Baseball

Drew was able to play through a minor back issue on Friday, but the Red Sox don't want to push him. He should be ready to roll again soon. Pedro Ciriaco is getting another start at shortstop.

Breslow missed the first five weeks of the season with shoulder inflammation and has posted a 1.35 ERA over seven appearances since his activation. The 32-year-old Yale graduate has never finished a season with an ERA higher than 3.75 and boasts a 2.97 career number. Nerds don't often fool scouts, but Breslow has made it look easy.

Ortiz hit a three-run shot in the top of the first inning, a run-scoring single in the top of the third and a two-run bomb in the top of the seventh. The veteran designated hitter has regressed some from his hot start but is still sporting an outstanding .362/.408/.681 batting line with seven homers and 29 RBI in 24 games.

Dempster was let off the hook by the Boston offense, which rattled off 12 runs in a rout of Minnesota. Dempster yielded eight hits and six walks, throwing only 68 of his 127 pitches for strikes. He now has a pedestrian 4.27 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 52 2/3 innings, though we wouldn't give up on him quite yet because the strikeout rate is tremendous. Dempster will face the Indians next.

Drew played through a back issue on Friday and the Red Sox don't want to risk it again. The injury is not considered serious, though, and Drew will try to return on Sunday.

Victorino still isn't 100 percent after his back tighten up Thursday. The Red Sox don't expect him to need a stint on the disabled list. Victorino could return to the lineup by early next week.

He added a walk and was hit by a pitch. It was Bradley's first game in two weeks. He's now batting .304/.418/.391 in 12 games at the Triple-A level this season.