Sizemore, Victorino sit vs. Twins in finale

MINNEAPOLIS -- With a 1 p.m. ET start on Thursday following a night game, Red Sox manager John Farrell rested left fielder Grady Sizemore and right fielder Shane Victorino.

Mike Carp got the start in left, with Jonny Gomes playing right.

Though Sizemore has passed every physical test to date, the Red Sox feel no need to push it at this point.

"With Grady's situation, knowing we've got three right-handed starters coming up on the weekend [against the Tigers], a day of rest is to balance the things we still factor in with him," said Farrell.

There will probably come a time later in the season when Sizemore will start in this type of scheduling circumstance.

"He could have gone today. There's no doubt he was capable. To say that he's up to six or seven games a week, I think that's conceivable at this point," Farrell said. "Where we've come over the last six weeks is drastically different than coming out of Spring Training, where we had to balance a number of games per week. In my mind, there's probably no restrictions at this point."

Victorino banged his left knee sliding into third on Tuesday, making this a good opportunity for Farrell to get him a blow.

And it was also a chance to get Carp, an invaluable contributor last season, into the lineup.

Carp is off to a slow start this season, hitting .243 with no homers and two RBIs. This was his ninth start in 40 games this season.

"The role Mike is in is one that's similar to a year ago. It's not an easy role," said Farrell. "I know that he views himself as more of an everyday type of player. We're conscious of that. We're trying to keep him as sharp as possible. As much as we can, we continue to communicate with him and keep him engaged as much as possible without being in the lineup every day. I compliment him for the way he goes about his work."