earning his way into a regular platoon situation at first

BOSTON -- Alex Rodriguezs numbers at Fenway Park are nothing short of prolific, but the same cant be said for Michael Pineda.As the 41-year-old Rodriguez prepares for what appears to be his final game against the Red Sox as a member of the New York Yankees at Boston on Thursday, the 27-year-old Pineda is hoping to reverse his Fenway fortunes.Pineda (6-10, 5.17 ERA) is 3-3 with a 4.20 ERA in six career starts at Fenway, and 4-5 with a 4.92 ERA in 10 starts against the Red Sox overall.The right-handers last against Boston came July 15, when he gave up five runs on five hits -- including three home runs -- while lasting just five innings in a defeat.Mookie Betts is 6-for-20 (.300) against Pineda with two homers and four RBI, while David Ortiz is 5-for-22 (.227) with a homer, two RBI and six strikeouts.However, Pineda may not have to face either Thursday.Betts left the Wednesday game before the start of the eighth inning with right calf tightness, and he is doubtful to play in the series finale, Red Sox manager John Farrell said.Ortiz, meanwhile, fouled a pitch off his right shin in the ninth inning and had to be helped off the field. X-rays were negative, and Ortiz was present in the clubhouse and seemingly in good spirits after Bostons 9-4 loss to New York.Anytime you lose a guy thats going to the Hall of Fame, thats going to hurt pretty bad, Betts said of Ortiz. Hopefully he can get well.As for Rodriguez, who announced in a press conference Sunday that he would play his final game with the Yankees on Friday in New York before being released, he will get one more crack at Fenway on Thursday.Rodriguez was held out of the starting lineup for the first two games of the series, a move that Yankees manager Joe Giradi defended before Wednesdays game despite his earlier comments that Rodriguez would dictate his playing time this week.My job description does not entail farewell tours, Girardi said.However, Girardi did have Rodriguez pinch-hit for Aaron Hicks with two runners on and no outs in the seventh inning, with the Yankees trailing 4-1. Rodriguez flied out to right.There are certain situations that Im going to use him as a pinch hitter, and I liked it, Girardi said. I was looking for a three-run homer, and I went to him.Rodriguez is a lifetime .287 hitter with 29 home runs and 88 RBI in 132 games at Fenway.New York lost starter Nathan Eovaldi after he threw just 12 pitches Wednesday. The initial diagnosis was right elbow discomfort, but he flew back to New York for further evaluation.Its frustrating, its concerning, but we really wont know anything until probably (Thursday) night, Girardi said.Boston had a pitching setback of its own Wednesday, announcing that scheduled Thursday starter Steven Wright was being skipped due to right shoulder inflammation.The knuckleballer sustained the injury while sliding into second base as a pinch runner during Sundays game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.There is no timetable for Wrights return, although he was not immediately placed on the disabled list.Eduardo Rodriguez (2-5, 5.93 ERA) will start in Wrights place. The southpaw has pitched well against the Yankees in his young career, going 4-1 with a 2.01 ERA in five starts against them.He last faced them on July 16, holding New York to one run on four hits with two walks and a strikeout in seven inning. He earned the victory.Jacoby Ellsbury is 5-for-14 (.357) with two home runs and two RBI against Rodriguez, while Brett Gardner (3-for-10, .300) and Alex Rodriguez (5-for-13, .385, three RBI) also have taken him deep. cheap nba jerseys authentic .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. cheap jerseys from china . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. http://www.cheapnbajerseyssale.com/ . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. wholesale nfl jerseys china . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. nba jerseys from china . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. SEATTLE -- Mired in a slump for the past month, the Seattle Mariners optioned first baseman Dae-Ho Lee to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.Seattle recalled Stefan Romero from Tacoma to take Lees spot on the roster and the Mariners put him in the starting lineup for Friday nights series opener with Milwaukee. Seattle also activated reliever Steve Cishek from the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-hander Joe Wieland to Tacoma.The move with Lee was not a surprise as the slugger has been unable to shake his recent slide thats seen the South Korean star hit .109 with one home run and four RBI in his last 20 games.Its been a pretty significant slide since the All-Star break and trying to get his timing going, Seattle manager Scott Servais said. Confidence-wise hes down. Ive met with him a couple of times. (Hitting coach) Edgar (Martinez) has tried to get some things going, the timing with his swing, just hasnt happened.Lee was a revelation the first half of the season, earning his way into a regular platoon situation at first base as Seattles primary option when facing left-handed pitching. But he injured his hand around the All-Star break aand said for a few weeks he was unable to keep up his regular hitting routine outside of games.dddddddddddd Servais noted that Lee has been struggling with timing and hoped the decision to send him down will allow Lee the opportunity to rediscover his swing but without the pressure of Seattle being in a playoff race.Lee said his hand is healthy now.It was on and off missing some pitches and a little bit I lost a little confidence of my batting, Lee said through an interpreter.For the season, Lee is batting .246 with 13 home runs and 41 RBI. He has just six hits since the All-Star break and is hitless in his past 14 at-bats.Cishek went on the disabled list on Aug. 4 with a labrum tear in his left hip. The injury did not require surgery and Cishek gives Seattle another right-handed option in the bullpen, but he wont go back to the closer role he had earlier in the year. Cishek was 25 of 31 in save opportunities, but took a blown save and a loss in his last two appearances before landing on the disabled list. ' ' '