Shane Victorino

Red Sox manager John Farrell gave a heath update on outfielder Shane Victorino, infielder Stephen Drew and catcher David Ross on Wednesday

“Shane is not in the lineup again tonight, but he’s gaining mobility,” Farrell told WEEI. “The soreness that he felt the other night after he came out of the game continues to subside, so he’s moving in the right direction, and hopefully, he’s back in our lineup soon.

“My view is it’s always going to be a game or two, and hopefully, that will be the case. I think the thing we have to balance here, as everyone well knows, is that over the past three weeks, it’s been on-again, off-again, and we need to continue to factor that in and not look to risk anything where, again, we’re looking at a day-to-day situation. I’m not saying the DL is imminent, but the fact is that he’s better today than he was two nights ago, which is all good news.

“Stephen Drew is back playing every day. He jarred the back on that headfirst slide on the double back in Minnesota. He is doing good there,” Farrell added. “David Ross, we’re hopeful he will be in Portland tomorrow to get some at-bats and … we’ll just have to go through the normal protocol with MLB when it comes to concussions. So there’s some lengthy paperwork as you might expect to get that taken care of. But we’re hopeful that he’ll be back for us during the Cleveland series.”

John Farrell

Making his weekly appearance with “Salk & Holley” Wednesday, Red Sox manager John Farrell said that struggling outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury will remain in the leadoff spot “for the immediate time, right now.”

“I’m not going to say that that would be the case forever,” Farrell said. “But our goal is to get him going — it’s happened to him before where he was dropped down in the order to get his legs back underneath him and get him going. That has certainly not been ruled out. For now, he still remains in that leadoff spot.

“What I don’t want to do — and I mentioned this a number of times — I don’t want to go through a complete revamping, turning the lineup upside down and shifting two or three guys to the front of the order and replacing those guys in that six or seven slot area. Again, trying to get the highest on-base guys at the top of the order based on matchups as to how guys are going. Some people might point to Daniel Nava as a primary one- or two-hole hitter, but he’s done such a good job for us in that six-hole of driving in runs and hitting for power, plus getting on base … it’s not just ‘Hey, take this guy out of the slot and he becomes a different hitter just because we get him from the one-hole to the six- or seven-hole.’”

Farrell said Ellsbury has done his due diligence when it comes to trying to break out of his slump.

“There’s some inconsistency in timing, no doubt about it,” Farrell said. “It’s encouraging that last night, he gets on two times, one by a walk and one by a base hit up the middle. He’s working with Craig Colbrunn obviously — early work, extra BP. I don’t necessarily think … I know a lot of people are going to say ‘Well, he’s got pending free agency, and that’s the elephant in the room that’s weighing him down.’ I don’t get that sense. I think it’s human nature [to look at] what lies ahead. But Jake has always been a guy that, when adjustments are recommended, they take some time for him to incorporate, and we’re going through that right now.

“When you compare video from this year to 2011 when he had the big year, fundamentally, you’re going to see the same mechanics, the same swing. Where things are different — and for any hitter, the most important thing is seeing the baseball. If he’s seeing it, typically, he’s going to be on time. And sometimes, some of the thoughts that might creep in there — whether that’s frustration, whether it’s from trying to execute a certain swing, those thoughts might interrupt that link from seeing the ball to executing the swing. I think that’s where we’ve seen the inconsistency come from — he’s trying to get it right. Sometimes, by trying harder, you get less benefits from the efforts you’re putting in.”

For more Red Sox news, check out weei.com/redsox.

The Rangers designated former Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe for assignment on Monday. Lowe, who has gone 1-0 with an 9.00 ERA this season for Texas, was sent out to make room for Josh Lindblom, who will start Monday’s game against the A’s. The 39-year-old Lowe, who was a part of the Red Sox title team in 2004, went 70-55 with a 3.72 ERA and 85 saves in eight seasons with Boston.

Daniel Nava

Daniel Nava returns to the lineup for the Red Sox Thursday night as they face the Rays in St. Pete. In addition, shortstop Stephen Drew, who connected for a grand slam Wednesday night against Tampa, gets a chance to continue his hot streak. He has now has eight extra-base hits in his last 18 plate games. In that span, he’s hitting .317/.411/.571.

RED SOX LINEUP

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Shane Victorino RF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
David Ortiz DH
Mike Napoli 1B
Daniel Nava LF
Stephen Drew SS
Will Middlebrooks 3B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C

Felix Doubront SP

For a complete look at the matchups, click here.

John Farrell

In his weekly appearance on “Salk & Holley,” Wednesday afternoon, Red Sox skipper John Farrell said that despite the recent slump that has seen the team drop nine of its last 11, don’t expect any major shakeups, either in the rotation or the batting order.

Saying the most important thing to is “remain consistent,” he doesn’t anticipate making many changes, at least not at this point in the season.

“I think we’re still in that part of the year where we’re trying to maintain continuity and not just [making] reactionary moves because we’ve scuffled a little bit as of late,” he said. “That might be coming, but I think right now, I think it’s important for everybody in our clubhouse to know there’s stability, no one is panicking. And we’re going through a spell right now, where, you know what? We have to execute in those given moments.

“I think it’s important to remain consistent. It’s not to show that you’re going to revamp things completely, and then, that sends a mixed message. I’m more about talking to individuals,” he added. “I think the attitude of our club, our team, is still consistent as it was in April when things were falling our way, and yet, we’ve not fired on all cylinders in the three areas, pitching, defense and offensively, as we had done in the first month of the season.”

Here are some more highlights from Wednesday’s Q&A with the manager:
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Shane Victorino

Shane Victorino is back in the lineup and Ryan Lavarnway gets his his first start of 2013 Tuesday night when the Red Sox meet the Rays in Tampa.

RED SOX LINEUP
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Shane Victorino RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Jonny Gomes, LF
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Stephen Drew, SS
Ryan Lavarnway, C

John Lackey SP

For a complete look at the matchups, click here. And for more on the Red Sox, check out weei.com/redsox.

David Ortiz

David Ortiz will be getting the day off Sunday against right-hander Chad Jenkins, with Mike Napoli filling in at the designated hitter position for the Red Sox’ series finale against the Blue Jays.

Here is the Red Sox’ lineup:

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Shane Victorino RF

Dustin Pedroia 2B

Mike Napoli DH

Daniel Nava LF

Mike Carp 1B

Jarrod Saltalmacchia C

Will Middlebrooks 3B

Stephen Drew SS

Ryan Dempster will take the mound for the Red Sox. To see all the matchups, click here.