Will Middlebrooks ready to get into the swing of things in the bigs. (AP)

The moment of truth finally arrived Wednesday for 23-year-old Will Middlebrooks.

The fifth round pick of the Red Sox in the 2007 entry draft was slotted into his first big league lineup as he batted eighth and played third base after Kevin Youkilis was placed on the disabled list earlier in the day with a back injury.

Growing up in Greenville, TX, he paid close attention to another superstar on the left side of the infield.

“I always watched Cal Ripken, that’s who I watched growing up,” Middlebrooks said. “He’s a great player. He played every day. That’s what I’m shooting for.”

Ripken played in 2,632 straight games. Middlebrooks was playing in his first Wednesday night.

“I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t going to be nervous,” Middlebrooks said. “I’m just going to go out there and have fun. Just play my game and be Will Middlebrooks.

The advice of the Red Sox?

“Don’t try to be anybody else and come out here, play your game and have fun,” he said. “I’ve never really tried to compare myself to other people. I just want to be my own player and do things my own way.”

What was his first reaction when he got the call on Tuesday?

“Unbelievable. This is something you work toward your whole life so it feels really good to be here,” Middlebrooks told reporters in the Red Sox clubhouse Wednesday afternoon. “I worked to be here. I was ready when they called so I’m ready to go.”

Middlebrooks batted .333 with nine homers and 27 RBIs in 24 games this season for Triple-A Pawtucket before Wednesday’s call-up.

“I was having a really productive year. I thought I had a lot of positive output, not only me but my teammates. We were playing really good baseball.”

Middlebrooks was a big reason why the PawSox are off to a 16-10 start, good for a one-game lead in the North Division of the International League.

“Being able to create relationships with these guys and being able to come in here and be comfortable is huge,” said Middlebrooks of his experience with players like Dustin Pedroia, Youkilis and Adrian Gonzalez in spring training. “Just that they were an open book and to use them. Those guys have been around and those are the guys I’m going to be talking to so I’m just going to learn as much as I can.”

Middlebrooks, whose parents were en route to Fenway for his big league debut, said he’s been preparing for this moment in his mind for quite a while.

“About 23 years so yeah, it feels great,” Middlebrooks said.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — There isn’t a more enthusiastic or likeable figure in the Red Sox organization than Daniel Nava.

The 27-year-old switch-hitter has already made a lasting impact on Red Sox Nation with his bases-loaded homer off Philadelphia’s Joe Blanton on June 12, becoming just the second big leaguer in recorded history to hit the first pitch in the big leagues for a grand slam.

But he knew that once Jeremy Hermida returned from his rib injury on Thursday, his days with the big league club were over – at least for now.

His famous home run on that Saturday afternoon came as a left-handed hitter. Nava is a natural lefty but showed enough skill and professionalism to turn around and hit from the right as well. But unfortunately, for him, not with much success at the big league level.

He batted just .182 [4-for-22] against left-handed pitching, in his six weeks with the Red Sox. That’s not to say he can’t hit right-handed. In addition to his game-tying homer in the third inning Thursday against Toledo’s Charlie Furbush, he homered from both sides of the plate for Pawtucket back on April 30. He had 10 doubles with the Red Sox but just one right-handed.

So when Nava homered and drove in three runs with two hits right-handed Thursday, there was reason for Nava to break out that sincere smile he showed off in Boston.

“I think he needed to turn around and get a little more familiar with the right-handed swing,” Pawtucket manager Torey Lovullo said. “But he’s a hitter, he’s going to hit no matter what. He just needs the reps, he needs the ABs and it was nice to see him get going from that side of the plate.”

“I’m naturally left so when it comes to the right side, it takes a little more time for me to get locked in,” Nava said. “I just wasn’t doing a very good job up there with that so I knew that was what I had to focus on.”

Lovullo was happy for Nava and just happy to have him back as his team beat Toledo, 5-4, in 10 innings when Nava scored the winning run on a single by Lars Anderson.

“We missed him,” Lovullo said. “Unfortunately, he’s not in the big leagues but fortunately for us, he’s here in Pawtucket.

Lovullo isn’t worried about Nava since he knows the hard worker will work on what he needs to in order to make the right statement to Red Sox management.

“He’s just such a polished hitter, he’s got a professional approach and with one swing of the bat, got us back in the game.”

Nava was humble about his right-handed homer that got the team back in the game on Thursday.

“It helped us get back into the game, and that was huge because at the time it was 3-0, so to get us back in the game,” Nava said.

Nava flew back to Boston following Wednesday’s game in Oakland, taking a red-eye, grabbing what precious nap time he could before stopping off and then heading down Thursday in order to play right field for the PawSox.

“I was trying to sleep and I couldn’t do it very well,” Nava said. “I was tossing and turning in a two-inch chair so that wasn’t going too well. After the season, I still have a lot of games left and have a lot of games left and have work to do. I have to work on some defense and polish that up. I have a lot of things I need to work on in order just to make myself better, whether I stay here or get called up, doesn’t matter. That’s the stuff for the long term I need to do better.

“I was able to go back to my place and get a couple hours of sleep. If that didn’t happen, I wouldn’t even been able to function.”

His manager thought he functioned quite well.

“Here’s a guy that flew from the West Coast to the East Coast on a red-eye, got up today after sleeping on the plane, came to the ballpark and helped us win a baseball game,” Lovullo said. “I can’t say enough about what he did.”

Lovullo said he did consider giving Nava the night off following the travel but re-considered.

“I was going to leave it up to him but we were talking about coming back to here and making statements,” Lovullo said. “I want to get back to the big leagues as soon as possible and I think he did a good job of that.”

PAWTUCKET — PawSox catcher Mark Wagner was in a hurry to head out on his All-Star break following his team’s 2-1 win over the Syracuse Chiefs on Sunday at McCoy Stadium.

If somehow, when he returns to action this week, he’s with the big league club in Boston, he’ll be more than ready. But that possibility seemed somewhat remote, by Wagner’s own admission after Sunday’s contest.

Wagner, a ninth-round pick by the Red Sox in 2005, returned to Boston’s Triple-A affiliate this week after rehabbing two separate hand injuries that have made his 2010 season a bit of a nightmare. Wagner suffered a broken hamate bone in his left hand on April 29. He successfully rehabbed that injury, only to have another related pain develop where the bone meets the wrist.

He has spent the better part of the last eight weeks down in Fort Myers, rehabbing and playing in Gulf Coast League games, trying to get ready to play in the second half.

“It’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment as we get back in the swing of things and battle through some soreness and stiffness but I feel like it’s going better and we’re heading in the right direction,” Wagner said. ”Physically, we’re coming along. I think it’s going to be a little bit more of a mental adjustment because it’s going to take time to get back from rehabbing in the GCL to all of a sudden playing with a lot of big leaguers.”

While Wagner was battling his own problems, the Red Sox lost both of their veteran catchers — Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek — to the disabled list. With Wagner on the DL himself, the team was forced to go out and acquire Kevin Cash while calling up Pawtucket catcher Gustavo Molina to fill the current void.

On Sunday, Wagner, who was originally selected by Atlanta in the 29th round in 2002, showed signs of being able to possibly help the big league team, both behind the plate and with the bat.

He caught Josh Beckett‘s rehab start after catching him briefly in a couple of bullpen sessions in spring training. Wagner went 1-for-3 with a clean RBI single in the first, driving in what proved to be the winning run in the 2-1 Paw Sox win.

“Mark, he’s going through his own little things,” PawSox skipper Torey Lovullo said. “He’s going through his own little situations. He’s just coming back from a key injury. I think he did a great job. He squared up a lot of pitches. He does a great job receiving. I think Josh had a certain comfort level with Wags knowing they had worked together in spring training. I thought they worked very, very well together. They had good rapport and good communication between innings in then dugout.”

“If they call, then absolutely I want to help, obviously,” Wagner added. “I’ll be here trying to do my thing and if they need me, I’ll be ready.”

PAWTUCKET — Josh Beckett’s day is likely done after 19 pitches in the fourth inning, which included a long homer to right by DH Jason Botts on a 90 MPH cutter.

If Beckett is done, he threw 69 pitches, 42 for strikes.

Beckett used his final inning to work nearly exclusively on his cutter, significant because he faced three left-handed batters.

In the fourth, Beckett’s velocity tapped out at 94 on his fastball and 91 on his cutter, according to the right field radar gun.

Beckett threw only a handful of curves on the day.

He allowed two hits, the homer to Botts and a clean single by Mench in the second. He struck out four while walking none and left with a 2-1 lead.

PAWTUCKET — Boomer Whiting made sure Josh Beckett got his work in during the third inning. After getting Leonard Davis and Carlos Maldonado on a combined three pitches, the Chiefs center fielder worked Beckett for an 11-pitch at-bat before succumbing on a high fly to center, Beckett’s second perfect inning of his three so far at McCoy Stadium.

Whiting fell behind 1-2 before working the count full and fouling off five pitches to stay alive before the fly out.

Beckett is now up to 49 pitches, 30 for strikes. He has thrown mainly fastballs, getting up to 96 MPH on the right field radar gun.

The Paw Sox have staked the rehabbing right-hander to a 2-0 lead after two runs in the bottom of the first.

PAWTUCKET — Jorge Jimenez makes nice catch near third base stands to end the second inning. Beckett threw 20 pitches that frame, 12 strikes. He’s allowed one hit while fanning two.

Beckett used a 74 MPH curve, and a 90 cutter before giving up his first hit to Kevin Mench, a single to center on a 93 fastball.

Beckett stayed mainly with fastballs here in 2nd inning. hitting 94 and 95 on the gun, including a beautiful 94 on the black to get DH Jason Botts looking.

Offensively, Beckett was staked to a 2-0 lead after a two-run first by the Paw Sox.

A seeing-eye single by Bubba Bell scored Ryan Kalish from second after Kalish opened with a hit. The Paw Sox made it 2-0 on a sharp RBI single to left by catcher Mark Wagner.