Worth noting

• Pitching coach Bruce Walton said Henderson Alvarez's tricep isn't a concern going forward after the right-hander was bothered by it slightly Friday at Fenway Park. Alvarez is scheduled to pitch Thursday against Seattle.

• Jeff Mathis snapped an 0-for-16 drought dating to Aug. 29 with an RBI single in the fourth inning of Sunday's 4-3 win over the Red Sox.

• Farrell said outfielder Colby Rasmus is one of the team's core players "right now, for sure." Rasmus had an up and down weekend, with two hits on each of the first two nights, including a homer and triple Friday, before going 0-for-3 on Sunday. He also had some bad baserunning (forgetting how many outs there were Saturday) mixed in with the good (a first-to-third play Saturday).