Napoli, Victorino get planned day off
NEW YORK -- Though Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino have been two of Boston's most impactful hitters during this series against the Yankees, they were both out of the starting lineup on Sunday.
Manager John Farrell came to the conclusion a couple of weeks back that Napoli seems to be more productive when he gets regular rest. So that was the thinking in keeping him out of the mix Sunday.
Victorino has been playing through various ailments all season, so the Red Sox are just trying to keep him in decent health for the stretch run.
"Keeping guys as fresh as possible," said Farrell. "Both he and Shane are down as planned days to take advantage of tomorrow's off-day as well. We've got a couple guys obviously coming back to us, [Jarrod Saltalamacchia] behind the plate. I think guys understand that this time of year, we're just trying to keep everybody as fresh as possible."