Clemens won't restart it here

The Yankees made it official last night: Roger Clemens will not make his return to the majors this weekend against the Red Sox. And the Sox are skipping Julian Tavarez's turn to realign their rotation against the Bombers.

The matchups are: Chien-Ming Wang vs. Tim Wakefield Friday; Mike Mussina vs. Curt Schilling Saturday afternoon; Andy Pettitte vs. Josh Beckett Sunday night. The Sox will push back Tavarez to start Monday against the Athletics in Oakland.

Yankees manager Joe Torre would not commit to the exact date that Clemens will return, but said it likely will be Monday night in Chicago against the White Sox.

"I'm not disappointed that he's not pitching at Fenway," Torre told reporters last night in Toronto. "I don't think that series needs any more hype than it gets every time we play it, whether it's in Fenway or at the Stadium.

"You'd obviously be tempted if you had a kid pitching and you can replace him with Roger Clemens. When you have Wang, Moose, and Andy, there's really not the temptation to do that."

Torre said he preferred to wait to talk to Clemens personally before committing to the Chicago date.

If Clemens is put on the Yankees roster Monday, he would earn $18,207,665 this season, a prorated share of his $28,000,022 salary.

David Ortiz took batting practice again yesterday but was held out a third straight game because of tightness in his hamstrings. Ortiz, who Terry Francona said will be back in the lineup tonight, blamed the condition on a recent bout of dehydration. He was put on IVs last weekend in Texas.

"I'm done for the year," Ortiz answered in jest when someone asked in a similar vein whether he was ever going to play again. "I'm going to sit on my average."

He might as well think about his average, it was suggested to him, since he no longer hits home runs and has become a singles hitter. "Yeah," Ortiz said, "I'm becoming Ichiro."

Asked how he hurt the hamstrings, Ortiz said, "I've been running a lot, don't you see? They've been walking me every day."

Turning serious, he added, "Bad flu. The days I was dehydrated, all that stuff. It hurts every time I use my legs. But we've done a lot of things that are making me feel better. I might be in tomorrow. I'm not sure. We'll see."

Ortiz said he was following doctor's advice. But he rejected the notion that it's easier for him not to play when others, like Kevin Youkilis, are hitting. "I don't like no day off, bro," he said. "The situation can get worse, so it's better to lose a couple of days now than aggravating it and be out when the team really needs you."

Youkilis is one of just 11 Sox players in the last 50 years to hit in 21 consecutive games in a season. Nomar Garciaparra hit in 30 straight, the longest Sox streak in that span, as a rookie in 1997. Garciaparra also had streaks of 26 and 24 games. Dom DiMaggio holds the club record, hitting in 34 straight games in 1949. Youkilis is within two games of matching Torii Hunter of the Twins for the longest streak in the majors this season. Hunter hit in 23 straight from April 11 to May 9. Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners hit safely last night to extend his streak to 22 games . . . Youkilis's inside-the-park homer Monday was the first by a Sox player against Cleveland since July 5, 1970, when the super sub, John Kennedy, hit one. Kennedy turned 66 last night.

Chalk up another five scoreless innings for lefty Jon Lester in his most recent rehab start last night in Pawtucket. Lester, who pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the first, allowed four hits and two walks while striking out six. He threw 79 pitches, 50 for strikes. Mike Timlin, meanwhile, gave up three hits, a walk, and a run in one inning in Pawtucket . . . A big difference between the Sox and Yankee staffs this season: There have been only five occasions in which a Sox starter has failed to pitch five innings. Ten Yankee starters, meanwhile, have failed to pitch at least five innings in 17 games . . . Dwight Evans and New England scout Ray Fagnant will represent the Sox at the June 7 amateur draft in Orlando . . . Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli visited the Indians' clubhouse after the game.

Sox CEO Larry Lucchino is in China with a group of Major League Baseball officials that includes Padres CEO Sandy Alderson. Lucchino is expected to return to Japan this summer as the Sox continue to explore a season-opening date in Tokyo in 2008. One club official suggested last night that the Padres may be a potential opponent . . . The Cubs are close to cutting ties with former Sox pitcher Wade Miller after he was throwing in the low 80s on a rehab start in Triple A Iowa . . . New York Times columnist George Vecsey, author of "Baseball: A History of America's Favorite Game," is the guest speaker at Friday's Great Fenway Park Writers Series. The event takes place at noon at the Absolut Clubhouse at the ballpark. Admission, which includes lunch and an autographed copy of Vecsey's book, is $50. Register at: fenwayparkwriters.org . . . The Boston police officer stationed in the Sox dugout last night was Andrew Crosby, a former Sox clubhouse attendant who graduated from the police academy last Thursday. "I'm going to have to fold some socks after the game," Crosby joked.

Christopher L. Gasper of the Globe staff contributed to this report.