisoning. He was just good, old-fashioned sick.”

Jason Varitek started behind the plate, teamed with knuckleballer Tim Wakefield for the first time since 2005. Varitek has caught Wakefield in relief outings during that span, but the Red Sox captain had not started a game with Wakefield on the mound in six years.

Boston shortstop Jed Lowrie also had an MRI on his sore left shoulder. It came back clean and he should play Thursday night against CC Sabathia, Francona said.

“We’ve got a lot going on right now,” the manager said before the game. “We’re kind of scrambling here a little bit.”

Marco Scutaro started at shortstop Wednesday for the second consecutive game. Scutaro was activated from the disabled list Tuesday after missing 26 games with a strained muscle on his left side.

Francona also said left-hander Franklin Morales “did really well” in a 35-pitch side session Monday and was slated to throw again Wednesday. He could start a minor league rehab assignment soon.

Morales, acquired last month from Colorado, is on the DL with a strained left forearm.

NEW YORK (AP)—Boston Red Sox reliever Bobby Jenks(notes) is on the 15-day
disabled list again with tightness in his back and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia(notes)
was sent to the hospital Wednesday because he was feeling sick.

Jenks left Tuesday night’s game against the New York Yankees after throwing
only four pitches in the seventh inning and said it was a flare-up of an injury
he had early in his career, though he didn’t think he would be sidelined long.

The right-hander had an MRI exam Wednesday and Boston put him on the DL
before the 7:05 p.m. game.

Jenks was on the disabled list from May 2-30, missing 27 games with a
strained right biceps. Since being activated, he had put together four scoreless
outings.

The former White Sox closer has struggled in his first season with Boston,
going 2-2 with a 6.57 ERA in 15 appearances. He has 11 walks and 14 strikeouts
in 12 1-3 innings, and opponents are batting .340 against him.

Jenks signed a $12 million, two-year contract in the offseason to be
Jonathan Papelbon’s(notes) setup man.

Boston recalled catcher Luis Exposito from Triple-A Pawtucket to provide
insurance behind the plate. Saltalamacchia began feeling ill Wednesday and was
sent to the hospital to make sure he has nothing more than the flu, manager
Terry Francona said.

“We’ve got a lot going on right now,” Francona added. “We don’t want to
get caught short. … We’re kind of scrambling here a little bit.”

Jason Varitek(notes) started behind the plate, teamed with knuckleballer Tim
Wakefield(notes) for the first time since 2005. Varitek has caught Wakefield in relief
outings during that span, but the Red Sox captain had not started a game with
Wakefield on the mound in six years.

Boston shortstop Jed Lowrie(notes) also had an MRI on his sore left shoulder and
the team was waiting for results. Francona said he hopes Lowrie can play
Thursday night against CC Sabathia(notes).

Marco Scutaro(notes) started at shortstop Wednesday for the second consecutive
game. Scutaro was activated from the disabled list Tuesday after missing 26
games with a strained muscle on his left side.

Francona also said left-hander Franklin Morales(notes) “did really well” in a
35-pitch side session Monday and was slated to throw again Wednesday. He could
start a minor league rehab assignment soon.

Morales, acquired last month from Colorado, is on the DL with a strained
left forearm.