J.D. Drew's sore left groin struck again last night. In the eighth inning, Drew told manager Terry Francona he might not be able to finish the game. This was at a point when Clay Buchholz had been pressed into service as a pinch runner.

"I said, 'Look at the the scorecard. You have to,' " Francona said. "We already put a pitcher into run. That's all we got to do, put somebody out in [expletive] right. It would have been like a circus."

Drew ended up blasting a two-run home run in the ninth inning. Drew's sore groin will keep him out tonight and tomorrow. On Monday, the Sox have an offday. On Tuesday, the Sox are scheduled to face Toronto lefthander Ricky Romero, a game Francona likely would have sat Drew for, anyway. So Drew will get four days off to rest his groin.

For tonight, his replacement will be another new face for the Sox. Brian Anderson, whom the Red Sox acquired when they shipped Mark Kotsay to White Sox, was recalled from Pawtucket to replace Josh Reddick, optioned back to Pawtucket. Francona and the Sox were concerned Reddick, 22, was starting to sit too many games, thus stifling his development.

"That being said," Francona said, "I thought Reddick did a great job."

Anderson has been a spark for Pawtucket. He slugged .515 in 97 at-bats and made his biggest impact with his defense. Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson often tells Francona that Jonathan Van Every is the best defensive player he has ever managed. “He said, ‘I never thought I’d tell you this, but this guy is every bit as good as Van Every.’ That’s RJ’s way of giving this kid a big compliment.”

Francona does not know Anderson well, but he has always followed his career. Anderson, like Francona, played for the University of Arizona. "He's got some juice in his bat," Francona said.